I’m referring, of course, to Rebel Wolves’ The Blood of Dawnwalker, in which making your way from one mission to another is decidedly more interesting thanks to the game’s systems coming together beautifully to give the impression of a title that’s iron-clad in its vision. With focus, style, and a vibe that can be hard to pull off even in current-gen titles, Coen’s adventure is shaping up to be one of the biggest hits to grace the action-adventure genre.

But of course, that’s just my opinion. However, I do think that everything I’ve seen in the game’s promotional materials backs that theory up, and by a long shot. Dawnwalker isn’t just a game that’s so well-done it becomes the stuff of legends. That’s too easy.

It’s an experience that could hold the torch for the games that follow it, even as it encourages you to stick to the shadows as you stalk your enemies.

A Straightforward Setting and Premise

Give the game’s story trailer a watch, and you’ll begin to see what I mean. We’re quickly introduced to all of the key players in the game’s narrative, and the reason for Coen’s transformation and for his disdain towards the vampire cohen that has taken over Vale Sangora, his homeland.

Of course, the stakes (pun intended) are quite high for any sort of dissent he plans to attempt, the fate of his sister hanging in the balance and all that. It’s the kind of story in which you get the sinking feeling that no one among the cast is really safe, and I don’t think I’m going to be picking any favorites during my first playthrough, at least.

Notice how I said “first”? That’s because of the way the narrative is structured, allowing for each of your choices to affect the outcomes of key plot points in various ways. That screams replay value, and I do think that anyone who plays this one on its terms is going to be diving into a new playthrough almost right off the bat to see if there’s a better way to achieve what they set out to do.

That’s a great premise, and it’s one that’s backed by Vale Sangora itself. Its gothic architecture works well with the kind of medieval setting that the developers have crafted with painstaking detail. But excellent visuals are only part of the reason why I think the stage upon which Coen’s story unfolds is as important as the adventure that awaits us. Yes, visual fidelity and solid performance do help sell the game’s material. But that’s already been done by so many great titles over the current generation of gaming hardware’s life span. But Vale Sangora is different.

Exploring cities, towns, and villages isn’t just a way to gather clues and perhaps lore about life in the Vale. It’s a way to learn more about your enemies and the manner in which their influence has seeped into the very social fabric of your home. It showcases the manner in which humans have become secondary citizens in their own homes and the social injustice that follows such discrimination.

Hell, the humans in the Vale discriminate against each other in a few instances, making me wonder if Coen had any chance at all of leading his people to freedom against Brencis and his cohort of superpowered beings. It’s a world of complexities and nuance, often making its presence felt as a character all on its own. It fits the game’s narrative context like a glove, working in tandem with it to bring a degree of polish and cohesion that bodes very well for the game.

Coen is clearly an underdog, but he’s one with a lot to lose. The consequences of failure could be more than he could bear, given that he would have to carry them for eternity thanks to his newfound powers. However, his condition does come with a time limit that’s constantly ticking away (more on that in a jiffy).

I’m quite confident in the story and worldbuilding of this game, partly due to the evidence that’s right in front of me and the intangible value of having a team that’s largely composed of the folks behind The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. They’ve already nailed a story with complex, branching narrative paths before. They’ve already crafted a world full of possibilities and hidden consequences that blew our minds nearly eleven years ago.

But The Blood of Dawnwalker could allow them to scale new heights. Why do I think so?

Decisions, Decisions

It all comes down to the narrative choices you get to make as Coen. But it isn’t just choosing one dialogue choice over another. This time around, that choice is baked into the world itself, dictating the approaches you decide to take to situations you encounter, a facet of the game that’s already on display in all of its gameplay showcases.

Do you take on a situation as a human, navigating complex social interactions to get to what you need while you bask in the sunlight? Or do you decide to give in to the bloodthirstiness of your condition and take a more direct approach as a vampire, using the shadows and your unprecedented physical advantages to bypass defences and infiltrate areas with ease?

Coen’s duality as a human-vampire hybrid is a constant background presence in The Blood of Dawnwalker, forcing players to think about whether they want to lean towards tackling the game as a human or a vampire, each of which comes with its own complications and advantages. Or perhaps striking a balance between the two for the sake of a sister that Coen is so desperate to save.

It helps that Brencis and his lieutenants are constantly responding to your actions, the world becoming either easier or more treacherous to navigate as a result. Once again, the game’s design choices blend so seamlessly into the overall experience that it’s quite hard to tell them apart.

And that’s a factor that’s definitely part of a solid blockbuster in my book. But of course, there’s more to it than just that.

Fighting for Freedom

The duality of Coen’s predicament is also baked into the game’s combat systems. As a human, he’s clinical and efficient in battle, taking care to dispatch any opposed to him with finesse and grace (Clair Obscur, anyone?). He is methodical and observant, ready to exploit any weaknesses his enemies show with surgical precision.

