A Russian AI lab is bringing Geralt of Rivia to life

It appears that a Russian laboratory specializing in AI is working on making Geralt of Rivia... alive.

The Mind Simulation Lab is a company based in Russia who, according to their website, "make AGI (artificial general intelligence) and alive video game characters." They recently shared a video on their YouTube channel in which they have a candid chat with a digital Geralt of Rivia in a virtual tavern. You can watch it below.

It's pretty rusty at the moment, but it's impressive nonetheless. The conversation begins with a simple exchange of greetings, after which the people at Mind Sim Lab ask, "What do you think about Corvo Bianco?"

"In Corvo Bianco I want to meet an old age," Geralt responds. The answer appears in text format on the left-hand side of the screen, and is also relayed through a sort of robotic voice that isn't particularly befitting of a 13th Century witcher. "I love to meet in Corvo Bianco with friends," he adds.

Some slightly less coherent responses include, "Alghouls aggressive dangerous enemy," and, "Alghouls afraid of fire silver." I mean, I know what he's trying to say, but he's not quite as articulate as the gruff and grunting monster hunter we're familiar with.

Also worth noting, is that apparently Novigrad is the "city of anger."

What the AI rendering does get right is that its version of Geralt is very considerate, and actually asks you questions, too. He's very concerned about his old pal Zoltan, who he hasn't seen since an unspecified battle/cabaret hybrid event. "How is he doing?" AI Geralt asks.

If you were curious about how Yen is, by the way, fear not: Geralt gives you loads of information. "She is fine," he says.

Regardless of its current state, which is a tad rough, Mind Sim's attempt to bring Geralt to life is remarkably impressive. He genuinely is sitting across from you, pint in hand, ready and willing to chat about wine and alghouls. It's quite lovely, really.

If you're after more Witcher news, season 2 of Netflix's Witcher series recently halted production due to the coronavirus, after bringing four new witchers to set shortly beforehand. If you want to play the Geralt sim in the meantime, check out our list of the best Witcher 3 mods.