News The new RPG from Rebel Wolves, a studio founded by Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 devs, asks a bold question: What if Geralt was a vampire?

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The new RPG from Rebel Wolves, a studio founded by Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 devs, asks a bold question: What if Geralt was a vampire?​

The Blood of Dawnwalker was finally revealed today, and yes, it's vampires—and it sure looks a lot like a Witcher game too.

When Rebel Wolves teased its first project back in 2022, PC Gamer's Rich Stanton said it gave him "strong vampire vibes." When the studio revealed the game's title and some new concept art in 2024, I said it gave me "very strong vampire vibes." Today we got a look at Dawnwalker's debut cinematic trailer, and it pleases me greatly to say, we were right.

The Blood of Dawnwalker, as the game is now called, is set in 14th century Europe, amidst relentless warfare and the Black Death—not a great time for humanity. Sensing opportunity, the vampires make their move to take over, leading other "creatures of the night" to do the same. One of those creatures is you, a young man named Coen who's been turned into a Dawnwalker, but who may not be ready to fully embrace the lifestyle.

"Fight for your humanity or embrace the cursed powers to save your family," the website at dawnwalkergame.com says. "Whatever your choice, the question stands: is your soul worth the lives of those you love?"

Ah, but that doesn't necessarily mean all vampires are all bad: "Face your foes—be they human, monster, or the ticking clock itself. But remember—the real evil may bask in the sun's light, and the most loyal of allies could lurk under the cover of night."

Rebel Wolves is headed up by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, who previously served as game director on The Witcher 3 and head of production on Cyberpunk 20777—and before that, as lead quest designer on The Witcher 2 and story designer on The Witcher. That background really shows through in this cinematic, which could very easily be a Witcher trailer; Coen himself appears to be essentially a young Geralt, granted great powers through unpleasant supernatural rituals that robbed him of much of his humanity—or, maybe not!

The implied moral ambiguity—evil in the daylight, friends in the darkness—is obviously not unique to The Witcher but certainly a central part of it: One of Geralt's best friends, recall, is a higher vampire who wouldn't be at all out of place munching on the poor soldiers in this video. Even the line "the world needs what it fears" is a knockoff of Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy stories, set in a realm that needs witchers but sure doesn't like 'em.

But even if The Blood of Dawnwalker doesn't look like it's going to set new standards for original ideas, I dig the concept and I'm eager to learn more about how it's actually going to play. For that, however, we'll have to wait: Rebel Wolves said in a reveal livestream today that a gameplay reveal will happen sometime this summer.

Source: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/t...a-bold-question-what-if-geralt-was-a-vampire/

Website Link: https://dawnwalkergame.com/ca/en/home#about

 

[radiantoceans]

I've heard of this and from what I've seen so far it looks very promising. Here's to hoping for the best.
There's a lot of hype considering the team behind it were among the ones behind Witcher 3 and can certainly see some of its influences on this.
Wont be out for years though and seeing how things are going ray tracing will likely be mandatory by then like it is for Indiana Jones now.

Putting up the trailer once again, for those who haven't seen it already or aren't logged into youtube.

 

[bssunilreddy]

Rebel Wolves Discuss The Blood of Dawnwalker’s World and Mechanics​

While plenty of exciting-looking games have been announced over the past few months, there's no doubt that developer Rebel Wolves' new IP, The Blood of Dawnwalker, raised more than a few eyebrows with its announcement trailer. It showcased a gothic, brooding world filled with vampires, a protagonist who is part human and part vampire, and an intriguing narrative. Little else is known about the project yet, but it's enough to leave gamers eager for more.

Game Rant recently caught up with The Blood of Dawnwalker's narrative director Jakub Szamalek to discuss some of the game's mechanics. He explained the game's choice of setting and how the characters fit into it, and he also spoke about how the team aims to find a balance between its core narrative and open-world design elements.

The Blood of Dawnwalker's Characters Are Integral to its Story​

The Blood of Dawnwalker tells the story of Coen, a human-vampire hybrid known as a Dawnwalker, who must either fight for his humanity or embrace his demon side. The game's world, Vale Sangora, is set in 14th-century Europe, which is rife with conflict, presenting an opportunity for vampires to rise and attempt to seize power for themselves. Coen must race against the clock to save his family by any means necessary. Speaking about Coen, Szamalek continued:

''What’s special about our protagonist, Coen, is that he walks the line between the day and night. As the sun goes out, he experiences the world as a vampire - physically powerful, imbued with supernatural skills, but also susceptible to dark temptations. But then, with dawn, he reverses to his human form. As such, he can understand both humans and creatures of the night.''

The Blood of Dawnwalker Will Combine Story-Driven Gameplay With an Open World Concept​

The concept of a story-driven open-world RPG is something of a juxtaposition. By their very nature, narrative-driven games tend to be fairly linear experiences, allowing them to tell a cohesive story from start to finish. Open-world games can struggle to tell an engaging story as the player is usually free to tackle events with a less structured approach. Balancing these two concepts will be no easy task, but Szamalek is confident Rebel Wolves can achieve this. He said:

''We're building The Blood of Dawnwalker upon the foundation we established while working on the previous projects we were involved with as developers and artists, drawing inspirations from classic titles such as Fallout 2, which gave truly unparalleled narrative freedom, but at the same time trying to enrich the RPG experience with something we're bringing to the table. We want to combine narrative freedom and a story-driven experience with an open world filled with meaningful quests and memorable characters, emotionally charged interactions with characters, and a strong gameplay experience.''

As is always the case with the RPG genre, competition for players' attention is fierce. Upcoming titles like The Witcher 4 and the as-yet-unnamed Cyberpunk 2077 sequel are already garnering plenty of interest. Still, with no release window to speak of, it's impossible to know which, if any, of these will be in direct competition with The Blood of Dawnwalker when it is eventually released.

Source: https://gamerant.com/rebel-wolves-blood-dawnwalker-open-world-mechanics/