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There’s an excited energy at Rebel Wolves’ Warsaw studio. For the first time since Gamescom 2025, the development team is showing off an extended live demo of its vampire-laden, open-world RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker, as it nears release on PS5 September 3.
Within minutes of the extensive presentation it’s easy to see why they’re so passionate. The demo’s prologue doesn’t delay its promise of a brutal 14th century Europe. Our first introduction to the game’s protagonist, Coen, is him trying to protect his Black Death infected sister Lunka from an unjust execution, only to find themselves saved by powerful vampire lord Brencis and his deadly undead lieutenants.
After being forced to drink Brencis’ blood, Lunka makes a startling recovery… but it signals a new rule of terror as Coen’s Carpathian Mountains village is forced to pay a regular ‘blood tax’. Vampiric protection in exchange for their human blood. And the weak or insubordinate are quickly made an example of. Through the disastrous events of the village trying to free itself from Brencis’ rule – I won’t spoil it here – Coen is stricken with the vampire curse and left for dead, his family taken.
The stakes of time pressure
Coen only has 30 days and nights to save his kin. For you, that means every major action you take ticks the clock forward – some side quests, certain dialogue choices, and even learning particular abilities to populate his skill tree have a visible time cost. For a game which features a massive world full of caves, mines, settlements, swamps and hidden paths to explore, as well as interesting people seeking help, the time limit might feel anxiety inducing, but the dev team heavily tested the system to ensure it doesn’t restrict you.
“We don’t want to punish you for doing stuff,” says Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, CEO and game director. “So we aimed to get it to the perfect point where you’re not stressed about the time, but still feel that this big event is coming closer and closer.”
“You’ll be able to complete a majority of the game before the time runs out,” agrees Creative Director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz. “And it’s not necessarily a game over when it happens. There are consequences [for running out of time], but the game moves on.”
On the flip side, once you get to a certain point in the story, you can decide to go straight to Brencis if you want, rather than engage with any of the many other parts of the game, although obviously the challenge will be far sharper. “In a way it made many of the game’s stories optional,” says Rafał Jankowski, lead quest designer. “So we were able to include many different endings and solutions to those stories, all which can still allow you to finish the game at a certain point.”
Every choice comes with a cost
Naturally, consequences are a huge part of The Blood of Dawnwalker. This isn’t a surprise given several members of the now 160+ strong team are former staffers of CD Projekt RED who worked on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but the time mechanic adds an extra level of spice.
In the demo, Coen is given a number of quests to perform, one is to grab healing herbs for his mother’s sickness, and another is to help the villager Gremla. You can take on many objectives simultaneously, or ignore them in favour of other quests or actions. The results of your choices in this particular aspect become clear in Brencis’ latest black mass, where Gremla is savagely strung up, and mother Esme killed.
Whether it’s a minor or major NPC who dies, the game continues, leaving you with its ramifications. Something to take in mind given Coen has a blood hunger meter. If you let it get too low, he’s consumed by insatiable hunger, its black tendrils noticeable even when talking to an NPC, turning every dialogue option into a juddering red ‘Give in to the hunger’, which cannot be refused.
“This wasn’t in the game from the start,” reveals Mateusz. “It emerged organically, and it just fit the formula so well it feels like it was always there. That being part of the narrative sandbox was a big challenge because it’s so open ended, but it’s worth it because you get a much more interesting game.”’
Seeking morality with… pigs?
Satisfying Coen’s bloodlust isn’t restricted to humans. From deer, to bears, to packs of wolves, Konrad says you can feed on all the animals you encounter, which might cause fewer problems than you killing off an important NPC or one of the many allies you can befriend to help you in your quest. That said, some allies will betray you, and don’t expect many of your choices to come without shades of grey. “The player has a lot of agency but we like to explore complex people with complex personalities,” says Mateusz.
As a light hearted thematic example, an early side quest offers you the chance to find a villager’s beloved pig, using a handy focus mode to see her tracks and footprints in the dirt. Returning the pig reveals the villager’s intent to slaughter her, giving you the choice of joining in, declining, or even buying the pig to save her bacon, as long as you have the coin.
Sharpening your skills via the tree
The team is also keen to stress that Coen’s experiences as a vampire at night are very different to his journey as a human during the day, with specific NPCs and quests only available at certain times, and obvious differences in abilities. His skill tree consists of three main branches, each with passive and active upgrades: witchcraft for the daytime, vampiric powers for the night, and sword fighting overlapping both.
“Some abilities are even locked behind a specific vampiric blood,” explains Mateusz. “In our lore, when you become a vampire you get your own unique mutation or power. And you can have more than one. So if you drain another vampire, then you steal theirs.”
But if you want to rely on the virtues of sharpened steel, just as much testing and thought has been given to the game’s directional combat, resulting in customisable options for both hardcore action fans and more story-focused players. From the demo, it appeared fluid and intuitive, with clear markers for incoming assaults to help block and parry timing, and red skulls marking unblockable attacks – as demonstrated by The Forgotten Guardian, a lumbering armoured skeleton mini-boss roaming a dank underground ruin.
The future looks bright
Even after its lengthy demo, it was clear Rebel Wolves was keeping a lot under wraps. For example, when asked about the weather system in the game and how it interacts with the characters and environment, Konrad smiled, saying he’d prefer the players to discover that for themselves. Likewise with the number of multiple endings and the extent of characters and monsters you can meet, which tap into Slavic myth and legend, as well as medieval history.
Even so, Konrad reveals that for some team members the game is currently taking anything from 55 to 70 hours to complete, so expect an epic adventure that explores how much we’re willing to sacrifice to save the ones we love. And the hunger to craft a tale which leaves a lasting mark on players doesn’t stop with this one. “The Blood of Dawnwalker isn’t the endpoint, it’s an origin story,” smiles Konrad. “We have already planned its tale through the ages. This is only the beginning.”
Anticipate even more info to come to light from Rebel Wolves as The Blood of Dawnwalker stalks ever closer to its undead launch on PlayStation 5 September 3.
