With The Blood of Dawnwalker now available to preorder ahead of its September 2026 release, you might be wondering if Rebel Wolves’ debut title is worth taking a chance on. We’ve been quite excited about it ever since it was first announced, and have been hard at work putting down everything we know about it in one convenient place.
Here are some of the coolest things about this interesting take on vampires that might help you decide if it’s worth your time and money.
1. Tailor Your Approach
Vale Sangora is the perfect stage for Coen’s adventures, as he tries to save his family from the clutches of Brencis, a vampiric overlord who uses a deadly plague to bully the populace of the region to submit to his will. Your time with Coen lets you tackle situations as either a human who’s pretty skilled with a blade during the day, or as a vampiric hybrid with some very nifty abilities at night.
The Vale is an open-world that places an emphasis on how you approach your objectives instead of simply focusing on where you go. Typically, you’re going to have varying options depending on whether you try achieving a goal by day or at night, with different avenues opening themselves up to you based on the abilities you have available. It’s a part of the core gameplay loop, and one of the game’s biggest draws in our opinion.
2. A World Full of Possibilities
Coen’s journey through Vale Sangora is filled with opportunities to engage with the game’s systems. You could explore ancient ruins to find blueprints and manuals for new abilities, find cool weapons, or even sabotage Brencis’s Blood Transports as and when you find them out in the world.
There’s also the chance to come across locations that let you discover more about Vale Sangora or the sub-region you’re in, providing more context on Coen’s fight and the world he inhabits in his new form. There’s every chance that digging up new knowledge could send you towards other objectives, and we’re going to be as diligent as we can be when we’re out and about in the world.
3. An Interesting Approach To Combat
Whether you’re using Coen’s sword as a human or his claws as a vampire, combat in Dawnwalker follows an interesting rhythm. You’re going to have to pay attention to which direction your enemy is attacking and respond with the right directional inputs to either block or parry the attack. Doing so lets you accrue Activation Charges, which you can then use to unleash some devastating special abilities that can turn the tide in your favor.
And before we move on to those abilities, know that you can use your sword as a vampire, and that your moves are going to be faster and more fluid as a result of your enhanced abilities while in that form.
4. Active Abilities
Coen’s got an expansive bag of tricks to use against anyone foolish enough to get between him and Brencis. For instance, the Voracious Bite ability lets you chomp down on an opponent to attempt to stun them as you control how much of their blood you drain. There’s also Boiling Blood, a magical Hex that causes a useful damage-over-time effect when you use it in a fight. It does come with the caveat of putting a timer on Coen at the end of which he explodes, so you’re going to have to be smart about using it.
Indeed, most Hexes in the game affect your health, although an ability called Frugal Witchcraft reduces the amount of health you lose per cast. That’s worth making a beeline for if you decide that Vale Sangora is somewhere you want to be, since Coen’s health doesn’t regenerate during the day. We’re also quite eager to try out Artery Attack, which can be a very useful finisher if you use it well in combat.
5. Multiple Skill Trees
Doubling down on the duality between your human and vampiric sides, the game has distinct skill trees for both of them, while another shared tree is also available for you to explore. Your Active Abilities get their own tab, and we think that there’s a lot of scope for creating a build that suits your playstyle.
Want to be a master of the blade, ignoring your vampiric nature? That’s an option. Or perhaps you believe Coen should strike a balance between them? Go right ahead!
6. Your Vampiric Abilities Come With A Cost
When you start each night as a vampire, you’re going to be hungry for blood, which is represented by your vampiric health bar. You can choose to sate that hunger by feeding on either humans or animals, and you’re going to have to pay attention to it, as letting Coen get too hungry is going to erode away at his self-control to the point where he becomes a slave to his base appetites and drain potentially important characters as a result.
But there’s also the fact that you need to feed in order to sustain your vampire powers, which we’re getting to in a minute. Voracious Bite lets you control how much blood you’re draining from your victims, and could be a potentially safe way to balance your hunger out. You could also use it to knock out crucial targets without killing them, draining just enough of their blood to make them lose consciousness.
7. Embodying A Vampire Hybrid
Although story details are understandably scarce at this point, we know that Brencis has turned Coes into something akin to a vampire-human hybrid. It’s the reason why he’s able to walk in the sun while retaining his abilities at night, after all. But when the sun sets, you become a whole lot more mobile with abilities like Planeshift that let you climb walls and ceilings in a jiffy, or Shadowstep, which lets you teleport to out-of-reach places that you couldn’t get to during the day.
