Geralt carefully circles the Swarmion, his steps slowly overlapping as he sizes up his foe. The creature could be easily mistaken for any generic fantasy undead or humanoid mutant, were it not for the cloud of hornets that swarm around its torso – a bizarre form of armour by any stretch of the imagination. But our Witcher is as resourceful as ever. He switches his silver sword for a chain, swinging the hooked end round and round as he chooses his target. The creature's legs, or its head? The answer is obvious. The hook sinks into the fleshy neck and pulls taught, wrenching the creature out of the hornet swarm and pulling it directly into the path of Geralt’s blade. Blood plumes from its neck. The head falls with a dull thud.

The silver chain is an important weapon for Geralt of Rivia. Those who have been there from the beginning will remember it from The Witcher’s very first cutscene, back in 2007. Those who have been there from the actual beginning will know it from the short story within The Last Wish collection, from which that cutscene was adapted. The important thing is that it’s part of Geralt’s core Witcher gear – and so it’s only fitting that we finally get to use it in what could well be the last time we get to play as him.

Songs of the Past is The Witcher 3’s unexpected third expansion pack , which will launch next year – 12 years after the base game was originally released, and a year ahead of the series’ in-development fourth game , which passes the protagonist baton to Ciri.

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