The Blood of Dawnwalker

Mighty · 55 top critics · 60 articles · Sep 3, 2026

Rebel Wolves · Bandai Namco Entertainment

What critics said

I'm having a blast with the skills and directional blocking. The time limit doesn't rush me, but the meaningful day-and-night-cycle enriches the quests. And when I think I know what to expect in the open world, The Blood of Dawnwalker uses it's nonlinear structure for great surprises.

Explosion Network95

The Blood of Dawnwalker's story kept me captivated, but it was the world and its characters that made me reluctant to put the controller down.

CBR90

This world doesn’t want you to live in it, but instead, the compelling nature of it makes for another playthrough after beating the main story. It’s an outstanding victory for Rebel Wolves as it's an incredible first outing for them. The Blood of Dawnwalker is a day 1 purchase for any gamer out there.

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The Blood of Dawnwalker news

Here's A Look At All Four Graphics Modes In The Blood Of Dawnwalker On Xbox Series X|S

Three on Xbox Series X, one on Xbox Series S. One of the biggest releases of this week has been the open-world dark fantasy action RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker, and considering it has four graphics modes across Xbox Series X and S in all, we've been curious to see how it'd fare. As we often do, we're looking to Fuzion Xbox Testing for some initial footage of both the Series X and Series S versions of The Blood of Dawnwalker, and there are definitely some interesting insights to be gained from the

Pure Xbox

Trailer

I’m an ethical muncher in The Blood of Dawnwalker, which means I’ve forced poor Coen to slurp up nine million rats

Coen, the half-man and half-vampire protagonist of The Blood of Dawnwalker, doesn’t like chomping down on rats. I know this because he’s told me multiple times, after I’ve made him slurpily drain a rodent like it’s a furry Frube (other brands of tubed yoghurt are available). Sometimes he shudders a bit and makes noises of disgust. Other times he straight up says things like "This is not a nice thing to do". I know it’s not, farmboy whose family needs saving, but what’s the alternative?

Rock Paper Shotgun / Mark Warren

Preview

Blood of Dawnwalker's first patch offers relief from buggy tutorials and tight-lipped NPCs, but Rebel Wolves are still working on fixes for the stuttering and shader crash problems

Witcher-flavoured vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker has received its first post-launch patch, with developers Rebel Wolves dipping their fangs into a modest neckful of problems with blocked quest progression and general controller behaviour on PC. They've also taught a blacksmith a new recipe. Alas, the devs are still working on fixes for those problems with stuttering, PlayStation button-mapping, and shader compilation we covered last night. Still, at least your brother Lunka will no longer g

Rock Paper Shotgun / Edwin Evans-Thirlwell

Update

The Blood of Dawnwalker's Most Popular Mod Completely Defeats the Purpose of the Game

The Blood of Dawnwalker already has a time-altering mod that largely defeats the purpose of the game.

IGN / Cade Onder

Culture

The Blood of Dawnwalker: Feed Your Hunger Today!

Built from the ground up in-house at Rebel Wolves, The Blood of Dawnwalker is a brand-new action roleplaying game showcased here with a new launch trailer! If you missed it, here’s a quick look at the story, world, and powers you’ll master in Vale Sangora! What will the world say about you, Coen? Are you […] The post The Blood of Dawnwalker: Feed Your Hunger Today! appeared first on XBOX Wire.

Xbox Wire / Will Fulton, XBOX Wire Editor

Trailer

There's already a The Blood of Dawnwalker mod which triples the length of its main quest timer, ensuring saving your family from vampires isn't stressful

Why the rush, The Blood of Dawnwalker? Your protagonist Coen's family have only been kidnapped by a vampiric dictator who's slowly draining them of blood. Let the kid take his sweet time in finding a way to deliver them from the castle dungeon. After all, he's got a tonne of bandits he could be killing and other fun little adventures he could be stumbling across as he explores Vale Sangora. The good news for folks who don't like even the vague idea that they need to get a move on in their hero d

