The Blood of Dawnwalker is Born From Familiar Hands

Drawing comparisons to The Witcher is no small feat, but for Rebel Wolves, a studio stacked with CD Projekt veterans, that heritage offers a firm foundation. Their debut project, The Blood of Dawnwalker, aims to push role-playing storytelling forward while embracing familiar fantasy elements.

Set in 14th-century Europe, the game imagines a world where the Vrakhiri, or vampires, rose during the Black Death to seize power. Humanity’s history has been rewritten in their shadow. Players embody Coen, the titular Dawnwalker, who balances human strength by day and vampiric abilities by night. At Gamescom 2025, a closed-door, hands-off demo offered a glimpse into the grim yet alluring adventure ahead.

Dual Paths Through Darkness and Daylight

In the demo, Coen sought the sacred sword of Saint Mihai within the Svartrau Cathedral. His vampiric side grants shadow-walking and teleportation, letting him slip past guards and unlock hidden entrances. Inside, a fresco revealed not only the relic but also Mihai’s cryptic symbol.

Combat soon followed. Mixing real-time action with a more methodical pace, The Blood of Dawnwalker encourages timing and strategy alike. The developers call it “adaptive flow,” allowing players to either take precise control of parries and claws or let the system take care of the heavy lifting for a smoother experience.

The demo then shifted to a daytime approach. Here, bustling NPCs filled the streets, their routines grounded in the period setting. Rather than sneaking, Coen confronted a deacon for access to the cathedral’s library. To earn his trust, Coen had to investigate the nearby asylum, where plague victims were sealed away. There he found Radu, a failed Vrakhiri convert, forcing him into a grim battle. Necromancy allowed him to interrogate corpses for answers, adding depth to exploration and role-playing choices.

Lore, Bosses, and the Weight of Choice

Exploration extends far beyond main quests. In the library, lore-rich texts helped piece together clues to Mihai’s resting place. Venturing underground revealed a shocking twist: Saint Mihai still lived, cursed as a fellow Dawnwalker. Resurrected each night and killed each day, Mihai begged Coen to seek the Augurs after a desperate boss fight.

These narrative beats highlight the game’s emphasis on consequences. Every encounter — whether through stealth, dialogue, or combat — pushes Coen further into a world that is as tragic as it is dangerous.

Why The Blood of the Dawnwalker Matters

The preview demonstrated a rich blend of atmosphere, lore, and flexibility. With two distinct approaches to quests — one rooted in stealth and vampiric powers, the other in human interaction and diplomacy — players are free to carve their own path. The time pressure of saving Coen’s family ensures urgency, while the dual nature of the Dawnwalker sets the stage for compelling storytelling.

Visually, The Blood of Dawnwalker is steeped in gothic atmosphere. Cathedrals, asylums, plague-ridden towns, and forests all feel lived-in and authentically medieval. Rebel Wolves’ focus on detail is evident, whether it’s NPC routines by day or eerie silence by night.

The combination of dual gameplay approaches, adaptive combat, and deep lore positions this as a game with enormous potential. While the preview only scratched the surface, The Blood of the Dawnwalker already shows the ambition and craft of a studio eager to deliver another landmark RPG.

With its grim setting, tragic characters, and vampire-infused mechanics, this could be the next great gothic RPG — a spiritual cousin to The Witcher, yet very much its own beast.

The Blood of Dawnwalker will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC in 2026.