"The biggest advantage of Krotos Studio is its capability for Organic sound design. The brief required everything to sound as real as possible—Krotos Studio made that easy." - Wojciech Chołaściński, Soundly by Platige
The goal was to create an organic sound—nothing synthetic or overly processed. The sound had to feel rich and cinematic, as if the viewer were watching a real movie rather than a game trailer.
Game trailers are essentially short films with full narratives, unlike movie trailers that piece together selected scenes. This meant the sound needed to be immersive and dynamic, bringing the world of The Witcher to life.
Another key request was to use as many in-game sound assets as possible to maintain consistency with the upcoming game. That’s why I worked closely with CD Projekt Red’s Head Sound Designer, Mateusz Szymański—a big thanks to him!
Krotos plugins made the whole process faster, smoother, and, honestly, more fun! Instead of painstakingly layering sounds manually, I could quickly experiment, tweak, and refine.
I can confidently say that without Krotos Studio, I’d still be working on this project!
Footsteps, cloth movements, combat sounds, and countless other elements were built in Krotos Studio. The biggest advantage of Krotos Studio is its capability for organic sound design. The brief required everything to sound as real as possible—Krotos Studio made that easy.
I built many ready-to-use sound effect presets in Krotos Studio, that I recorded straight into Pro Tools. This meant that if something wasn’t perfect, I could tweak it and re-record instantly.
Reformer Pro played a huge role in unifying the overall sound design. It helped fine-tune and layer details like footsteps and environmental interactions. This gave me the flexibility to refine elements even late in the process.
I used it mostly for footsteps in the village scene and the final scenes. Since game trailers evolve throughout production, I often didn’t know what kind of surfaces the characters were walking on. The placeholders used are just textureless grey platforms and they don’t tell me whether it’s gravel, sand, grass, or mud for example—so I needed the flexibility Reformer Pro provides.
I layered four or five different sounds to make the footsteps feel natural.
The moment when Mioni kneels in the forest—those movements were created using Reformer Pro. I probably looked ridiculous blowing into my mic to match the rhythm of the footsteps, but hey, it worked!
When Ciri starts the fire, I sweetened the game assets with extra sound design using Reformer Pro to make it more immersive.
Dehumaniser Simple Monsters is a must-have in my toolkit! I used as an insert effect to modify specific sounds.
When Mioni enters the forest, there’s an eerie, multilayered ambience. One of those layers is a cheerful bird singing… except I ran it through Simple Monsters to transform it into something unsettling, like shadowy creatures lurking around.
Most people might expect me to say combat scenes, but my favorite part? Footsteps!
There’s something incredibly satisfying about watching a character come to life through their movement sounds. Seeing animation details evolve over time and adjusting my sounds to match makes it even more rewarding.
I especially enjoyed designing the invisible sounds—for example, in the house scene, where the camera moves, but you don’t see any characters. Mioni’s muddy footsteps as she leaves the house were another highlight. And of course, the wreath sound!
Krotos Studio has been a game-changer for years. I started with the free version and quickly upgraded because it saves so much time. Instead of hunting through massive sound libraries, I can imagine a sound and create it in seconds. I estimate that footsteps alone would have taken a week longer without Krotos Studio.
Combat sounds, gear movements, and even clothing sounds—all built in Krotos Studio. Fun fact: I even recorded my own running medals to add to Ciri’s equipment sounds!
Sound design isn’t just about what you hear—it’s about what you feel. The layers of detail, the organic textures, and the way sound reacts to the world all contribute to making a trailer feel real.
Thanks to Krotos plugins, I could work faster, experiment freely, and bring The Witcher’s world to life in a way that felt immersive and cinematic.
Would I do it all over again? Absolutely!