Rock Paper Shotgun / Mark Warren

Culture

Aiming to supercharge The Blood of Dawnwalker's early mods, Nexus Mods release their own "streamlined" open-source Unreal modding tools

The Blood of Dawnwalker, Rebel Wolves' vampire RPG with more than a touch of Witcher 3 running through its veins, is about to claw-slide down a wall into release street. Depending on where in the world you live, it'll either arrive late on September 2nd or first thing on September 3rd. Ahead of that, in a bid to accelerate modders' early attempts to put their own spin on the game, Nexus Mods have released some of their own open-source tools designed to cut some of the faff out of Unreal Engine m

Rock Paper Shotgun / Mark Warren

Announcement

The Blood of Dawnwalker Proves Unreal 5 Can Be Done Well

Just like with Star Wars Zero Company and Halo: Campaign Evolved, The Blood of Dawnwalker runs on Unreal Engine 5, and has been shockingly free of technical problems. The game doesn't have the same issues with crashing and stuttering that Zero Company has, and scales down a lot better than Halo: Campaign Evolved does, although I would still avoid running it on something like a handheld gaming PC.

IGN / Jacqueline Thomas

Preview

The Blood of Dawnwalker review - worthy to sip blood at the top RPGs' table

The moment I knew The Blood of Dawnwalker had it came when, not far in, one of the local peat diggers fell into a big hole. Tasked with finding him by his brother at the start of what seemed a fairly mundane early fetch quest, I rolled my eyes a bit as I slid in to try and locate the poor sod. He was, predictably, cowering in a corner of the cave complex. Right, now to get out of here and claim a lifetime supply of partially decayed vegetation. Wait, what was that noise? I’ll not spoil the rest

Rock Paper Shotgun / Mark Warren

Review

Roundup: Here's What The Critics Are Saying About The Blood Of Dawnwalker

It's reviewing very well! It's a busy day for review embargoes, with critics sharing their final verdicts on Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and now The Blood of Dawnwalker, and it looks like they're both bangers! <related ids="205690"> Read the full article on purexbox.com

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Review

The Blood of Dawnwalker Review: Witcher 3 veterans prove a focused RPG beats a bloated one

Rebel Wolves' 'debut' is an excellent, focused RPG with strong writing and no filler, though performance issues hold it back

VGC / Jordan Middler

Review

The Blood of Dawnwalker Review

This impressive, bloody cocktail is one of the year’s best open-world RPGs.

IGN / Tom Marks

Review

The Blood Of Dawnwalker Makes You Want To Do Everything–And Tantalizingly Won’t Let You

Very few of the many stories you'll encounter in The Blood of Dawnwalker end happily. It seems foolish to expect anything else from a dark, medieval action-RPG about a secluded valley ruled over by vampires who demand blood and subservience from its human populace. While hoping for anyone to get out unscathed is perhaps naive, it's impressive that developer Rebel Wolves manages to give just about every story enough depth and nuance to keep all that death and tragedy compelling all the way throug

GameSpot / Phil Hornshaw

Preview

The Blood of Dawnwalker review

CD Projekt Red alumni create a familiar dark fantasy adventure, but one with bold and provocative ideas of its own, that's mostly, enormously successful.

Eurogamer / Robert Purchese

Review

The Blood of Dawnwalker is getting a 60fps mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X, after all

The Blood of Dawnwalker developer Rebel Wolves recently offered a detailed look at the game's console version, specifically showing footage running at two different resolution and framerate targets.