But unleash the vampire, and he is a different beast entirely. He’s almost frightening, a force that mere mortals might find hard to comprehend, let alone mount a defence against. He is brutal, tearing through rank and file enemies with abandon, feeding off their blood to keep himself in the fight a lot longer than they can afford to have him on his feet.

The constant tug of war between his human and vampire sides is an undercurrent that blends very well with the game’s other systems to create narrative tension that carries over to the moment-to-moment gameplay. But it does more than that.

It works very well with the entire idea that he has only a month to complete his adventure, adding a sense of urgency to the story that would otherwise fall prey to the seemingly endless amount of time that most action-adventure protagonists seem to have at their disposal when they’re let loose in an open world.

That ultimately results in an open-world experience that’s typically shorter but exponentially more focused as a result. It removes the scope for player fatigue by setting the entire darn adventure on a ticking clock, and one that isn’t going to afford them the one luxury that Coen’s counterparts in the genre have in spades: time.

It’s a flourish that might be hard to pull off, but I have full faith in the talented team behind this experience. It gives me the feeling that Vale Sangora is probably going to be one of the darkest, most fascinating places that I’m going to have the privilege of visiting in a modern video game.

Mind you, I’ve been to quite a few of those, but none of them appeal to me in the way that The Blood of Dawnwalker has managed with just a few gameplay showcases and the soaring feeling that we’re all finally getting the vampire game we deserve.

Of course, things could go badly wrong, Murphy’s Law and all that. But I’m willing to bet that it isn’t going to be the case. This one looks like it’s going to be pure cinema from the get-go, and it’s a tale I hope to be looking back fondly on for a long time to come.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

“We want to tell a story with vampires, not a story about vampires only,” said Tomaszkiewicz. “Our vampires are different. They are more wild, and they have these small cliques, and sometimes those cliques fight with one another. Our vampires come from many regions of the world; we tell different stories throughout the game to show you their origins and why they are doing what they are doing. There are interesting stories to be told in the bond between them and how their relationships have changed over time.”

As for how exactly the vampires in The Blood of Dawnwalker will be different, Tomaszkiewicz noted that traditional parts of vampire fiction, like the creatures’ weakness to things like silver, garlic and sunlight, will be different. For example, silver will play a key role, allowing Coen to transform into the Dawnwalker—a hybrid that is human during the day and vampire at night.

“We have some traditional vampire themes, but aspects like silver, sunlight, and garlic work in different ways,” he said, going on to note that Coen’s transformation, thanks to his suffering from silver poisoning, is “another twist on the vampire fantasy.”

Coen’s status as the Dawnwalker also means that Rebel Wolves had to create distinct styles of gameplay to account for his human and vampire forms. According to Tomaszkiewicz, roaming the world during the day will put Coen at a disadvantage due to his human form being weaker but he will have other tools to compensate for this. At night, on the other hand, he will be able to use his vampiric powers. The director noted that every quest in The Blood of Dawnwalker is designed to accommodate those gameplay styles.

“We needed to create two distinct gameplay loops,” explained Tomaszkiewicz. “While playing as a human, we wanted to give you the feeling that you’re weaker, but you’ll have different toys to play with to compensate. When you’re a vampire, you are not only stronger but also able to wield vampyric capabilities to reach your goals. With every story, every quest line that we design, we have had to think about these two ways to play.”

Tomaszkiewicz had previously spoken about how The Blood of Dawnwalker will be a story with vampires rather than being about the creatures back in November 2025. In the same interview, he also spoke about games like Dishonored being major inspirations for Rebel Wolves.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is being developed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and is slated for release this year. For more on the RPG, watch the launch year special video released by the studio just last week.

These include “gameplay features, locations, and characters,” per game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. Global community lead also teased that fans hadn’t even met the entire cast of main characters, “or creatures” yet. To further whet your appetite for what’s to come, a new teaser was attached at the end, featuring new cutscenes and location reveals, including a Caelid-esque landscape and a snowy environment.

Some new faces also accompany protagonist Coen, including one that appears to be a vampire (as evidenced by her speed and abilities). The final boss, Brencis, is also showcased, but alongside Xanthe, seen in a prior gameplay reveal, two other vampire lords flank him.

If you play your cards right, it’s possible that Coen won’t have to square up against all of them at once. Then again, that may require careful time management and knowing when it’s best to infiltrate at night. Check out the last gameplay showcase to see how that works.

When it comes to the central structure of The Blood of Dawnwalker, Tomaskiewicz said that players won’t really find a singular main quest to follow. Rather, they will encounter different kinds of quests, and figure out things like where their main target might be. This also means that the player can then decide to immediately take out the target, or even hang back and do some other quests that might help weaken the target’s position. He noted that the number of options presented to players is the studio’s attempts at bringing the freedom of gameplay decisions that can often only be seen in table-top RPGs.

