Coolly serves the most well liked information tales and has performed, we predict, each recreation ever made.
Printed: July 7, 2026
The very best praise I pays The Blood of Dawnwalker is that the moments the place it least looks like The Witcher 3 are these the place it pushes above and past its closest level of comparability. I have been given however a style of the upcoming RPG from Insurgent Wolves, and but it is develop into that first drop of blood to a newly minted vampire – leaving me scratching and clawing at my calendar, determined to sink my fangs into the full-bodied expertise. Vicious, superb, and uncompromising in its imaginative and prescient, I am now satisfied that is going to be probably the most talked-about video games by the point the yr is out.
Insurgent Wolves now numbers 160 builders, however a lot of its key figures are veterans of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt Purple, proper right down to Recreation Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who was beforehand one of many leads for The Witcher 3. The workforce is not shy of that heritage. From the query marks dotting the map, to Coen’s capability to scour the atmosphere for clues with a monochromatic investigation filter, and even the way in which dialogue choices are introduced as yellow if they will transfer the dialog ahead and white if they will not, this can be a setup that can really feel instantly acquainted to Witcher followers.
Finally, nonetheless, these are minor presentation notes, and why repair what is not damaged? The place The Blood of Dawnwalker stands aside is the place it really issues: in its escalation of selection and consequence to inform a player-driven story that ought to really feel distinctive to everybody, and in a frantic fight system that had me grinning from ear to ear, at the same time as I fell to Murohn the Malformed Monstrosity for the fourth try in a row. It is a recreation that had me continuously reaching for the quick-save key, and but was nonetheless in a position to push me into conditions and selections I wasn’t absolutely comfy with.
Earlier than I get too deep into that, let’s set the scene. We’re in 14th-century Vale Sangora, a fictional area within the Carpathian Mountains pulling from Slavic and Balkan influences. The world is within the vice grip of a robust vampire – a Vrakhir, in Dawnwalker’s parlance – known as Brencis. Every month, he visits your village for a easy however unrefusable commerce: a font filled with blood, taken ‘willingly’ from all of the adults, every paid in return with a sip of his personal, which is able to curing all ailments.
That is of little consolation to protagonist Coen and his household, nonetheless. The Vrakhiri blood can not help Coen’s mom Esme, who’s affected by psychological trauma and refusing to eat. That is the place our story begins, with a determined plea to native herbalist Anca, who prepares a stronger drink to get Esme via the upcoming Blood Mass. It should value twice what we normally pay; I am unable to afford this, and I inform Anca as a lot. Reluctantly, however warmly, she lets it slide for the cheaper price. She additionally invitations me to remain some time and catch up, at which level the sport informs me this can double the time my go to takes.
Time is the whole lot in The Blood of Dawnwalker. It does not progress robotically, however somewhat with each key motion you’re taking – the whole lot from advancing a aspect quest to studying a brand new ability comes with an hourglass rely. Eight of those make a day, and one other eight the night time, with the world on a continuing cycle. I’ve to assist my mom and be at Blood Mass by sunset, so I reluctantly decline the supply. Even on this introductory phase, there are much more actions than I’ve time to finish, and talking to others on the preview occasion it turns into clear that what you select to do issues. Some choices really feel so instantly important to me, nonetheless, that my typical selection paralysis barely even rears its head.
Esme makes it to Blood Mass, and is ready to supply her requisite blood, however not earlier than Brencis clocks that she’s struggling. “It seems this herd shall quickly want culling,” he snarls. Coen can not help it; he snaps again: “Monster.” Brencis gives a chilling response: “Offend me ever once more, younger man, and also you shall discover out I actually am one.” At this level, I will fast-forward us barely and set up that this pointed risk does not take too lengthy to manifest, leading to Coen’s life being torn aside; his household are snatched away to captivity in Greifberg Citadel, and his physique is twisted into a brand new kind.
The Vrakhiri transformation bestowed upon you does not take because it ought to, leaving you half vampire, half human – a Dawnwalker. This is not underneath your management; it is tied on to that day/night time cycle, forcing you to suppose well about your actions and while you select to undertake sure actions. In the dead of night, conventional meals and medication do nothing for you. Your solely technique of therapeutic is to drink blood, whether or not human or animal. Fail to take action, and you will start to succumb to your primal instincts.
This could have severe ramifications – whereas in dialog with different characters, dialogue decisions will start to flicker: “Give in to the starvation.” Mistakenly click on one in every of these – or develop so thirsty that your different choices merely fade away altogether – and also you would possibly end up going to chow city on somebody you’d somewhat have stored round. Inside mere minutes, I used to be desperately snatching at rats on the bottom, draining one after one other dry in an try to maintain myself from extra severe penalties.
The excellent news is that you simply achieve some highly effective skills as a Vrakhir – we’re speaking prompt teleportation and strolling on partitions and ceilings, and that is simply what you be taught 5 minutes in. Peering on the ability tree I see the potential to be taught thoughts management, a blood-fuelled rage mode known as “Crimson Rush,” instant-kill strikes on enemies beneath me, and even the power to shapeshift right into a wolf any time I am operating in regards to the world. From night time one, unleashing the vampire inside feels immensely releasing, giving me quick access to places I might be awkwardly locked out of in human kind.
That does not imply Coen is powerless within the daytime. Beneath the steerage of Anca – shock, she’s truly a witch – I am taught magical skills, earned by carving hexes into my pores and skin. Once more, Dawnwalker wastes no time in beginning small; my first trick is the power to compel the lifeless to talk. This would possibly not harm, Anca emphasizes, though she warns that it comes with an unshakable trauma that will not quickly depart. Why did she be taught it, then? “To see if I might – it appeared thrilling,” she responds, with a grim sarcasm. “Curiosity, well-known killer of cats.”
Each your Witchcraft and Vampirism powers supply loads of methods to amplify your battlefield potential, however Dawnwalker’s actual ace is its directional fight. Each assault you ship comes from the left, proper, prime, or backside, and each block or dodge should be angled to match these of your enemies. It is not the primary of its kind, however the implementation is classy – I am taking part in on mouse and keyboard, and after a couple of flubbed makes an attempt I am dancing out and in of teams. It does not depend on heavy animation locks, so you possibly can shortly shift gears to counter an incoming risk, and while you get it proper you’re feeling unimaginable.
The motion is relentless and deadly, nonetheless, even on the usual issue, and quick-save shortly turns into my greatest good friend. Stronger enemies, such because the aforementioned Murohn, throw out strikes in speedy succession, and having to cope with even three enemies without delay forces you to think twice about your positioning. One factor is definite: it is completely exhilarating. The successes and the errors are mine. It is the type of battle system the place even after dying three or 4 occasions to the identical encounter, I am gleefully smacking the reload key and operating again in for extra. Combating was at all times extra a necessity than a pleasure in The Witcher 3, however right here it is presumably my favourite a part of the sport.
If the chaos will get an excessive amount of, you possibly can block with out a directional enter, which ensures a secure response however at the price of extra stamina. For those who’re much less of a fighter, there are accessibility options to mitigate the problem additional, equivalent to the power for incorrect directional inputs to nonetheless work with a stamina penalty, or the liberty to entry your full stock of consumables mid-combat, not solely these in your fast slots. Must you choose to make issues tougher, you possibly can cover the directional enter indicators, forcing you to depend on watching animations alone – the hardest issue setting additionally allows this, and makes the motion extra deadly for each Coen and his opponents.
Dawnwalker’s dialogue comes out swinging in comparable vogue. I am often introduced with a number of methods to deal with a scenario, and the optionally available beats strike steadiness of informative and chatty, together with a number of strains that I intentionally keep away from choosing for role-playing functions. One facet that lands significantly properly is the power to embrace vulnerability: “I am scared,” I’ve Coen inform Anca as she makes an attempt to parse what’s occurring inside his physique. There’s actual humanity at play right here, most notably with the dynamic between this explicit pair, and I discover myself hanging onto each phrase.
Previous to the Blood Mass, I took a second to show the youngsters to fish, which became a tense standoff with one in every of Brencis’s troopers. Thankfully, his senior arrives: Uriash, a gruff beastman. “I give orders. You observe.” The leering guardsman is pressured to face down from his threats. Uriash fingers us a small present for our younger sister Lunka: he tells us he does not need to must kill individuals. “Valley massive. Large enough for all.” It is an unexpectedly candy second, and far the identical subversion of expectations that The Witcher 3 usually delivered so properly.
Later, I stumble onto some farmland at night time, on the lookout for the cousin of an confederate of Coen’s. This seems to be a mistake: the place is crawling with guards. One asks Coen’s title. I deflect, he persists. I try a bluff with my younger brother’s title: “I am Mirto, sir, an area farmhand.” Sadly, his companion remembers it as one in every of their captives. Thankfully, I can persuade him that it is commonplace, and am let off with a warning. Elsewhere, I stumble into one other soldier camp, and one attracts metal with a shout, solely to loosen up after I shortly flip tail and step away. There is a pleasing nuance to those encounters, the form of ‘dancing round hazard’ that makes poking the boundaries of Hitman really feel so good.
Again to the story, and within the wake of Coen’s transformation, he learns that Brencis plans to maintain his household in captivity for 30 days and 30 nights, prepared for his grand coronation. Insurgent Wolves notice that the sport does not instantly finish after this deadline – you are free to maintain taking part in and exploring the world – however it’s a arduous line within the sand, limiting how lengthy it’s important to put together to your assault on Greifberg Citadel. Exterior of that most important purpose, the whole lot else you select to pursue is as much as you.
You’ll be able to collect allies, you possibly can work to construct your individual power and expertise, however you can’t do all of it. “You’ll not unlock the whole lot in a single playthrough,” Tomaszkiewicz tells me on the occasion. “Giving this freedom to the gamers, the way in which of shaping their character and expertise via the sport, I believe that this is essential. As a result of on the one hand, you have to settle for that individuals won’t see the whole lot we created in a single playthrough – that is for certain. However alternatively it provides a variety of potentialities, a variety of replay potential, and a variety of conversations between the gamers. We can’t wait to learn and see what individuals will do.”
You might, if you’d like, throw all of that apart and head straight for the fort. “It is doable, however arduous as hell,” Tomaskiewicz remarks. He motions to the truth that I’ve already confronted Brencis in battle through the prologue – an encounter that did not go properly for me, to place it calmly. Had I defeated him there, he says, my mission would have already been a hit. Surroundings Artist Adam Payet provides, “If you consider it, within the village, he is simply in a village, not in his fort. A considerably extra defensible place, the place all of his generals are.” Level taken: I will have my work minimize out for me to prepare for this one.
Insurgent Wolves appears keen to routinely throw you into the fireplace and see for those who’re ready. Whereas making the natural concoction for my mom, I am requested for the right steps to take, and notice that I’ve didn’t learn the recipe guide as instructed. I take the most secure choice: I hit Escape and cargo my most up-to-date save. It is the coward’s manner out this time, however be warned that you’re going to be requested to make use of some instinct from time to time; even as soon as I’ve studied the right technique, I’ve to really bear in mind it when placing the method into observe.
With The Blood of Dawnwalker, the studio has executed a wonderful job of placing its personal distinctive spin on its mythos, crafting a story that feels contemporary and thrilling. Its characters really feel properly grounded on the planet, and its selections carry a weight that ensures you will need to make each final second rely. On the identical time, the extreme motion had me prepared and keen to face each encounter head-on. As the ultimate minutes of my hands-on time tick away, I am left charging throughout the panorama in my newfound wolf kind, on the lookout for any hassle I can discover, simply to get one final style of its chic swordplay.
I am going to shut by touching briefly on efficiency, simply to say that I bumped into no points throughout my preview time. I used to be clearly on a reasonably managed construct, with a well-equipped machine, however I had no complaints there. Probably the most awkward factor I noticed was Coen’s animations struggling to maintain up after I tried to push my luck and scramble over some rocks that most likely weren’t designed for climbing, as an alternative of strolling across the path, however I nonetheless managed to drag it off, and the transient expertise was extra enjoyable than irritating. Aside from that, it is trying in improbable form already.
The Blood of Dawnwalker releases on Monday September 3, 2026. It is unquestionably the sport I am most wanting to play proper now. I can inform its lethal mixture of time stress and significant selection goes to tear me aside, however on the identical time its full dedication to that ethos is unusually releasing. How a lot of a monster will you develop into? When it is this a lot enjoyable to embrace your bloodthirsty aspect, I am undecided I do know myself.
