Polish studio Rebel Wolves hasn't been shy about the influence of The Witcher 3 on their upcoming open-world vampire RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker. Having spent four hours with the game, I can confirm the resemblance is unmistakable, but it’s far from a simple clone. It packs a kit bag of original ideas and feels significantly more polished than a studio’s first blockbuster RPG has any right to be.
A Microcosm of Misery
The game’s tone is set immediately during a three-hour prologue that traps you in a small village. You play as Coen, who begins the story as a human living under the rule of Brencis, a “deteriorating husk” of a leader who is surprisingly liberal compared to his predecessors. While the village is free from the typical burdens of taxes and chores, there is one horrific catch: every full moon, the wraith-like Brencis requires every citizen to provide a pint of their blood.
This prologue serves as a perfect introduction to the game's choice-driven nature. You are tasked with finding medicine for your mother, Esme, who is catatonic with fear over the impending bloodletting. However, the village is teeming with other stories, and this is where The Blood of Dawnwalker introduces its most compelling feature: a strict time-management system.
Prioritizing the Apocalypse
Every day is split into eight segments. Almost every quest or activity you undertake consumes one or more of these segments. You have a limited window to spend in Coen’s hometown before the bloodletting ceremony, meaning you cannot possibly see everything. It functions somewhat like a more substantial version of the Persona calendar system. You are forced to prioritize based on your own temperament and interests rather than simply ticking off a list of sidequests, which makes the world feel incredibly reactive.
The misery of this 16th-century Romanian setting is pervasive. Whether you are dealing with a local lout or navigating a tense, Latin-infused conversation with the herbalist Anca, the game constantly challenges you to decide if subservience to a “suss but mostly accommodating” power is actually preferable to the horrors of resistance.
Combat: Human vs. Vampire
While the narrative and world-building are top-tier, the combat is a mixed bag. As a human, Coen utilizes a system reminiscent of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, focusing on directional sword strikes and blocks. It is a simulation of real swordplay that feels functional but ultimately a bit boring, especially when enemies take turns attacking you in packs.
However, the experience improves drastically once you tap into your vampiric side. Rebel Wolves clearly let their “freak flag fly” here. Beyond the ability to dash and warp behind enemies to feed, Coen can use his vampiric nature to planeshift onto walls and traverse surfaces vertically. Managing your blood consumption is vital; fail to feed, and you run the risk of perishing in the open world—or worse, accidentally draining a friendly NPC during a conversation.
With its gorgeously gothic art style and a grimy, unflinching narrative, The Blood of Dawnwalker is shaping up to be a standout title for 2026. Provided the final game allows me to talk my way out of as many fights as I did during this preview, it has all the makings of an RPG classic.