One thing I really like about the Witcher series is the great enemy design. Most enemies are somewhat fantastic, but re-imagined for a low-fantasy, medieval setting. They make sense and feel natural, feel REAL and are perfectly integrated into the world.
That being said, well, I don’t think that super powerful monsters, like dragons, fit in well; gameplay-wise.
Imagine your brothers are not fighting a group of enemies, but instead a single, huge and powerful monster. The odds must be somewhat even, in order to make the battle a challenge. So this single monster is worth, lets say 6 brothers. With the high mortality of your brothers (they’re no witchers!) you’ll easily lose half your men. I’m just not sure how this is going to work in a realistic way, unless you want the monster to be the final boss.
Imo these big monster-fights work better in action games without permadeath.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the devs have an ace up their sleeve and know how to make it work. I won’t be disappointed either way.
Then, on the other hand, we can re-imagine monster, too. Dragons can be downscaled to lindworms, that are on par with werewolves in terms of power. Strong but manageable. Or drakes, like you said.
The same goes for wyverns, who can become dog-sized feathered reptiles that live in the mountains. A threat but not as powerful. Overall a more realistic and functional approach imo.
