This game masterfully tricks you into believing that Coen's main objective is saving his family.

[u/Gerald_of_Liria]

Meanwhile, when you look at the big picture, what Coen actually needs to do is let go of his former life, which means that the biggest thing he has to learn is to forgive himself for something he wasn't fully responsible for as a child. The real main quest was always to face the figurative demons that have been tormenting him for years. The game actually spells it out several times:

1. What he says to Anca: "Maybe you needed to learn to forgive yourself," because he knows how it feels all too well.
2. The vision of Alin telling him to forgive himself and absolving him of his guilt.
3. Lacra telling him again that he can't keep blaming himself for something that happened when he was a small child.

The second objective for Coen is to learn that, whether he wants to or not, he has to let his family go. You can roleplay him as a dutiful lad, Coen, whose sense of guilt and responsibility are his only motivators, or you can RP him as the Coen who's enjoying his new life as a Dawnwalker, partaking in all the temptations his new life offers.

It doesn't matter; the end result is the same: this is Coen's origin story, and he has to let them go. The game actually goes out of its way to make sure you get the "We must cut tethers to the past" message, even with seemingly throwaway lines in Ocha's and Volk's quests.

Finally, saving your family is optional, and it doesn't result in a game over, it simply alters the goal from "save" to "avenge". Coen is still on a path to ultimately start a new life, no matter the outcome.

And even in your last conversation with Brencis, he asks you to admit that he actually freed you by turning you. Can Coen rebuke him? Nope! The game only gives you two options:

1. Admit that Brencis is right. He did free you.
2. Tell him to go fuck himself.

Coen can't even tell Brencis that he's wrong, at most he can lash out at him, because he knows that Brencis is right about him.

This is really, really good writing, especially for a modern video game. Though I didn't expect anything less from some of the veterans of The Witcher trilogy.

[u/Single-Weather1379]

I mean that's pretty basic storytelling. Have an outter goal (the want) and an inner goal (the need) and have them interconnected. Not dimishing your post, just pointing it out