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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Ke1N\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/3e3dbcafc6baddd050157912a38762cd5f603d1b.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t![\"This](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/shared/images/userreviews/icon_review_counted.png\")
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/shared/images/userreviews/icon_thumbsUp_v6.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https://community.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/apphubs/bigpicture/thumbs_upselected.png\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t56.6 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(23.3 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 6\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tLet's get this out of the way, I'm a big fan of vampire RPGs. I consider the OG Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines to be one of the greatest RPGs ever made, so I'm always busy looking for something that can scratch that particular itch. The Blood of Dawnwalker definitely did that for me and I in return fully sunk my teeth into it!
This game is pretty much everything I wanted it to be. It's not perfect by all means, but the atmosphere, the world, the characters and especially the freedom you have in shaping your own adventure are fantastic.
One of the things I enjoyed the most is how organically you can find and start quests. You can simply stumble across something happening in the world, find a quest item on an enemy you just fought, or simply come across something while exploring that pulls you into a completely unexpected situation. There's something really satisfying about not having every single quest handed to you by an NPC with a marker above their head. It makes exploring feel worthwhile, and it's one of my favorite things about RPGs in general.
The time system is another thing I really liked. Having that clock constantly ticking in the background makes even small decisions feel like they could have consequences later. You can't do everything, and I actually think that's a good thing. Sometimes you have to choose what matters to you and accept that something else might happen without you. It makes the world feel like it's actually moving rather than waiting for the player.
My only real issue with the time system is that learning skills and perks also takes up time. I don't mind quests taking up time at all, that's part of what makes the system interesting. But losing a time slot just because you wanted to learn something new feels a bit like being punished for engaging with the progression system. I'd rather spend that time actually doing something in the world.
The combat takes a little getting used to, but it mostly clicks by the end of the prologue. Once you have more abilities and start figuring out how everything works together, you can pull off some pretty fun stuff. It's not the main reason I'm playing Dawnwalker, but it gets the job done.
What really makes the game work for me is how ambitious it is. It feels like the developers genuinely wanted to give the player room to make their own story instead of creating a world where there is always one obvious "correct" way to do things. Your choices matter, sometimes in ways you don't immediately realize, and I really like that approach.
I'm also really happy to see Rebel Wolves doing well with the game. A new studio taking on an RPG this ambitious is a pretty big gamble, so seeing the game succeed makes me even more excited for what's next.
If this really is the beginning of the larger saga they've talked about, I'm absolutely here for it. The idea of seeing this world evolve, especially with the hints we've already gotten about future time periods, is something I'm genuinely looking forward to.
I'm far from being done with the game, but I just find myself completely lost in it every time I click the "Play" button and I think this is one of the biggest compliments I can give to Rebel Wolves, so I wanted to share my thoughts asap!\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tThis game is pretty much everything I wanted it to be. It's not perfect by all means, but the atmosphere, the world, the characters and especially the freedom you have in shaping your own adventure are fantastic.
One of the things I enjoyed the most is how organically you can find and start quests. You can simply stumble across something happening in the world, find a quest item on an enemy you just fought, or simply come across something while exploring that pulls you into a completely unexpected situation. There's something really satisfying about not having every single quest handed to you by an NPC with a marker above their head. It makes exploring feel worthwhile, and it's one of my favorite things about RPGs in general.
The time system is another thing I really liked. Having that clock constantly ticking in the background makes even small decisions feel like they could have consequences later. You can't do everything, and I actually think that's a good thing. Sometimes you have to choose what matters to you and accept that something else might happen without you. It makes the world feel like it's actually moving rather than waiting for the player.
My only real issue with the time system is that learning skills and perks also takes up time. I don't mind quests taking up time at all, that's part of what makes the system interesting. But losing a time slot just because you wanted to learn something new feels a bit like being punished for engaging with the progression system. I'd rather spend that time actually doing something in the world.
The combat takes a little getting used to, but it mostly clicks by the end of the prologue. Once you have more abilities and start figuring out how everything works together, you can pull off some pretty fun stuff. It's not the main reason I'm playing Dawnwalker, but it gets the job done.
What really makes the game work for me is how ambitious it is. It feels like the developers genuinely wanted to give the player room to make their own story instead of creating a world where there is always one obvious "correct" way to do things. Your choices matter, sometimes in ways you don't immediately realize, and I really like that approach.
I'm also really happy to see Rebel Wolves doing well with the game. A new studio taking on an RPG this ambitious is a pretty big gamble, so seeing the game succeed makes me even more excited for what's next.
