The Witcher collection actually did nicely to seize that sense of exploring a brutal fantasy world as a protagonist who knew tips on how to get their palms soiled. However within the upcoming darkish fantasy RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker, a brand new recreation from a crew 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 kind and beliefs, or one which embraces newfound powers as a half-vampire.
Simply forward of Gamescom 2025, we acquired 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 date, The Blood of Dawnwalker is placing forth some sturdy ideas for its tackle a dark-fantay RPG that is all about navigating two totally different worlds in crafty vogue.
A part of what makes vampires so compelling as horror characters is that they are often tragic figures. Having to cope with supernatural forces that doubtlessly 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 towards a strong 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 centered on a quest referred to 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 contains a spherical of fight sequences towards some foes able to withstanding Coen’s talents in each his human and vampire types. It initially appeared normal 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 kind 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’ll be able to largely advance the day at your selecting, and Dawnwalker would not essentially strain you to make some time-specific selections. That mentioned, your method 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 just spend with every passing quest and exercise, and relying on what you do and once you do it.
The builders gave us a run of the preview’s major quest from two totally different sides, as each Coen’s human and vampire types. When enjoying 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 seemed like a combination between The Witcher’s grand scope and the immersive-sim components of Dishonored when seeing Coen in his vampire kind – you possibly can 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. Whilst you can feed on animals to supply some short-term aid, the bigger payout comes from human targets.
The vampire kind seems to be to current a extra direct and action-heavy method to participating with the quests. Nonetheless, Coen’s human kind presents an attention-grabbing distinction by focusing extra on investigation and tactical strategies. As a result of Coen can mix in with others in his human kind, there are much more alternatives to interact with the totally different characters and uncover pathways for fulfillment with out the necessity for bloodshed. It was additionally fascinating to see how the characters react to realizing that vampires at the moment are in charge of 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 method, which looks like a mix of The Witcher 3’s versatile swords and sorcery fight circulation, 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 use vulnerabilities. In his human kind, Coen depends on his swordplay, together with devices and hex spells, to beat some enemies. Much like The Outer Worlds, you possibly can 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 kind, 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 for those who’re not cautious.
An attention-grabbing element that the builders highlighted throughout the presentation was that gamers might 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 crew said that it will be a problem to drag off, because the core recreation is all about powering up Coen with new gear and skills. Nonetheless, I’ll be curious to see if it’s going to be potential 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 can be like, however up to now, The Blood of Dawnwalker captures that feeling of navigating two totally 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 traditional 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.