Eurogamer / Sherif Saed

Announcement

The Blood Of Dawnwalker Adds Much-Requested 60FPS Performance Mode For Xbox Series X

"It was clear how much this mattered...". Last week, upcoming action RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker received quite a lot of negative attention when it was revealed at the game only had 30FPS and 40FPS modes to choose from on Xbox Series X and PS5, but the developer has also now confirmed that a third Performance Mode will be available with 60FPS gameplay at launch. The team says it was "clear how much this mattered" to fans and they'd been working on a 60FPS option anyway, but they were still testi

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Update

PS5 RPG Dawnwalker Actually Will Have 60FPS Mode, Part of Day One Patch

Rebel Wolves had it in testing. After revealing The Blood of Dawnwalker will only have a 30FPS Quality Mode and a 40FPS Balanced Mode at launch, developer Rebel Wolves has this morning rushed to confirm there actually will be a Performance Mode offering 60FPS. In a social media post, the team shared a Performance Mode that targets 60 frames-per-second will be available on day one, 3rd September 2026, via a day one update. It said it had been testing a Performance Mode, but it was not ready to pr

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Update

The Blood of Dawnwalker's console modes top out at 40fps, with no 60fps option at launch

New console gameplay from developer Rebel Wolves and publisher Bandai Namco has confirmed The Blood of Dawnwalker won't offer a 60fps mode on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S when it launches next month

Eurogamer / Vikki Blake

Announcement

The Blood Of Dawnwalker Has Three Performance Modes On Xbox Series X

Update: Make that three! We've timestamped the gameplay trailer to start at the beginning of the Xbox Series X performance mode specifications. Rebel Wolves has posted Xbox Series X gameplay for its upcoming RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker, revealing the two graphical modes you can expect when it launches on Xbox and other platforms on September 3rd. Read the full article on purexbox.com

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Trailer

The Blood Of Dawnwalker Has Two Performance Modes On Xbox Series X

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Trailer

The Blood Of Dawnwalker Has Two Performance Modes On Xbox Series X, But No 60FPS

Take a look at console footage. We've timestamped the gameplay trailer to start at the beginning of the Xbox Series X performance mode specifications. Rebel Wolves has posted Xbox Series X gameplay for its upcoming RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker, revealing the two graphical modes you can expect when it launches on Xbox and other platforms on September 3rd. Read the full article on purexbox.com

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Trailer

[UPDATE] The Blood of Dawnwalker Will Get 60fps Day One Patch on Console Following Fan Backlash

Following fan backlash, The Blood of Dawnwalker will now be receiving a day one patch on console, unlocking a 60fps performance mode.

IGN / Tom Phillips

Announcement

The Blood of Dawnwalker Won't Have 60FPS Mode on PS5 or Even PS5 Pro

Console footage shared online. Rebel Wolves has announced the graphical modes you can pick between in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and the standout news is that neither of the two settings provided offers 60 frames-per-second support on base PS5 or PS5 Pro. On both base PS5 and PS5 Pro, there are the same two modes to choose from: Read the full article on pushsquare.com

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Announcement

The Blood of Dawnwalker ‘Console Footage’ trailer

Publisher Bandai Namco and developer Rebel Wolves have released a five-minute trailer for open-world dark …

Gematsu / Sal Romano

Trailer

Still Not Sold on Dawnwalker? Dev Presents 'Everything You Need to Know' About the Open World RPG

Night by night. The Blood of Dawnwalker is probably the most anticipated RPG coming to PS5 right now, and with its 3rd September release date fast approaching, it's time for developer Rebel Wolves to orchestrate one last marketing push. To be fair, the studio's already marketed the hell out of Dawnwalker in partnership with publisher Bandai Namco up until this point — but if you're still not quite sold on the game, I'd recommend giving this overview video a watch. Read the full article on pushsq

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Trailer

‘I Have a Personal Vendetta Against Filler Content’ – How The Blood of Dawnwalker Makes Its Open World Feel Meaningful

Take a closer look at how developer The Blood of Dawnwalker developer Rebel Wolves made its open world meaningful through activity design and deep lore that rejects the idea of "filler content".

IGN / Matt Purslow

Interview

You can trade in your enemy's teeth to "bend" time in vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker, care of some really horrible Tooth Fairies

I've been vaguely looking forward to grotty dark fantasy RPG The Blood Of Dawnwalker, despite its genAI flirtations. To recap, it casts you as a medieval vampire fledgling whose family has been abducted by another, boss vampire. You've got 30 days and nights to save your loved ones while deciding just how much you're going to succumb to the gore-guzzling curse.

