The Witcher sequence actually did nicely to seize that sense of exploring a brutal fantasy world as a protagonist who knew tips on how to get their fingers soiled. However within the upcoming darkish fantasy RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker, a brand new recreation from a workforce of former creatives behind The Witcher 3, it leans additional right into a morally ambiguous setting as you determine which path its protagonist will take – one which maintains his human type and beliefs, or one which embraces newfound powers as a half-vampire.
Simply forward of Gamescom 2025, we obtained an prolonged walkthrough of The Blood of Dawnwalker from the devs at Insurgent Wolves that put a highlight on the parallel playstyles of human and vampire action-RPG gameplay. To this point, The Blood of Dawnwalker is placing forth some robust ideas for its tackle a dark-fantay RPG that is all about navigating two completely different worlds in crafty trend.
A part of what makes vampires so compelling as horror characters is that they are often tragic figures. Having to take care of supernatural forces that probably put them at odds with humanity is an idea that may be nice to discover in video video games. That concept is on the coronary heart of The Blood of Dawnwalker.
Set in a supernatural model of 14th-century Europe, The Blood of Dawnwalker focuses on Coen and his vendetta in opposition to a robust coven of vampires that search to take over Europe with violence and even some old style medieval-era politicking. After Coen has a violent encounter with the vampire chief Brencis following the kidnapping of his household, the protagonist develops a particular pressure of vampirism that transforms him right into a half-vampire that may navigate the more and more blurry line between human and supernatural.
Our prolonged preview targeted on a quest known as “A Monk and a Saint,” which noticed Coen journey to the settlement of Svartrau to uncover a hidden tomb – and the city’s extra nefarious facet. This quest encompasses a spherical of fight sequences in opposition to some foes able to withstanding Coen’s talents in each his human and vampire types. It initially appeared commonplace fare for an RPG quest, however the place Dawnwalker differs is in how the hunt can change relying on the time of day and which type you tackle to finish it.
The main narrative hook carrying gamers ahead is the month-long time restrict, giving Coen solely a restricted interval to rescue his household. You may largely advance the day at your selecting, and Dawnwalker would not essentially stress you to make some time-specific selections. That stated, your strategy to development will very a lot affect the course of occasions in Coen’s journey – particularly with which facet of Coen is taking the lead. Time is actually a useful resource that you simply spend with every passing quest and exercise, and relying on what you do and while you do it.
The builders gave us a run of the preview’s predominant quest from two completely different sides, as each Coen’s human and vampire types. When taking part in because the latter, Dawnwalker shifts to a stealth-action playstyle, the place the protagonist should keep away from detection from guards and civilians. Coen’s vampire talents are additionally unleashed on this state, permitting gamers to stroll on partitions, teleport, and use blood talents and vampiric claws to chop down foes. And sure – you will additionally be capable of drain the blood from people, foe and non-combative alike, for stealth takedowns or outright executions.
I used to be impressed by how a lot the motion and pacing appeared like a mixture between The Witcher’s grand scope and the immersive-sim parts of Dishonored when seeing Coen in his vampire type – you’ll be able to actually leap throughout rooftops and get the leap on some foes, which was very satisfying to see. Nonetheless, it reveals how gamers must grapple with some ethical selections, as Coen, who must feed to take care of his vampire talents throughout the evening, should do. When you can feed on animals to supply some momentary aid, the bigger payout comes from human targets.
The vampire type appears to be like to current a extra direct and action-heavy strategy to participating with the quests. Nonetheless, Coen’s human type presents an fascinating distinction by focusing extra on investigation and tactical strategies. As a result of Coen can mix in with others in his human type, there are way more alternatives to have interaction with the completely different characters and uncover pathways for achievement with out the necessity for bloodshed. It was additionally fascinating to see how the characters react to realizing that vampires at the moment are accountable for the area and that life is, understandably, far worse off.
When issues pop off, fight reveals the stark variations in Dawnwalker’s playstyles. I adopted the tactical-action strategy, which looks like a mix of The Witcher 3’s versatile swords and sorcery fight move, mixed with the calculated nature of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s swordplay. It presents a chance for gamers to really feel highly effective as Coen, the place they’ve to take advantage of vulnerabilities. In his human type, Coen depends on his swordplay, together with devices and hex spells, to beat some enemies. Just like The Outer Worlds, you’ll be able to pull up a tactical menu to focus on an enemy to execute assaults that may stun foes or ship killing blows.
Fight will get a bit extra hectic when in Coen’s vampire type, which sees him unleash his supernatural blood-based talents. Along with his sword, Coen’s huge claws can tear into enemy defenses, and he can pull off fight finishers the place he can lay into foes. Nonetheless, Dawnwalker nonetheless presents some challenges with elite foes, such because the human Blood Guards who’ve armor and weapons to face as much as Coen’s vampiric talents, together with some extra harmful monsters and the rival vampires that may overpower the protagonist in case you’re not cautious.
An fascinating element that the builders highlighted throughout the presentation was that gamers may make a beeline to the first aim of the sport early on – consider how gamers may attempt to defeat Ganon within the opening hours of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nonetheless, the workforce acknowledged that it will be a problem to drag off, because the core recreation is all about powering up Coen with new gear and talents. Nonetheless, I’ll be curious to see if it will be doable for gamers to clear the marketing campaign early on in Coen’s journey.
I want we had extra of a chance to see what the bigger world could be like, however up to now, The Blood of Dawnwalker captures that feeling of navigating two completely different worlds as a half-vampire, which is a really compelling premise for a role-playing recreation. In comparison with The Witcher 3 or developer Dontnod’s Vampyr, The Blood of Dawnwalker captures that open-ended, freeform nature of basic role-playing video games like Gothic 1 and a pair of, which is thrilling to see. Hopefully, the total recreation will be capable of ship on the idea of a vampire RPG with some world-changing stakes.