Blood of the Dawnwalker's time mechanics are surprisingly relaxed, but the hero may kill NPCs if you let him get thirsty

The run deadline and vampire mechanics explained

The Blood of the Dawnwalker is the debut phantasy RPG from caller Polish developer Rebel Wolves, a workplace founded by erstwhile members of Witcher outfit CD Projekt. In June, evident vampire thrall Mark expressed blessed emotions astir main quality Coen's equilibrium of mortal and undead abilities - by day, he'll trot astir having regular quality chinwags with radical and participating successful regular quality swordfights, by nighttime helium transmogrifies into a nimble Nosferatu, capable to teleport and slash radical with his talons. Now, it's clip to excavation further into the game's 2 captious resources, which are handily encapsulated by the title: clip and blood.

The crippled revolves astir a 30-day, 30-night quest to rescue your household from immoderate bastard vampire lord's castle. Time doesn't tick down continuously, however, arsenic successful the likes of The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Instead, each day-night rhythm is breached into 8 periods, represented by a bar. Within each period, you're escaped to research and transportation retired little important tasks without advancing the clock. The satellite is frozen, nevertheless lively it whitethorn appear: burning houses volition flake and fizzle distant indefinitely without collapsing into ash. Actions marked with an hourglass option, however, bring that play to an extremity and shuffle you onto the next.

"We were reasoning that if clip would travel naturally, it mightiness beryllium rather unpleasant. The playstyle would alteration connected the spell [from quality to vampire and backmost to human] perpetually without your input," originative manager Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz told IGN successful a caller interview. "So that's wherever the clip arsenic a assets thought came in."

The different happening to cognize is that the series of tasks, events and objectives is powerfully player-led. You tin stone up to the aforesaid castle and prime a combat with Vlad The Endgamer aft completing the prologue, if you choose, though you'll beryllium poorly equipped to prevail. The bulk of different goals look to beryllium optional. You tin adjacent skip the daytime periods wholly if you dislike mingling with the quality cattle. The crippled doesn't extremity pursuing the solution of the concern with your loved ones, and it's imaginable this won't beryllium to beryllium the astir important portion of the tale.

Speaking of quality cattle, Dawnwalker besides lets you get your fangs into NPCs, including important communicative characters. The much necks you suck, and the much wide mayhem you cause, the much Notorious you'll be. The satellite reacts to precocious notoriety successful ways acquainted from the Dishonored games: expect much guards, but also, much opportunities to terrify the smallfolk into doing your bidding.

One of the much absorbing twists is that you tin deprive Coen of humor to nourish his quality side, but this whitethorn yet origin him flight your control. "If you starve Coen, if you don't provender him enough, and if you spell into important conversations, helium tin suffer power and conscionable termination disconnected important NPCs," Tomaszkiewicz told IGN. It reminds maine of Don't Nod's Vampyr and also, the Dark Urge from Baldur's Gate 3.

I similar the dependable of this skippable, rearrangable and segmented run structure. I besides rather similar the day/night playstyle distinction, though I'd similar to cognize much astir Coen's vampire abilities. Not that Blood Of The Dawnwalker is exclusively astir vampires. Rebel Wolves are already teasing aboriginal games successful the world, with Tomaszkiewicz telling PCGamesN that "in this root story, we needed the vampires due to the fact that Coen has this vampire nature, but erstwhile we're reasoning astir the saga, we'll see parts that are not astir vampires astatine all, and are alternatively astir different species."

It's retired successful 2026. Seems similar a promising throat-guzzler, if you inquire me, but past again I americium partial to specified things (see bio).