9 Key Insights into The Witcher 3 Director’s New Open-World Vampire RPG, Blood of the Dawnwalker

The Blood of Dawnwalker marks the exciting debut of Rebel Wolves, a studio formed by former developers from a well-known gaming giant. This includes the director of a beloved RPG and a quest design director from a major sci-fi title. Recently, a new 10-minute gameplay showcase and some previews have surfaced, giving us a closer look at what to expect from this dark fantasy RPG. So, how is it all coming together?

From the latest footage and insights, Rebel Wolves’ inaugural title is shaping up to be quite impressive. The central theme revolves around the idea that your choices have real consequences. You play as Coen, a newly turned vampire with just 30 days to save his kin, navigating through the Vale Sangora and the Carpathian Mountains. The game features skill trees, various enemy factions, dialogue options, and plenty of side quests. Some decisions will advance time, pushing you closer to the climax, but players can also choose to confront the main antagonist, the vampire lord Brencis, sooner. Plus, we finally have a release date: September 3 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Here’s what else we discovered:

According to the director, some developers have spent a significant amount of time trying to complete the game. If you’re looking to speed through without exploring the world or engaging in side quests, it might be a shorter experience. There are multiple endings based on your choices, encouraging replayability, although a new game+ feature hasn’t been confirmed yet.

This isn’t your typical open-world game with a constantly changing day-night cycle. Instead, activities that advance time will be marked with an hourglass icon, so you’ll know exactly how much time you’re spending on each action. It seems that not everything can be accomplished in one playthrough—there will be trade-offs—but you won’t have to deal with the constant pressure of a countdown like in some other titles.

One of the abilities you’ll have is called Shadow Step, reminiscent of a popular mechanic from another game, allowing you to reach difficult spots and evade danger. This ability is exclusive to your vampire form, enabling you to scale walls and descend them.

There’s also a mechanic called Blood Hunger that activates when your health dips below a certain threshold. When this occurs, conversations can take a dark turn, leading to a choice where Coen must “give in to hunger,” resulting in him consuming the NPC with dark tendrils. Most NPCs, including quest givers, can be eliminated this way or simply dispatched with a sword.

Since the introduction of detective vision in games, many have adopted similar mechanics for puzzle-solving. In this game, Coen uses a “focus mode” to track down clues, like pig footprints, during early quests.

The game features three distinct combat styles: witchcraft for daytime, vampiric powers for nighttime, and sword fighting that can be used at any time. Combat is directional, requiring you to strike from specific angles to break through enemy defenses or block effectively. Some abilities are tied to specific types of vampire blood, which can only be unlocked by defeating the right kind of vampire and consuming their blood.

However, the exact mechanics of this system remain a mystery, as the developers want players to uncover them through exploration, hinting at quests or secrets influenced by weather conditions like rain and fog.

Rebel Wolves has a team of around 160 people working on the game, which is substantial for an indie studio and even some AA titles, though still smaller than the massive teams behind blockbuster games.

To run Dawnwalker on anything but the lowest settings, you’ll need an Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series card. Achieving 60fps at 1080p on high settings will require at least a 5060 card or better. If you aim for max settings at 60fps in native 4K, be prepared to invest nearly $4,000 for an RTX 5090.