"New RPG Blends The Witcher and Persona Styles"

Summary

• Former CD Projekt Red developers at Rebel Wolves 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 a unique twist with Persona-like time management mechanics.

The eagerly anticipated reveal trailer for The Blood of Dawnwalker has finally been released, showcasing a mix of pre-rendered footage and brief gameplay snippets. This promotional video emphasizes the game's similarities to The Witcher while highlighting its integration of elements inspired by Persona.

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

On January 13, exactly one year after its initial announcement, Rebel Wolves and publisher Bandai Namco streamed a reveal event for The Blood of Dawnwalker. The event culminated in a cinematic trailer lasting over four and a half minutes, which introduced the game's universe and the Dawnwalkers—enhanced vampires in the game's lore. The trailer also introduced the protagonist, Coen, who becomes a Dawnwalker at the game's outset.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Reveal Trailer Evokes The Witcher

With its dark fantasy backdrop, monstrous creatures, and emphasis on open-world RPG elements with morally ambiguous choices, The Blood of Dawnwalker naturally evokes comparisons to The Witcher. The game's tagline, "the world needs what it fears," further reinforces these similarities. Fans of The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion, with its vampires and challenging moral decisions, are likely to find The Blood of Dawnwalker 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 Incorporates Persona-Like Elements

While The Blood of Dawnwalker shares surface-level similarities with The Witcher, it also introduces innovative elements to the open-world RPG genre. Notably, it incorporates time management mechanics reminiscent of Persona, where each quest consumes 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 ensures that completing every quest and story arc in one playthrough is impossible, encouraging replayability and unique experiences. Rebel Wolves describes this approach as a "narrative sandbox."

The Blood of Dawnwalker is currently being developed for PC and next-generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Envisioned as the first installment in a trilogy, it will be published by Bandai Namco. Although no specific release date or window has been set, given its development start in 2022 and its AAA budget, a market launch is not expected before 2027. Rebel Wolves plans to showcase more gameplay in the summer of 2025.