Rock Paper Shotgun / Edwin Evans-Thirlwell

Announcement

‘They Allow You to Play With The Time Limit’ - The Blood of Dawnwalker’s Fantasy Races Are Much More Interesting Than Elves and Goblins

The Blood of Dawnwalker doesn't have classic fantasy races like elves and dwarves, but it does have weird pixies who can manipulate the game's time system.

IGN / Matt Purslow

Interview

The Blood of Dawnwalker: Meet a Brand New Devious Creature in Fresh Gameplay

Check out some brand new quest gameplay from The Blood of Dawnwalker, featuring a devious pixie who's obsessed with teeth.

IGN / Matt Purslow

Trailer

Save-game carry-overs and time-leaping sequels: medieval vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker has some bold ideas for the future

It's Mass Effect all over again, maybe. You'll be able to carry your save from The Blood of Dawnwalker into future Dawnwalker games, developer Rebel Wolves and publisher Bandai Namco have confirmed.

Eurogamer / Robert Purchese

Announcement

You're probably not going to see everything your friend does in The Blood of Dawnwalker, and its director is just fine with that

The Blood of Dawnwalker is, if done well, a game that might not land with everybody. For one, there's the lack of a traditional main story quest, and then there's the fact that you only have 30 in-game days and nights to beat it. Neither are necessarily massively novel, the brilliant Unsighted, for example, also forces a timer upon you, but this is still a notable AAA game taking a risk. This thing likely won't have been cheap to make, and crafting a scenario where not everyone is going to exper

Rock Paper Shotgun / Oisin Kuhnke

Interview

The full Blood of Dawnwalker game will be released on disc, Bandai Namco and Rebel Wolves confirm

Promising new medieval vampire role-playing game The Blood of Dawnwalker will be, hallelujah, released on a good old fashioned disc.

Eurogamer / Robert Purchese

Release date

‘The Game Doesn’t End When You Run Out of Time’ – How The Blood of Dawnwalker’s 30 Day Countdown Works

When is a time limit not a time limit? The Blood of Dawnwalker's developers explain how the vampire RPG's fascinating time system works to encourage choice and consequence.

IGN / Matt Purslow

Interview

Anticipated RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker Goes Gold 7 Weeks Before PS5 Release

Dev's been working dusk till dawn. The release of The Blood of Dawnwalker on 3rd September signals the start of a hellish period for new games – heck, it’s out just 24 hours before Capcom’s new Onimusha effort. But it looks like dev Rebel Wolves is at least prepared for the chaos that’s about to ensue: the anticipated RPG has gone gold today, approximately seven weeks prior to release. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

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Release date

‘I’m Allergic to Antagonists Who Are Bad for the Sake of Being Bad’ – How The Blood of Dawnwalker’s Vampires Go Beyond Just Being Bosses

Ruling over The Blood of Dawnwalker's open world is the Vampire Court system, which responds and reacts to your choices as your dismantle Lord Brencis' bloodsucking operation.

IGN / Matt Purslow

Interview

A delayed next generation of consoles is "better for us", says The Blood of Dawnwalker director, as price rises continue to plague the industry

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the director of promising vampire-themed role-playing The Blood of Dawnwalker - and previously director of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - has said a delayed next-generation of consoles would be "better" for a studio like his.

Eurogamer / Robert Purchese

Interview

Witches, Swords, and Vampires: The Blood of Dawnwalker’s Skill Trees Explained

From making enemies explode to summoning flocks of hungry birds, there's many ways to defeat your foes in The Blood of Dawnwalker -- IGN First explores the RPG's deep skill trees and combat system.

