Summary

• Rebel Wolves, founded by former CD Projekt Red developers, unveiled their debut game, The Blood of Dawnwalker, with a cinematic reveal trailer.
• The Blood of Dawnwalker echoes The Witcher with its open-world RPG format, dark fantasy setting, morally gray choices, and an outcast protagonist.
• The game introduces Persona-like time management mechanics.

The Blood of Dawnwalker has finally debuted its long-awaited reveal trailer, blending pre-rendered footage with brief glimpses of gameplay. The promotional video highlights the game's similarities to The Witcher while introducing unique Persona-like elements.

Rebel Wolves, a Polish studio established by former CD Projekt Red developers who contributed to The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077, first announced The Blood of Dawnwalker as Dawnwalker in January 2024. They described it as a narrative-driven, open-world RPG set in a dark fantasy world with significant player choices.

On January 13, exactly a year later, Rebel Wolves and publisher Bandai Namco hosted a reveal stream for The Blood of Dawnwalker. The event concluded with an extended cinematic trailer lasting over four and a half minutes. This trailer set the stage for the game's world and introduced the Dawnwalkers—enhanced vampires within the game's lore—as well as the protagonist, Coen, who becomes a Dawnwalker at the game's outset.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Reveal Trailer Is Reminiscent of The Witcher

The game's dark fantasy setting, presence of monsters, and focus on morally gray choices within an open-world RPG framework evoke strong The Witcher vibes. The tagline "the world needs what it fears" further reinforces this connection. Fans of The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion, with its vampires and challenging decisions, are likely to find The Blood of Dawnwalker's premise intriguing. The game includes a morality system, allowing players to decide whether Coen should embrace his Dawnwalker nature to save his family or hold onto his humanity.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Also Takes a Page From Persona's Book

While The Blood of Dawnwalker shares similarities with The Witcher, it also introduces innovative twists on the open-world RPG genre. A standout feature is its Persona-like time management system, where completing quests consumes in-game time. "There are multiple approaches to saving Coen’s family with no clear division between main and side quests; you decide on how you spend the time," explained Rebel Wolves co-founder and game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. This design, which prevents players from completing all quests in a single playthrough, encourages replayability and unique experiences, described by Rebel Wolves as a "narrative sandbox."

The Blood of Dawnwalker is currently in development for PC and current-gen PlayStation and Xbox consoles. It's planned as the first game in a trilogy and will be published by Bandai Namco. Although a specific release date or estimated launch window hasn't been announced, given its 2022 start and triple-A budget, a release before 2027 seems unlikely. Rebel Wolves has promised a gameplay reveal for summer 2025.