The Witcher: Sirens Of The Deep Review – I Was Thrilled By OG Geralt’s Return In A Spinoff That’s More Little Mermaid Than Witcher

Despite getting off to a strong start, Netflix’s Witcher universe has seen a gradually divisive response from longtime fans of the franchise as the show became less faithful to Andrzej Sapkowski’s source material, in addition to Henry Cavill’s infamous departure. With The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, the streamer attempts to get the franchise back on track with a standalone story adapting one of Sapkowski’s shorts. Unfortunately, it still finds itself making changes that don’t really make it feel any more original than its source.

Based on “A Little Sacrifice”, The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep focuses on Geralt (Doug Cockle) as he and Jaskier (Joey Batey) head to the seaside town of Bremervoord, where they are hired by the local king and prince to kill an Allamorax, a vicious sea creature they believe to be behind the killings of some fo their fisherman. While they investigate the matter, the king is also trying to get a grip on his son Agloval, who happens to be in love with the princess of a nearby mermaid kingdom, whom the king suspects may be behind the attacks.

The Witcher: Sirens Of The Deep Is A Very Loose Adaptation Of Sapkowski’s Story

An Intriguing Mix Of Mystery & Romance Becomes A Predictable Little Mermaid Ripoff

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is too loose an approach to its source material. It’s the same curse that has befallen the Netflix show. In Sapkowski’s short story, Geralt and Jaskier are indeed hired to investigate the deaths of local pearl divers, though they were initially tasked with serving as a translator for Agloval in his efforts to propose to the mermaid princess, Sh’eenaz (Emily Carey). Additionally, Essi (Christina Wren) is involved in the adventure, though she is actually a rival bard to Dandelion rather than his childhood friend.

While changes to the source material can certainly be welcome, particularly as “A Little Sacrifice”‘s ending is one of the more depressing of Sapkowski’s Witcher stories, Sirens of the Deep‘sdoesn’t do much for the characters. Geralt and Essi’s romance feels just as stilted as in the short story, even if it stems from the same motivation of his being hung up on Yennefer (Anya Chalotra). The reveal of Jaskier’s childhood origins and history with Essi is also far too familiar and an unnecessary creation, particularly when considering Dandelion’s origins are largely unknown, save for being of royal blood.

What proves most frustrating is the bigger focus on the underwater kingdom. Sure, it’s great to see Sh’eenaz given more agency, and even the wider undersea population has proper motivations for their desire to go to war with Bremervoord. Unfortunately, the movie finds itself being more like The Little Mermaid than a Witcher story, down to there being an undersea character with powers manipulating Sh’eenaz and an out-of-place musical number.

Sirens Of The Deep’s Animation Is Appropriately Stylish & Epic

The Nightmare Of The Wolf Team Continues To Be The Right Choice For Animated Witcher Tales

Where the story largely fails to impress, The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep thankfully has Studio Mir, Studio IAM and Platige Image and Hivemind back to animate the film. The various animation studios previously worked together for 2021’s Nightmare of the Wolf and their anime-like approach to adapting the world of The Witcher proves to be an effective mix of incredibly stylish and appropriately grand-scale sequences.

This is no more evident than in the film’s various fights between the vodnik and other characters, particularly Geralt. The first introduction to the sea creature feels appropriately dangerous and visceral as the two prove to be fairly even foes, right up until Geralt gets the upper hand, and we’re presented with a painterly depiction of the creature’s defeat. The film’s climactic set piece between Bremervoord soldiers, Geralt, Jaskier, Essi, vodniks and the movie’s big bad is also a wonderfully animated sequence that mostly keeps us grounded in the action.

However, there are some ways in which the animation style is a bit underwhelming here, largely in the depiction of there characters’ emotions. While it could also be blamed on the writing, every character in the film never seems to feel anything other than angry or happy, leaving a lot of nuance up to the voice acting.

Doug Cockle’s Geralt Return Is Both Exciting & Damaging For Netflix

Liam Hemsworth’s Witcher Debut Is Now Even More Difficult

While the animation may struggle to convey some character nuance, its voice cast is more than up to the task. This is particularly true for Doug Cockle. As a longtime fan of the franchise, it’s wonderful to hear the iconic Geralt actor stepping back into the role. It’s been nearly a decade since we last got to hear him in a solo story after making appearances in Soulcaliber VI and Monster Hunter: World.

That said, Cockle’s return for The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is also a pretty troubling choice for the future of Netflix’s universe. The streamer is already facing plenty of backlash for its recasting of Liam Hemsworth as Geralt, and the decision to bring back another iconic actor for the role rather than have Hemsworth make his debut feels like he’s being further set up for failure. Though it may have resulted in a somewhat entertaining adventure, having Cockle also interact with Batey’s Jaskier and Chalotra’s Yennefer further shows just how messy the franchise has become.

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The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep

5/10

Release Date

February 11, 2025

Pros & Cons

• The animation is an engaging mix of style and epic scale.
• Doug Cockle’s return as Geralt is a welcome one for longtime Witcher fans.
• The action feels appropriately visceral and high-stakes.

• The changes to Andrzej Sapkowski’s short story are largely bad choices.
• The animation style does occasionally lose emotional nuance from characters.
• Cockle’s return also further spotlights Netflix’s uncertainty about Liam Hemsworth’s recast.