IGN / Matt Purslow

Announcement

Roundup: Here's What The Previews Are Saying About The Blood Of Dawnwalker

Drawing comparisons to The Witcher. The first wave of previews for The Blood of Dawnwalker are out in the wild, and it's sounding pretty darned good. 'Dawnwalker' is being developed by Rebel Wolves, a relatively new-ish studio spearheaded by former CD Projekt Red developers. It's described as an open-world dark fantasy RPG that sees you wield supernatural powers to save your family as a hybrid human by day and vampire by night chappy. Read the full article on purexbox.com

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Preview

The Blood of Dawnwalker's most interesting mechanic took a bite out of my inner RPG completionist, who would've otherwise played hooky with a witch

Ignoring a quest becomes a roleplay option when the clock's ticking.

PC Gamer / Harvey Randall

Preview

You can complete medieval vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker even quicker than previously thought - before even the prologue ends

You can finish medieval vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker even sooner than previously thought: it isn't just possible to end the game after the prologue, you can do it in the prologue too. (Beware, there are some prologue spoilers ahead.)

Eurogamer / Robert Purchese

Guide

I played 4 hours of The Blood of Dawnwalker and it borrows a heck of a lot from The Witcher 3, for good and bad

This vampyric adventure has The Witcher coursing through its Bloodlines.

PC Gamer / Shaun Prescott

Preview

Round Up: Ridiculously Positive Dawnwalker Previews Claim It's a Game of the Year Candidate

The next great RPG? A fresh round of previews for The Blood of Dawnwalker have just gone live, and they're glowing. I think that comes as a bit of a surprise, in all honesty. The RPG, spearheaded by former CD Projekt Red developers, has always shown promise, but some of these write ups go as far as to say that it's a genuine Game of the Year candidate. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

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Preview

After four hours playing The Blood of Dawnwalker, I've seen combat, romance, intrigue - it's got the makings of being 2026's breakout RPG

I've played four hours of the hugely promising The Blood of Dawnwalker now which, if you don't know yet, is the new vampire-themed role-playing project led by the person who directed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. He formed a new studio, Rebel Wolves, and enticed a bunch of other CD Projekt Red people to help him, and this is their first game. I've written about it quite a lot; I saw 90 minutes of The Blood of Dawnwalker back in April, the difference being that now, I've actual

Eurogamer / Robert Purchese

Preview

The Blood of Dawnwalker: unique time-driven quest system and player choice detailed

The world has gotten very small for you and your family, Coen. It was never a grand world to begin with, tied as you all were to your farm in the tiny village of Laslea, but with the arrival of the plague, your sister’s illness, and then the vampires, it has shrunk even further. When […]

PlayStation Blog / Elissa Dukes

Announcement

Blood of Dawnwalker instantly became one of my most anticipated games after four hours of play

The director of The Witcher 3 returns with one of 2026's most promising RPGs

VGC / Jordan Middler

Preview

The Blood of Dawnwalker Interview - Crafting a Multifaceted Narrative Sandbox

The Blood of Dawnwalker developers detail the winding process and challenges with creating a narrative sandbox for the modern world.

TechRaptor / Erren Van Duine

Interview

The Blood of Dawnwalker Let Me Be a Vampire, Detective, and Witch Lover in the Space of 4 Hours

We went hands-on with The Blood of Dawnwalker to explore its open world, drink its NPCs' blood, and romance the local witch.

IGN / Matt Purslow

Preview

The Blood of Dawnwalker: Dead and Loving It

The post The Blood of Dawnwalker: Dead and Loving It appeared first on XBOX Wire.

Xbox Wire / Will Fulton, XBOX Wire Editor

Preview

The Blood of Dawnwalker is a Wide Open RPG for the Ages

The Blood of Dawnwalker is shaping up to be one of the more exciting offerings this year. With loads of choice, questing, and exploration, we've only seen the barest hint of everything this RPG has to offer.

TechRaptor / Erren Van Duine

Preview

The Witcher 3 Vibes Are Inescapable in New Dawnwalker Quest Gameplay

Old dawn. Eight minutes of new, uncut gameplay from The Blood of Dawnwalker has been shared by IGN — and it's very reminiscent of The Witcher 3's quest design. In the video, lead character Coen delves into a cave to find a missing man, who of course is just some hapless peasant with questionable survival skills. Read the full article on pushsquare.com

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Trailer

The Blood of Dawnwalker: 8 Minutes of Quest Gameplay | IGN First

See Coen's investigation and fighting skills on full display in this quest gameplay from The Blood of Dawnwalker.

