When a new game is created by developers that worked on The Witcher 3, it is impossible not to take notice. The Blood of Dawnwalker is the spiritual successor to The Witcher 3 in many of its functions; the first game by the newly found studio of Rebel Wolves. The action/adventure/RPG is ambitious, sprawling and story-focused as it tells the tale of Coen – human by day, vampire by night – on a mission to save his family from the tyrannic vampire ruler that turned him. New IPs in this genre often struggle to find their footing against the tried and true. Dawnwalker has an approach that shows confidence in its early hours, despite some graphical challenges and a combat system that takes time to hit its stride.The Blood of Dawnwalker is one of more unique games of 2026 thanks to a range of emergent decisions that keep players on their toes for 50+ hours. Does it have a chance to spawn a series and make the industry take notice? Read on.
The prologue hours of Dawnwalker are cut-scene heavy, though they are a clear highlight. Once the prologue is complete, Coen is unleashed upon a fairly large open world and the pace becomes more player-driven. Said cut-scenes are necessary as narrative is a core component of progression here. Feeling the emotion of Coen is essential, and this is well applied through the story beats in the prologue. The protagonist, antagonist, game world and lore are covered in great depth, ensuring that there is a solid foundation once all opens to the player and their choices. The game is not linear, therefore after those first 3-4 hours you can basically follow any questline that interests you in preparing for a battle with the end boss. Proceed via whatever takes your fancy, or try your luck before the 30 days runs out.
Dawnwalker’s point of difference to other open world, choice-based games is the day/night cycle that has you playing as either a normal human or a vampire. As a human, you’re fighting with your weapons and have a number of special move options to handle the enemies. These increase with levelling up and choosing skills from shrines. As a vampire, you can use your claws and another set of special moves (such as sucking blood, turning wolf, scaling walls etc.) to scare the pants off soldiers. Despite being a vampire by night, Coen feels just as vulnerable in combat until the stronger abilities are learned (you need to find scripts to unlock them as an option for purchase at a shrine). Regeneration is easier through the sucking technique, though the weapons feel the same. The R2 button operates as a dash that can transport short distances and Coen’s eyes have a glow, though the main indicator will be the separate clothing worn for perks into that class. It’s an interesting and somewhat original mechanic that ties into the narrative. Your time is evenly split here, and being a vampire was more fun due to the story opportunities and NPC reactions.
In this review, I want to discuss the pros in this paragraph and the areas that did not quite connect with me in the following section as there are very clearly elements in both categories here. To start with the pros, this game has one of the better stories of 2026 when considering its bookends (as the middle is largely dictated by you, this will vary depending on the player and pacing can be a challenge). Coen attempts to portray somewhat of the village everyman, as he does not feel overpowered or in the general ‘gruff’ model of many main characters in open world games despite his vampiric nature. He wants to save his family and shows a broad range of emotions in doing so, often dictated by your decisions. We feel his pain in those horrific early moments, and the odds against him seem real rather than manufactured. Every side mission has weight and a range of differing conclusions based on your choices as you can basically attack or remove anyone. Perhaps the best example if this is when a shivering text of ‘give into the hunger’ pops up during dialogue with an NPC, and the result is permanent. Knowing your decisions are final and filter into other aspects of the story does enhance the stakes and creates an environment of constant assessment.
There are two components that did not quite gel with me. The first is the combat. Now, anyone that has played The Witcher 3 knows that combat is far from a strength in that game also, despite being a clear masterpiece. Dawnwalker takes the approach of directional combat, not dissimilar to Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (though not as sim-focused or methodical). During one-on-one battles, the combat works well as you’re clearly engaging with a singular focus. Parrying feels clean. More than one opponent, and the blocks/dodges can be fighting against the camera angle and multiple enemies swinging in different directions. Thankfully, the game throws a heap of special abilities in to assist with the crowd control (be they vampire or human). Being able to blind the enemy, suck their blood for health, or use witchcraft provides a wide array of choice in how battles are approached. Though the general directional combat could use a bit more finesse to truly realise potential. Now, you can just hack and slash if preferred – though stamina will deplete rather quick in that model.
The other function that will work for some and not others is the time segments approach. Coen has 30 days to save his family, with each day and night made up of time segments. The clock is not always ticking, but completing missions or upgrading skills will see time segments lost in that 30-day cycle. This is very original and is much better than an actual ticking clock, though added a form of uncertainty every time I engaged with a mission (you cannot see all missions in a single run as there are not enough time segments to do so). A mission may state three time segments as I run on by. I want to engage with the best of the game’s content as the writing differs, yet also know that doing so would push me closer to the next day (turning into the opposite form, be it vampire or human). Am I missing one of the game’s best questlines if I don’t do it? Maybe missing a great NPC, or some beneficial loot? Impossible to know. I completed cannon-tier missions, and I completed general fetch quests. I saved NPCs, and I killed NPCs. The only way to know if these were higher or lower tier is to play again – which does serve replayability for those wanting to engage on another run, but a game as long as this may deter frequent checks of choices.
Performance – it must be noted that there will be a day one patch on PlayStation 5 (my place of play) for 60 FPS and therefore I do not want to be critical of being capped at 40 or under frames during my review play. There was also a patch implemented during the review period, when I was about 20 or so hours into the game. I didn’t notice much difference despite the patch being huge, outside of some stability factors. The facial animations need polishing, especially some of the prominent NPCs. There are rendering challenges that see regular pop-in or body parts moving through doors. Growing up on Bethesda games, none of this really bothers me too much as jank means there are many systems running together to enhance the open world. Yet still I am eager to see how the day one patch and performance mode may assist this process. As I will keep saying, there is huge potential here. I’ve seen countless games realise potential over a journey, and I would not be surprised if Dawnwalker becomes a cult hit. We’ve seen this before with Cyberpunk 2077.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is a game that has been hovering near the top of my 2026 anticipation list. While it has some issues in its package, there are components in story and the vampire abilities that provide exciting moments across 40-60 hours of play. Your enjoyment will depend on your connection to a solid story, combat feel and the use of time segments to progress across 30 days. The sounds can be visceral and stumbling across random occurrences always enhances the lived-in vibe of an open world. There is something here that may just need a few updates to realise its best form, yet I can’t help but be excited for where Rebel Wolves decides to place their time next.
Pros
Vampire vs human interplay works well
Interesting and engaging story
Clear The Witcher 3 DNA in questing
Cons
Combat can be limiting in hordes, though special abilities help
Time segments
Graphical output and rendering
