The former creators of The Witcher showed the gameplay of The Blood of Dawnwalker, where the quest turned from an ordinary day in the temple into a bloody massacre at night.
Rebel Wolves studio focused on the change of the environment depending on the time of day. To demonstrate the key mechanics of The Blood of Dawnwalker, the creators showed the same quest at different times. And here we can immediately remind you that the main character Cohen is an ordinary person during the day, and at night he becomes Dawn Guardian with vampiric powers and is forced to quench his thirst for blood.
That’s why, while the sun is shining, he enters the cathedral, talks to the priest, and explores the ritual with bloody overtones. It seems like an ordinary situation in an RPG. But as soon as night falls, the cathedral doors close — and Cohen has to do something different: climb rooftops, use vampire powers, and fight a vampire boss. All of this is part of the double game loop system. Although the video ends in defeat, players could instead walk around quietly and avoid the battle altogether.
Judging by the description, most quests have at least two options — day and night. However, even without this mechanic, the plot remains branched: previous elections, allies and enemies, and the time when the player decided to take on the task influence the development of events. Equally important, the game time is limited to 30 days. So you will be able to replay the key moments more than once if The Blood of Dawnwalker lives up to expectations.
«Each quest is a complex structure with multiple possible paths leading to the end goal. We maximize player’s freedom and agency, offering you a Narrative Sandbox to play in», — says Design Director Daniel Sadowski.
Separately, Rebel Wolves showed a menu of characteristics, bonuses, and magic — with a nuance: using spells costs health. As Daniel Sadowski explains, the protagonist will have to pay for acting against the rules of reality.
The developers reminded about the setting: 14th century Europe. Dark times — epidemics and wars — the perfect time for vampires to come out of the shadows and have their own banquet. The protagonist Cohen gains vampiric powers and throws himself into a race to save his family. The question remains: will he be able to resist the temptation, or will he turn into the monster he was supposed to fight?
In general, The Blood of Dawnwalker is an open-world single-player role-playing game built on Unreal Engine 5. According to the developers, it was created with a focus on story, choice, and world exploration. Studio Rebel Wolves is headed by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the former director of The Witcher 3, and Jakub Szamalek, who wrote scripts for CD Projekt, is working on the narrative. The team also includes veterans of Shadow Warrior, Cyberpunk 2077, and Thronebreaker.
The game will be released in 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Games Radar
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