The Blood of Dawnwalker Reviews
The Blood of Dawnwalker is a truly solid experience in almost every respect, winning you over with its narrative identity, nocturnal pacing, and bold design choices.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Blood of Dawnwalker has a great story and ideas, but repetitive combat and frustratingly undercooked systems leave it feeling less than the sum of its parts.
The Blood of Dawnwalker turns its brilliant day-and-night duality and limited-time structure into meaningful choices at every step. Memorable characters, rewarding combat and remarkable replay value make Rebel Wolves' debut one of the finest open-world RPGs in years.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Blood of Dawnwalker's rough edges and technical issues hold it back, but its 30-day time system, meaningful quests, satisfying combat, and vampire-human duality make it a compelling debut.
The Blood of Dawnwalker will suit gamers looking for a serious, immersive dark fantasy role-playing game with choice-making elements and a vampire-themed environment, rather than one that simply includes vampires. There will be no denying that the game has some flaws, in particular, in terms of combat diversity and traversal. However, the game's best mechanics work together rather than separately.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is a game with tremendous potential. Whilst it’s impossible to ignore the significant influence of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, The Blood of Dawnwalker has established more than enough of its own identity to stand out. It’s a must-play for fans of the (dark fantasy) RPG genre.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
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.
Review in German | Read full review
The Blood of Dawnwalker is an impressive start to a new RPG saga by Rebel Wolves. With veterans of the genre behind the game, I went in with high hopes. The many systems introduced in this new adventure had me worried at first, but the game introduces everything naturally and at a steady pace, leaving plenty of room for the excellent narrative to shine. Those still having doubts can safely invest in The Blood of Dawnwalker. Just know that you won’t only be investing Time Segments in-game, but likely plenty of your own time in real life as well.
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.
"It is impossible to experience everything in The Blood of Dawnwalker in a single playthrough, and because so many things are time-sensitive, you’ll come across different results. There really is no wrong way to play this game, and that in and of itself is remarkable.
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.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is a gorgeous, ambitious RPG that gives you an incredible world to explore, meaningful choices to make and a fantastic vampire fantasy that feels genuinely different from anything else out there. While the lack of New Game Plus, no post-game free roam and the possibility of rushing through the story hold it back slightly, this is still an exceptional RPG and one of the biggest surprises of the year.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is a very specific RPG title. A game that was genuinely just a step away from effortlessly ranking among the best projects of this year. With future patches and updates, it might still get there. Until then, however, it remains a game held back from the top by one fundamental flaw: the developers' fear of taking their risky ideas and diving headfirst with them into the unknown. Dawnwalker ultimately teases players with the cool concepts hidden up its sleeve without ever truly playing its hand. This is evident whether you look at the fundamentally great combat system - dragged down by poor enemy and equipment variety - or the time mechanic, which doesn't impact the gameplay nearly as much as it could nor should.
Review in Czech | Read full review
The Blood of Dawnwalker is both what we expected and what we feared: an RPG rooted in familiar structural mechanics that tries to branch out with a couple of fresh design ideas. The touch of Rebel Wolves, a team largely made up of former CD Projekt Red employees, is most evident in the writing: the world-building, lore, and plot are compelling and satisfying, keeping you glued to the controller for hours. Centered around Coen are the sandbox element and the 30-day mechanic, two bold choices that pay off in replayability and a sense of consequence, even if the promised freedom is only partially realized. The result is a debut that’s at times captivating and enjoyable, but with the typical flaws of a first effort.
Review in Italian | Read full review
With their debut title, Rebel Wolves were able to craft an outstanding and unconventional RPG rooted in granting player freedom and variety across most of its elements. The studio also built an intriguing world backed by masterfully told lore; however, a few flaws in open-world design and enemy variety kept The Blood of Dawnwalker from reaching excellence.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
The Blood of Dawnwalker feels like a visitor from an alternate universe, where all of the energy, creativity, and craftsmanship we associate with The Witcher instead went into the creation of this weird, unique vampire tale. Despite the obvious Witcher influences, it feels unlike anything else I’ve played, and is easily one of the year’s finest RPGs.
While the bar isn't exceptionally high bar, it's worth saying that The Blood of Dawnwalker is undoubtedly the best vampire game ever. Some systems perhaps promise more depth than they can actually deliver. But, as a whole, Dawnwalker is an intriguing open-world RPG, with more than enough unique ideas to sink your fangs into.
One thing is clear: The Blood of Dawnwalker definitely doesn’t suck. In fact, after over 50 hours with The Blood of Dawnwalker, I’d go as far as saying it’s one of the best RPGs I’ve played this year. It just has some teething problems…
The Blood of Dawnwalker is an easy recommendation whether you come from The Witcher 3 or any other RPG from the modern era. It delivers on many of its promises, offering excellent combat, a dense open world with a lot to seek, and an interesting story that presents a likeable protagonist. However, it’s underdeveloped villains, 30-day mechanic, and glaring technical issues prevent it from hitting the mark.
It’s not The Witcher 3. It doesn’t need to be. Dawnwalker has its own blood type and a unique RPG-ing taste that’s anything but vein-illa. Despite the occasional technical anaemia, there’s enough life in it to suggest Rebel Wolves could eventually sire a truly monstrous series from this.