Rebel Wolves' upcoming action-RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker, positions death and failure not as endpoints, but as narrative catalysts. The game aims to weave player choices and their often dire consequences into a compelling vampire story set in 14th-century Europe. In this world, the Vrakhiri, a group of powerful vampires, offer a pact of healing blood to humans in exchange for fealty as the Black Death ravages the land.
Players step into the role of Coen, a half-undead protagonist, where even the most altruistic vampire may succumb to an insatiable hunger for human blood. This hunger can override player control, leading to actions that are out of your hands. Developer Rebel Wolves is leaning into the concept of player failure, where individuals might perish regardless of your intentions, but this ultimately becomes part of the evolving narrative.
Living with Consequences
A prologue quest illustrates this design philosophy. Tasked with brewing a potion for Coen's ailing mother to ensure she appears lucid during the Blood Mass—a vampire tithe collection—players must gather ingredients and follow a recipe. Distractions, such as assisting an herbalist named Anca with her drying herbs after a storm, can lead to forgetting crucial steps. Some players might succeed, keeping their mother alive, while others, forgetting the recipe, could lead to her demise at the hands of the Vrakhiri, who show no mercy to those perceived as weak.
Time management is a core mechanic, with the clock advancing not only by traveling between locations but also by undertaking quests and leveling up Coen's abilities. This system forces players to prioritize actions, as attempting to do everything may lead to missing critical quest objectives. For instance, a quest to find a stolen banner for a seamstress might be abandoned if the player spends too much time leveling up Coen's skills via in-game books, a process that consumes valuable time. Failing to complete this quest results in a grim consequence: the seamstress is found hanged, a warning to others.
Environmental artist Adam Payet noted that how players spend their time directly impacts quest outcomes. For example, a farmer's quest to find his brother Lazar, who has fallen into a cave containing an undead mini-boss, could end in tragedy if players delay. Waiting too long might mean discovering Lazar's corpse instead of saving him. This deliberate friction between player choices, skill progression, and time constraints is central to the Dawnwalker experience, as senior quest developer Patryk Fijalkowski explained.
Navigating Vampire Nature
Following Coen's transformation into a vampire, the narrative branches further. During a raid on a silver mine—where villagers sought weapons against the Vrakhiri, who are vulnerable to both sunlight and silver—rebels are ambushed. Coen, infected and left for dead, must escape the mine using his new vampiric abilities. Combat in The Blood of Dawnwalker involves standard action-RPG mechanics such as blocking, parrying, and dodging, governed by a stamina gauge. A directional combat system requires players to time blocks and attacks with directional inputs, adding a layer of challenge.
Vampire Coen can heal by draining enemies, but this ability has a significant cooldown. After escaping the mine, players face a choice: pursue the Vrakhiri or aid Coen's best friend, Vladimir, trapped in a burning building. Successfully rescuing Vladimir might be complicated by Coen's own hunger.
Coen's health bar also serves as his hunger meter. When under the middle line, his hunger intensifies, influencing dialogue options. A "Give in to the hunger" choice may appear, and with extreme hunger, other options might flicker or vanish, potentially forcing Coen to attack an ally. In one instance, a difficult fight left Coen critically hungry, leading him to attack and kill Vladimir before the player could make a deliberate choice. Developers intend for such moments to be impactful but not routine punishments for combat difficulty.
Open-World Consequences
Post-prologue, The Blood of Dawnwalker opens into a more traditional open world. Players have 30 in-game days to rescue Coen's family from the Vrakhiri castle, a goal that involves gathering allies by dealing with various Vrakhiri lieutenants. This structure is reminiscent of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, with independent objectives that weaken the enemy hierarchy. The freedom to pursue objectives in any order means that even critical failures, like accidentally killing a key character, do not halt progress. Instead, players discover alternative paths or adapt their strategy. Fijalkowski stated that this design allows for varied narrative experiences, where the story remains coherent even if drastically altered by player actions.
Coen's dual nature as human by day and vampire by night offers distinct gameplay approaches. As a human, he can use diplomacy, guile, or aid others, fighting with a sword and relying on food for healing. As a vampire, he employs supernatural powers for infiltration and combat but risks immediate hostility. This duality ensures that even if a vampire-Coen mission fails, human-Coen might still find a way to succeed, or vice versa. While some choices permanently lock off certain pathways, the developers aim to avoid excessive player punishment, offering alternative routes to achieve objectives. The game, releasing on September 2 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, emphasizes that managing time and understanding the implications of each choice are paramount to navigating its complex, consequence-driven narrative.