“No, there’s no main quest. You build your experience from the quests you encounter,” he explained. “You know where your enemy is. You can attack this place anytime you want to. It’s up to you if you want to do it by yourself, or if you want to build yourself, find the powerful items, develop your character, or do some quests and find allies to help you do it. We want to bring video games closer to pen-and-paper RPGs and give you the freedom to experience what you want to experience.”

As for just how much freedom the player might have, with Eurogamer asking whether it will be similar to Warhorse Studios’ Kingdom Come: Deliverance series, Tomaskiewicz noted that it wasn’t a bad example. However, more apt examples, according to him, would be the classic Fallout and Fallout 2 developed by Interplay in the 1990s. In both titles, players were given their primary objective right from the beginning, but then also had freedom to explore the world and build up their strength in different ways at their own pace.

“Kingdom Come: Deliverance is not a bad example, but still they have the main story that develops; you have the open world and the main quest which is leading you,” said Tomaskiewicz. “In our game it’s different. Our game is more similar in this area to the old Fallout, the first and second games, where you have a clear goal and everything is optional – you decide. You travel the world, you decide what you want to do. There is no main quest.”

Earlier this month, Tomaskiewicz had also spoken about how The Blood of Dawnwalker will tackle the subject of vampires, noting that rather than being a story about vampires, the upcoming RPG will be a story that happens to feature vampires. “We have different creatures of the night,” he said. “We want to tell [a] story with the vampires, not the story about [only] the vampires.”

The Blood of Dawnwalker is in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and is slated for release in 2026.

The Blood of Dawnwalker, according to Tomaszkiewicz, will be a story that has and uses vampires, instead of being a story purely about the vampires. “We have different creatures of the night,” he said. “We want to tell [a] story with the vampires, not the story about [only] the vampires.”

As for just what level of gameplay freedom players should expect from The Blood of Dawnwalker, Tomaszkiewicz noted that one of the many inspirations behind the game was Arkane’s Dishonored. The title gives players an incredible amount of options in how they want to tackle their objectives, thanks to the versatility of the many abilities players have access to, as well as incredibly-dense level design that encourages exploration to find new and interesting routes, and even side-quests that open up even more unique ways of accomplishing objectives.

“Dishonored was one of the inspirations,” Tomaszkiewicz said. “We wanted to create [a] way of exploring for the vampire, [that’s] as open as [Dishonored].” He did go on to note, however, that The Blood of Dawnwalker won’t have the kind of freedom that Dishonored allows. “It’s not that you can enter everywhere,” he said. “But it’s so open that you should feel almost total freedom.”

A good example of the kind of freedom players can expect was revealed earlier this month when a gameplay overview video for The Blood of Dawnwalker revealed a spell similar to “Speak With Dead” from Baldur’s Gate 3. By making use of this spell, Coen will be able to discover new story elements, and even figure out different and unexpected ways of clearing quest objectives. The spell, dubbed Compel Soul, also adds another wrinkle to the game by not being available at night.

The gameplay overview video generally provided a great look at The Blood of Dawnwalker, showing off how Coen can take on different quests and explore a variety of areas. The video focused on a quest to get a legendary sword located in a crypt underneath the church. Players have plenty of options for how they might want to tackle this, like going into the crypt during the night by using the Shadow Step ability.

A video released all the way back in August also gave us a look at some of the abilities that Coen will have access to in The Blood of Dawnwalker. Among the abilities showcased was Planeshift, which allows the player to wrap around the game’s world and even climb up the sides of buildings or cliffs. The video also provided a look at the fast-paced, hard-hitting combat.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2026.

After encountering a Murohn in the abandoned wing of an alms house and slaying it, Coen can use a Hex spell known as Compel Soul. It’s only available in human form alongside other spells, but it serves to resurrect corpses with moths floating about them to ask for information. In this case, you discover that the local caretaker that Coen had to find had sacrificed someone for his own gain.

The approach is more straightforward than Speak With Dead, with Coen simply compelling the soul to reveal more information. Still, not having to ask only five questions is a relief. It’s worth noting that if the player tried investigating the alms house at night instead of during the daytime, Compel Soul would not be available. Which doesn’t sound too bad, but considering how precious time can be, it’s worth keeping in mind.

The Blood of Dawnwalker launches in 2026 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. Rebel Wolves has confirmed that the title is in pre-beta state and has even more to share before launch, so stay tuned.

While the previous gameplay showcase briefly mentioned the quest for a legendary sword, this one focuses primarily on the same. However, it’s located in a crypt below the church. Players can infiltrate it during the day in human form, but they’ll need to complete a quest for the deacon, which involves finding something in an alms house.

This leads to the discovery of a closed-off wing of plague victims where a Murohn, a vampire with a botched transformation, awaits. After slaying it, Coen returns to the church where he’s granted access to the library to find a book with the crypt’s location.

