Last updated on October 9, 2026
Eleven years ago, The Witcher 3 was the game I wanted most, and it raised the bar for the whole industry. Plenty of studios have chased that magic since, including CD Projekt Red itself, whose Cyberpunk 2077 launched as a bitter disappointment for fans and for the team. In my opinion, The Blood of Dawnwalker is the only game that comes close to the early glory of CD Projekt Red. That is a bold claim, so here is my full The Blood of Dawnwalker review, built on hours of play and a healthy dose of skepticism.
A quick confession first. I am not a huge fan of open world RPGs that hand you story choices at every turn. I prefer a set story that still surprises me through the decisions of its characters.
A tired vampire fantasy that surprised me
Rebel Wolves reportedly poured millions into marketing, with trailers two or three times a year, ads, social media posts and paid creators. Even so, I saw very little excitement around the game before playing. The footage looked mediocre to me, and the dark vampire look felt dull and overused.
After several hours, my opinion changed. The game is not perfect, and I am not sure I would call it very good, yet the work behind it and its real strengths outweigh the negativity most players will bring to it.
Combat, skills and the ticking clock
Let me be fair to the genre. The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk and Gothic never had exceptional combat. Their loops are simple, and the gameplay always felt secondary next to the money spent on narrative. Dawnwalker tries to do more, with three fighting styles: swordplay, magic and shapeshifting. Each one has its own skill tree, and the vampiric shapeshifting abilities sit in a separate category from magic.
In practice you are pushed toward two of them. You fight as a human with a sword during the day, then tear enemies apart with claws at night. Magic feels like a third wheel. It is fun to use, but it works mostly as a distraction.
The execution is where things get rough. Combat leans heavily on directional parrying, so you push the stick or mouse toward the incoming attack and then press parry. The idea is interesting, but it feels clunky. Enemy follow up AI is poor, lock on does not behave properly, and groups can trap you even when you try to escape. Koen also keeps snagging on pebbles, barrels and walls. Enemy variety is okay. It does not reach the diversity of Black Myth: Wukong or Crimson Desert, but there are plenty of enemies and bosses to learn.
Parkour and climbing are among the worst mechanics I have met recently. I got stuck often, ran out of stamina and fell to my death more than once.
The most interesting system is the time limit. You are trying to save your family, but the antagonist keeps them alive for only 30 days. You can even attack the final boss in the first five minutes and get a different ending, which reminded me of Far Cry. On the intended path, time passes as you complete activities. Each day has eight time segments, and some quests eat three or four of them at once, leaving only half a day or night. Some activities cost nothing, like hunting a wolf pack or facing the ghost that killed Koen’s uncle. Without side quests, the main path can be finished in about 15 days.
Dark fantasy visuals and technical issues
As an open world RPG, the game leans naturally into fantasy, and more precisely dark fantasy, the most popular look in big budget titles right now. I enjoy it as long as it avoids excessive gore, though I would love to see more creativity in the genre.
Visually, Dawnwalker looks striking on Unreal Engine 5. It is not the most next generation game around and it does not reach the standard set by Black Myth: Wukong, but the Romanian inspired aesthetic suits it very well, from character design to creatures to architecture.
Bugs are frequent. I noticed problems with lighting, shadows and foliage. The most annoying issues are abrupt landscape changes and heavy chunk loading between scenes. I believe a patch or two could fix most of them.
Sound design and soundtrack
The audio deserves major credit. Blades, parries, dodges, footsteps and beheadings all sound fantastic, and they make combat far more satisfying than it should be. I would say the audio alone lifts the combat from a 6 to an 8.
The music matters even more, because everyone will compare this game to The Witcher 3. Rebel Wolves exceeded my expectations here, and the soundtrack makes exploring the world easier and more engaging.
Koen’s story and choices
I judged the story as someone who knew only the main goal. You play Koen, who must save his family from the Alpha Vampire or watch them die. You can decide whether to save them or let them go.
The game has multiple endings, and your choices change your relationship with each character, a bit like classic Bethesda RPGs and Baldur’s Gate 3. Koen is the eldest son, with a preset personality and lines that stay partly human. He soaks up the worst of the family’s trauma and rarely complains. You still shape him as stoic, cruel, kind hearted, or indifferent and eager to escape his burdens.
More choices do not automatically mean a better story, but the dialogue is well written and distinctive, and I was reluctant to skip conversations. I had not finished even half of the content when I wrote this, yet I had already learned to butcher a pig, lie convincingly, kill giant leeches and be patient with elderly people, who gave me far more than I expected.
Final verdict
The Blood of Dawnwalker is a perfect fit for The Witcher fans and for anyone who has never tried an open world RPG where every choice can change the story. My complaints are limited to the combat systems and the bugs that can disrupt the experience.
The price is $70, which is high for a debut studio, but the quality justifies it. If anything I wrote sounds like you, I recommend it with confidence.
Final score: 8/10
I’m passionate about books and video games. These two great passions represent, for me, a boundless universe where I can “escape” from reality whenever I need or want to. There are so many stories, worlds, and landscapes where I can instantly teleport that I don’t think a whole lifetime would be enough to explore them all (though it would be my greatest dream to be able to).