You also get to use your claws to slide down from high places in case you spot something interesting on the ground. Of course, all of the powers we’ve spoken about also come into play, making for an interesting dichotomy that you must use to your advantage.
8. The Blood Guards
Early gameplay showcases gave us a peek at Blood Guards, who are individuals given improved abilities by one of Brencis’s cohorts via a ritual that robs them of their free will in exchange. They are loyal to Brencis as a result, and wield their dual weapons with extreme prejudice against those who might oppose their ‘boss’.
Of course, your time in Vale Sangora is bound to put you on a collision course with more than a few of them, and you’re going to have to use every advantage you have if you want to prevail against them. We think Coen’s up to the challenge, though.
9. Brencis Takes An Active Role In The Game
Brencis is quite a unique antagonist. He’s not content to sit idly by while Coen dismantles his operations. The more you act against the interests of his so-called kingdom, the harder you make your travels through it. He ensures that Coen is well-known throughout the land, and guards get more suspicious and aggressive towards you as a result. You could choose to take the vampires head-on, or lie low and prepare yourself for a better shot at victory.
It’s an interesting dynamic that makes your adventure a sort of tug-of-war for control of the regions you explore, and we can’t wait to see how that dynamic plays out in the final game.
10. Finish The Game Early If You Can
This is an interesting one. We already know where Brencis is: he’s at his main castle in Greifberg. You could, in theory, storm the place and try to end him once and for all. That might even be an effective way to circumvent the limited time you’re given to complete Coen’s adventure, but it isn’t going to be an easy fight.
Dawnwalker isn’t kind to those who go into a fight unprepared, but we’re sure that some of the more daring ones among you are going to attempt this direct approach, and might even walk away from it victorious.
11. Coen Isn’t The Only One Who’s Against Brencis
While there is an argument in favor of taking Brencis on early, we’re probably leaning toward a more methodical approach thanks to the presence of people in Vale Sangora whom Coen can recruit to his cause. We’re speculating that getting them on your side takes a bit of effort and is probably going to be an opportunity to see more of Vale Sangora in the process.
Given what we’re about to cover in the rest of our list, that might be the better strategy, given that you get to enjoy more of the game before you take the fight to the vampires.
12. The Capital Of Vale Sangora
Svartrau is one of the bigger cities you’re going to explore, and it’s quite a large one. It’s got different boroughs, and we’re seeing evidence of a social hierarchy that you could possibly get to engage with over the course of your adventures.
The city also has a medic, merchants, a blacksmith, and an armorer, which points to a crafting system that you could then use to give yourself better gear and a distinct edge over your enemies if your claws aren’t getting the job done.
13. A New Approach To Quest Designs
Dawnwalker isn’t interesting simply because it’s an awesome take on vampires. The game doesn’t demarcate main and side quests; instead choosing to present an experience where different stories are constantly woven together, with your choices affecting the world state in ways that are tangible. Aside from having different ways to approach objectives based on the time of day, fulfilling them takes time forward, meaning that you’re going to have to be strategic about what you’re taking on.
What’s more, community events might uncover new information or open up new paths to existing objectives. They could even give you entirely new quests to take on!
14. Explore The World To Learn More About Your Adversaries
Taking on new quests might also let you discover more about Brencis’s operations, and those of his lieutenants. You could also explore the world to find out more about the vampires’ plans, and things like covered-up frescoes are just waiting out there in Vale Sangora for you to discover.
Coen’s mission isn’t just a war of attrition, but one of information, and you’re going to want to track down as much information as you can if you want to dismantle what Brencis has built since he took over the region.
15. Focus Mode
Coen isn’t just a vampire-human hybrid who can tear through enemy ranks. He’s also a reasonably good investigator, which makes him quite a tenacious individual. Your Focus Mode can highlight objects of interest, loot, and even lead you to hidden areas once you get into the habit of using it well.
It’s especially useful when you’re trying to recreate past events, with it letting you zoom in on key clues and save time in a story where it is of the essence.
And that’s about it for this one. We can’t wait to set foot in Vale Sangora and become a thorn in Brencis’s side once we do, and we’re sure a lot of you are as eager to end his reign of terror as we are! Well, all we can do right now is cross the days off our calendars as we wait for more information to drop. Rest assured, you’ll be hearing from us when it does!