IGN / Matt Purslow

Trailer

The Blood of Dawnwalker Preorders Are Live, Here’s What Comes in Each Edition

Preorders have dropped for The Blood of Dawnwalker. Here's where you can secure a copy ahead of its release on September 3 alongside a breakdown of what comes in each edition.

IGN / Hannah Hoolihan

Release date

The Blood of Dawnwalker Will “React” to Players’ Decisions and Make Them “Live With Those Choices”

Writer Piotr Kucharski said there are "no points of good and bad" in the upcoming RPG, but that everything will impact players' stories The post The Blood of Dawnwalker Will “React” to Players’ Decisions and Make Them “Live With Those Choices”

This Week in Video Games / Maddie Agne

Interview

PS5 RPG Dawnwalker Pulls a Witcher 3 with Free DLC Drops

More content after launch. Rebel Wolves seems to have seriously big plans for The Blood of Dawnwalker, with a recent trailer basically announcing sequels will travel to different time periods. It is quite the pitch for a debut developer, but before it can even get to those follow-ups, the developer has revealed it'll be supporting the first game post-launch with free DLC drops. As the studio is made up of developers who worked on The Witcher 3 at CD Projekt RED, the leads look to be emulating wh

Push Square

Update

'All You Need to Do Is Storm the Castle': Dawnwalker Director Stresses Player Choice in PS5 RPG

"Almost every quest in the game is like a side quest". Role-playing expectations for The Blood of Dawnwalker have been high ever since its announcement, primarily thanks to the fact that the game is being spearheaded by ex-Witcher 3 creatives. Up until now, developer Rebel Wolves has stressed the title's commitment to choice and consequence, but a new Game Informer interview arguably gives us our best insight yet, especially when it comes to understanding the team's approach to building a proper

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Interview

Don't Worry, PS5 RPG Dawnwalker's Got a Range of Difficulty Options Despite Its Hardcore Design

Darkest before dawn. The Blood of Dawnwalker is set to be a fairly hardcore role-playing experience, promising meaningful choice and consequence across a time-sensitive structure. It's also supposed to have some rather challenging combat encounters. But if, for whatever reason, that all sounds a bit too demanding for your tastes — or simply not demanding enough — then you should know that developer Rebel Wolves has stuffed a bunch of difficulty settings into the game. Read the full article on pu

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Announcement

Don't Worry, Dawnwalker's Got a Range of Difficulty Options Despite Its Hardcore RPG Design

Push Square

Announcement

'I'm Tired of Games That Are Too Big': Open World RPG Dawnwalker Doesn't Want to Waste Your Time

Fangs very much. Are you sick of games that are just a bit too big and bloated for their own good? Well, The Blood of Dawnwalker will hopefully appeal to your tastes, as its creative director shares a similar opinion. Speaking to GamesRadar, Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz — who previously worked as lead quest designer on both The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 at CD Projekt Red, it should be noted — reveals that he's a huge fan of more focused settings that better reflect a player's actions. Read the full

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Interview

In the dark fantasy world of The Blood of Dawnwalker, even the vampires are morally grey: 'They are complex, and they are not one dimensional'

You can't judge a book by its enormous, jutting fangs.

PC Gamer / Robin Valentine

Interview

The freeform structure of The Blood of Dawnwalker means "it is absolutely possible to skip everything" and beat the game immediately, providing you're skilled enough

Much has been made of the freeform structure of dark fantasy vampire role-playing game The Blood of Dawnwalker, a game that famously has no main quest. There's an overarching goal to rescue your family from the evil clutches of vampires before 30 days and 30 nights are out, but when you do it, or even if you do it, are decisions entirely left to you.

Eurogamer / Robert Purchese

Announcement