The Blood of Dawnwalker was finally revealed by Rebel Wolves last week, and with it, a world of possibilities opened up! Rebel Wolves may be a new developer in name, but with the staff on board, they’re far from it in practice, and as such, we have some seriously high hopes for Coen and Co. come the release of the studio’s maiden game.
With much of the staff being former CD Projekt Red staff, with a huge amount of experience working on such franchises as The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, there’s a lot to be expected, and we hope (and expect) to see all of the following in some way.
Beyond the below, there’s been so much confirmed for The Blood of Dawnwalker already it can be hard to keep track of, but we have it in hand for you.
Two Separate Skill Trees
Playing as Coen, a Dawnwalker, half vampire and half human, it seems so obvious to give us two separate skill trees; one centered on his humanity, the other his vampiric brutality. Whether this comes to pass is another matter, but the opportunities for making Coen truly your own with each playthrough would be massive if it did.
If we could push his skills and abilities towards the human side, negating his vampiric self and focusing instead on the hand-to-hand combat, or conversely, ignoring his human attributes and focusing on supernatural elements like enhanced strength, Night Sight, and more similar to that, it’d almost offer two different games in one, and a huge amount of variety for the player.
Traversal Teleportation (Smoke Movement)
In the trailer, there are a few instances of quick movement from the vampires, but similarly, we also see a brief cross-section of gameplay for Coen, who has some impressive skills of his own, including some sort of smoke movement.
If this could be applied to more than just combat, aiding in traversal and exploration, it’d further add to the character that he doesn’t just use his abilities in time of combat and danger, but as a crutch to survive. Plus, it’d be a natural way of including faster travel than the standard horseback we’ve grown accustomed to with medieval RPGs.
Brutal, No Holds Barred Gore and Limb-Specific Damage/Combat
In a game about vampires, the plague, and a constant sense of death, it’s unlikely that Rebel Wolves would forego such an obvious facet of The Blood of Dawnwalker, but we can’t rule it out. Blood and brutality should be the first order of any scenario involving combat in the game, with extra kudos offered to the developers if they include amputations, decapitations, or even limb-specific attacks. If I want to disable a soldier from picking up his sword and leave him alive but handless, I should be able to.
Ambiguous and Nuanced Characters
The key to any good RPG is not always being able to predict a character or their actions. When characters are so obviously good or evil, it leads to a boring quest, boring story, boring everything. From the trailer alone it looks like some nuanced characters will be present, Brencis among them, and hopefully, The Blood of Dawnwalker continues this trend beyond the principal cast.
With the aforementioned experience from working on The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, it’s likely we won’t always know who or what we’re dealing with whenever we encounter a new character, be they ally or villain, and that’s how it should be.
Freedom of Choice
Baldur’s Gate 3 raised the bar for RPGs, allowing players to do nearly anything within their playthrough. Whilst it’s unlikely and unfair to expect that same level of detail or seemingly infinite possibilities Larian Studios offered, we do expect The Blood of Dawnwalker to tread similar ground. With the 30-day and 30-night cycle, they announced shortly after the trailer premiered, the ‘narrative sandbox’ we’ll get to explore certainly seems to offer a wealth of choices and opportunities.
Impactful Dialogue and Hard Decisions
What’s the point in playing an RPG if you’re not offered the chance to choose the direction of the characters in the world? It’s a role-playing game after all. We expect the day/night cycle to force us to make some hard decisions, for example, ignoring/choosing another quest over others, and no doubt there will be times when a piece of dialogue could spell danger or worse for a hapless NPC, but we want our choices, dialogue, and decisions to make us think twice. Give us something to pause about, and we’ll relate to Coen all the more.
Stat-Based Weapons, Armor Etc
It’d be shocking if The Blood of Dawnwalker doesn’t include some sort of stats-based equipment. Something of an RPG staple at this point, there are few feelings better than uncovering a new weapon or outfit that’ll make you that bit stronger/hard-wearing than your current one, and it all adds to the power-fantasy we desperately want when we play.
On the other hand, there may be less need for armor and weapons when we’re playing as a half-vampire capable of ripping people in half, so we’ll have to wait and see closer to release how Rebel Wolves handle this.
Different PlayStyles Being Equally Effective and Valid
Tied to the separate skill trees entry above, it should be possible to approach The Blood of Dawnwalker in a variety of ways. From all-out-war to the more refined choices of an intelligent, charismatic character, we should be able to shape Coen in such a way that no two playthroughs are the same (Kingdom Come Deliverance handled this well), but at the same time not be penalized for choosing a certain method. I don’t want to feel like I have to choose strength-based for an easy ride every time. Every approach should be valid.
Stealth Mechanics
Self-explanatory, I feel, in a game where we play as a half-vampire, but I want some stealth mechanics that’ll allow me to really encapsulate what it feels like to be a creature of the night. Let me sneak up on my enemies and dispatch them silently. Allow me to hide their body, or tactically leave their bodies to be discovered, causing distress and terror. Essentially, I’m expecting a vampire Hitman.
If we get some sort of stealth mechanics, and the ability to traverse compounds without being seen/discovered, it’d go a long way to actually feeling/playing like a vampire, beyond the usual strength enhancements other games offer.
Multiple Endings
The time of a successful, well-loved RPG with only one ending has long passed, but we still get games that pass off ‘multiple endings’ as a feature, when in reality the endings they give are minute in difference. With The Blood of Dawnwalker’s unique time-based cycle forcing urgency, as well as the freedom for players to choose quests as and when it almost certainly means we’ll be getting multiple endings. How different they are, and what they’d contain for Coen and his kidnapped family is anyone’s guess right now, but we can’t wait to find out!
Easter Eggs
The Witcher 3 was full of Easter Eggs, and it’s a regular occurrence in the gaming industry for one developer to leave a little nod to another, all for the amusement and benefit of players. It’s far from the most important feature or mechanic we want to see in The Blood of Dawnwalker, but a few Easter Eggs won’t hurt; you can almost guarantee a few Ciri and Geralt Easter Eggs as a minimum.
The Blood of Dawnwalker release date is unknown for now, but it is confirmed to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check out everything confirmed you should know about The Last of Us Part 3, or how about our initial impressions of Hyper Light Breaker’s Early Access release?
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Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