Alternatively, he can tackle the mission by night in vampire form, using Shadow Step to clear rooftops and directly access the library’s balcony. This approach has its risks – the guards are none too happy to see you, for instance – but it does showcase the improvements made to combat. The abilities menu is no longer paused, instead slowing the game down while you select options.

Rebel Wolves have also added a second camera option, which is placed further back. You can set the camera separately for combat and exploration, perhaps prioritising a wider view while exploring the wilds or the closer view for more intense fights.

The showcase concludes with a battle against Mihai, the Patron Saint of the Cathedral, who was seemingly buried alive in the crypt. Why? Well, you’ll have to find out when the game launches. The Blood of Dawnwalker is coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

It offers a unique mechanic where time progresses depending on certain decisions, and you only have 30 days to save Coen’s family from the big bad Brencis. As you cause more problems for the latter’s forces, Coen will gain notoriety. Head here for more details.

It’s not a strict time limit, of course, and players must manage Coen’s hunger as well, especially when venturing out at night. Among all of this is the notoriety system. As creative director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz explained to IGN, slaying Brencis’s forces can result in obstacles but may benefit the player in unforeseen ways.

“As you gain more notoriety in the valley, as you do these acts against Brencis, he won’t stay passive. He will enact these edicts that will hamper your progression. So he might send out more soldiers into the streets, or patrolling the roads, or enforce a curfew. So now it’s more difficult to feed at night.”

Other NPCs will take note of your notoriety as well, and it could provide an edge when dealing with certain factions. “It’s not just Brencis and his soldiers, it’s also the people in the valley. They will recognize you and be afraid of you. So, in some quest situations, it actually might be helpful. There are some factions that fight against Brencis; they don’t like him. So building up notoriety is actually a good way to gain a good standing with them.”

Whether the player engages with all this, immersing themselves in the world of Dawnwalker or beelines it to Brencis is up to them. It’s one reason why the title is so intriguing, and the development team’s pedigree is just the cherry on top.

The Blood of Dawnwalker launches in 2026 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Head here for more extensive gameplay.

Tomaszkiewicz compared the concept of spending time in The Blood of Dawnwalker to spending money, with players having the choice to, for example, bribing a character with gold so that they don’t have to spend their own time to accomplish an objective. “We play with this as a resource,” said Tomaszkiewicz in the interview. “Sometimes we give you the option to pay the bribe to avoid losing time.”

He went on to explain players will always have full control over how their time is spent in The Blood of Dawnwalker, but that the title will also make players use the resource to accomplish certain things. “You always will know when you’re using it, and you will control it fully,” he explained. “But also, we play sometimes with this resource to build the emotions in this particular moment, especially when there will be not many time left to finish your tasks.”

Giving the player control over how their time in The Blood of Dawnwalker will be spent shouldn’t come as a big surprise considering how heavily the studio has been talking about its “narrative sandbox”. Back in February, creative director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz had spoken about how players will have quite a bit of freedom in the game, with the core design behind the title revolving around “maximizing players’ agency and freedom of choice.”

“It’s how we allow you, the player, to interact with it,” he said. “So the core of it is maximizing players’ agency and freedom of choice, while, at the same time delivering the high-quality narratives that we are known for crafting in the past.”

This freedom, according to Tomaszkiewicz, also includes allowing players to do things like killing off important NPCs. He noted that doing this might even lead players to uncover brand new quest lines.

“It’s not exactly endless possibilities because obviously, we have a set character you’re playing with Coen, and he has his own personality and so on, but within this personality, we’re trying to give you the ability to shape your own Coen,” he explained. “For example, we allow you to kill off a lot of NPCs, and a lot of them can be really important NPCS.”

“Sometimes this can lead to alternate outcomes or even cut off certain quest lines,” he continued. “And this, of course, ties into our other systems […] you being a Dawnwalker means that you have this blood hunger during the night time so this can actually lead to these NPCs dying if you’re not careful.”

The Blood of Dawnwalker is being developed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with developer Rebel Wolves being comprised of several veterans of the gaming industry, including some that worked on massive critically-acclaimed RPGs like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The title doesn’t yet have a release date, with the studio planning to bring it to store shelves some time in 2026.

Among the abilities showcased in the video is Planeshift, which allows the player to warp around the game’s world and climb up the sides of buildings or even cliffs. We also got to see quite a bit of the melee combat of the upcoming title, which will seemingly incorporate fast-pace with heavy-hitting attacks, prompting players to approach each fight with care.

The video features game director Konrad Tomszkiewicz and lead quest designer Rafal Jankowski talking about how the studio went about designing The Blood of Dawnwalker, from making Coen a vampire that is also cursed with human vulnerabilities during the day, to how the world is designed.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is slated for release on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2026.