'The Witcher: Blood Origin' reviews: Here's what critics think of 'The Witcher' spinoff series

The first reviews of 'The Witcher: Blood Origin' are here. A prequel and spinoff series set in the universe of 'The Witcher', the series is created by Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. Hissrich had created the original. The four-episode miniseries, set 1200 years before the events of the original, delves into the creation of the first Witcher and the events that led to the event called Conjunction of the Spheres in which several realms collided with each other.That created a big world filled with humans, dwarves, elves, monsters, and so on.

After 22 reviews, the show has received a rating of just 36 per cent on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus reads, "A shallow excavation of ancient lore from Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy series, Blood Origin shares ancestral DNA with The Witcher but little of what makes the mothership series memorable."

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Here are some of the reviews:

Variety's Joshua Alston wrote, "Blood Origin is to The Witcher television show as a slapdash downloadable expansion pack would be to the massively popular Witcher video games. Only completists need apply."

San Francisco Chronicle's Bob Strauss wrote, "Despite its narrative swiftness and impactful action (thanks to Michelle Yeoh, for lending her influence as well as her presence), “Blood Origin” is just a time waster."

Empire Magazine's Dan Jolin wrote, "With largely flat performances, tacky-looking VFX, even tackier-looking sets, and a risible script (“Let’s stop this bickering and change the future of Elfkind forever!”), it’s more like Battle Beyond The Stars meets Hawk The Slayer."

AV Club's Sam Barsanti wrote, "Without the anchor that keeps the franchise grounded, it really is just a fantasy story without any of the things that make The Witcher special."

IGN's David Griffin wrote, "While the villains and political storylines surrounding the Golden Empire are less interesting, the series is bolstered by its engaging band of misfits as they journey across The Continent kicking butt wherever they go."

'The Witcher: Blood Origin' will premiere on December 25.

Watch WION live here: