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2026 is shaping up to be a pretty excellent year for role-playing games. The upcoming RPGs I've got my eye on include big hitters like Clockwork Revolution and Fable, not to mention indie delights like the long-awaited Witchbrook. But if there is any one RPG that is starting to consume all of my attention it is The Blood of Dawnwalker, a new IP from Rebel Wolves – a studio helmed by former CDPR developers, including the game director of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and lead quest designer of Cyberpunk 2077.
I recently flew out to Rebel Wolves' headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, to meet the development team and get a brand new look at the opening hours of The Blood of Dawnwalker. What I saw is a video game that has come on leaps and bounds since its last showing in August of 2025; a confident and capable RPG is emerging, one which is trying to channel the true essence of role-play into a densely populated open-world that wields time as a valuable resource for managing progression and player-expression.
1. A great concept
The Blood of Dawnwalker is a medieval RPG set across a remote valley nestled in the Carpathian Mountains. It's a picturesque setting, if you can ignore the presence of a near-immortal sect of vampires known as the vrakhiri. Battling against their rising influence is Coen, a human by day who (through a fairly brutal set of circumstances) is able to wield the power of the vrakhiri by night.
You technically have just 30 days and 30 nights to try and save your family from Brencis, an ancient vampire leader, but whether you choose to follow that path is up to you – The Blood of Dawnwalker is entirely open-ended, a world of distractions where every action (and inaction) can change the shape and scope of your story. It's an exceptionally compelling prospect; a weird creative concept that's being brought to life by veterans of the genre.
2. Unique quest structure
One of the more experimental ideas in The Blood of Dawnwalker is how Rebel Wolves is playing with time itself. Each day and night is divided into eight segments, with almost every meaningful action consuming a portion of your allotted time. It means that time is presented as both an emotional pressure and a non-renewable resource, pushing you to constantly make decisions around the quests you want to actively pursue and the sort of character you want Coen to be.
There are no fail states in The Blood of Dawnwalker, just decisions made. Essential NPCs can die, regions of the world can change, and quests can conclude without you. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but from what I've seen so far the system is well enough implemented that The Blood of Dawnwalker is guaranteed to be worthy of our time and attention.
3. Pure role-play
A world where every choice has consequences that ripple outwards, often in ways that can surprise or alarm you, is at risk of causing a degree of paralysis – particularly if you're the sort of player who likes to complete every task that comes across your journal. But from the demo I'm presented, this setup seems liberating. It means that progression is entirely driven by the sort of character you want to role-play, giving a very real sense of authorship over the way your story unfolds.
I love that you can simply walk away from quests if something else catches your eye, all the while knowing that these actions can have substantial effects on those around you. Rebel Wolves is putting player agency above all else here, something Larian did to great effect in Baldur's Gate 3 – only time will tell whether The Blood of Dawnwalker can reach similar heights, but early signs are positive.
4. Improved combat
Rebel Wolves has been pretty transparent all throughout the development of The Blood of Dawnwalker, showing the game in various states to allow viewer feedback to help shape some of its design. If there's any one area I've had concerns over it was combat, which in previous showings has appeared a little stilted and static. Thankfully, this new demo is far more fluid – Coen flows between enemy encounters, with the directional-approach to combat appearing to be both challenging and aggressive in nature. Sword-play is far tighter, with well placed strikes and clashes helping to dictate the flow of encounters, while a suite of vampyric abilities you're able to summon are more flourished and engaging. The Blood of Dawnwalker seems to be finding a nice balance between the cinematic style of the Batman: Arkham games and the precision found in the For Honor and Kingdom Come combat systems.
5. Vibrant visuals
The Blood of Dawnwalker is ambitious, but it's also made by a relatively small team – one with shockingly high AAA ambitions. The RPG is set to land later this year for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X, and the latest build of the game is demonstrating exceptional visual fidelity. The studio is putting forward a rich experience, powered by Unreal Engine 5 to deliver sprawling vistas, stunning lighting, and a world which feels exceptionally lived-in.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is a beautiful looking video game, with a style that beckons you off-the-beaten path and towards new distractions at every turn. If there's any one aspect I'd like to see given a little more love in these final months ahead of release it's with the quality of some of the NPC character models, but I'm confident that Rebel Wolves will use this last stretch of development to refine its style.
The Blood of Dawnwalker release date is set for September 3, 2026, where the game is due to launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