If this really is the beginning of the larger saga they've talked about, I'm absolutely here for it. The idea of seeing this world evolve, especially with the hints we've already gotten about future time periods, is something I'm genuinely looking forward to.
I'm far from being done with the game, but I just find myself completely lost in it every time I click the "Play" button and I think this is one of the biggest compliments I can give to Rebel Wolves, so I wanted to share my thoughts asap!\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 11
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIntel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900K - RAM: 64 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 - VRAM: 24 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/shared/images//award_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
Award\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t576 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
4 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t4 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Winner\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/24.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t30\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t30\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Helpful\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/26.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t19\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t19\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Perfect\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/31.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t17\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t17\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"One](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/29.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Pure](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/34.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Beautiful\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/25.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Plus](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/32.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Smart\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/33.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Wholesome\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/35.png?v=5\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Fire\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/27.png?v=5\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/shared/images//award_icon_blue.svg\"/)
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Clayman\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/0587055836938e1735c8c056b6e32f86d0eddebb.jpg\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t128.8 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(25 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 6\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tAs a massive The Witcher fan, my hype levels were through the roof when I found out this game was made by the Witcher devs. You can practically smell the dark, gritty fantasy DNA the second you enter the game. The atmosphere is top-tier, but after putting some real time into it, I need to be honest: it is not a perfect game.
First, the good stuff: I really like the combat. It feels sharp and weighty, and pairing traditional swordplay with supernatural abilities gives a genuinely satisfying rhythm to every encounter.
The biggest surprise for me was the pacing. I have never played a game with a time limit before, and usually, that kind of pressure stresses me out. But against all odds, I actually like the mechanic here. It forces you to make meaningful, tense choices about how you spend your days, adding a layer of strategy I didn't expect to enjoy.
The story so far is great. I can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of good vampire story games I've played, and this is by far one of the best.
Now for the bad: the performance absolutely needs to be fixed. The frame rate dips heavily in dense areas, and the optimization is rough around the edges. I absolutely hate that I need to press a key to switch between abilities and potions. I'm playing on PC put a damn hotbar from 1 through 9 for the items I could use!
My Verdict: Although it is a great game at its core with an awesome world, the technical hiccups and minor bugs drag it down. Some animations need to be polished, as they sometimes feel robotic, and the lipsyncing is a little bit off, which leads to a few NPCs not moving their mouths at all. I would highly recommend buying it if you love narrative-driven RPGs, because its strongest point is there. If you are a The Witcher 3 fan, you will absolutely love this game because it takes a lot from it. After a few patches that fix the performance, bugs and some animations, I'm sure that this game is going to be a gem.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tFirst, the good stuff: I really like the combat. It feels sharp and weighty, and pairing traditional swordplay with supernatural abilities gives a genuinely satisfying rhythm to every encounter.
The biggest surprise for me was the pacing. I have never played a game with a time limit before, and usually, that kind of pressure stresses me out. But against all odds, I actually like the mechanic here. It forces you to make meaningful, tense choices about how you spend your days, adding a layer of strategy I didn't expect to enjoy.
The story so far is great. I can count on the fingers of one hand the amount of good vampire story games I've played, and this is by far one of the best.
Now for the bad: the performance absolutely needs to be fixed. The frame rate dips heavily in dense areas, and the optimization is rough around the edges. I absolutely hate that I need to press a key to switch between abilities and potions. I'm playing on PC put a damn hotbar from 1 through 9 for the items I could use!
My Verdict: Although it is a great game at its core with an awesome world, the technical hiccups and minor bugs drag it down. Some animations need to be polished, as they sometimes feel robotic, and the lipsyncing is a little bit off, which leads to a few NPCs not moving their mouths at all. I would highly recommend buying it if you love narrative-driven RPGs, because its strongest point is there. If you are a The Witcher 3 fan, you will absolutely love this game because it takes a lot from it. After a few patches that fix the performance, bugs and some animations, I'm sure that this game is going to be a gem.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 11
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Ryzen 7 5700X 8-Core Processor - RAM: 16 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Radeon RX 6800 XT - VRAM: 16 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t375 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
4 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t12
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t4 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Dracon\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/f19bc143b3b60db6de0071ce47ac376fb4b22be8.jpg\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t53.4 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(8.2 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 3\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tHonestly, I stumbled upon a game that turned out way better than I expected. After all the recent disappointments, playing a proper vampire game felt exceptionally goood. We're in the mid ages, and humanity is literally gasping for breath due to the plague; the vampire race (Vrakhir), ruled by a bald lunatic psycho named Brencis, offers their own blood as a cure for this disease, but in doing so, they end up enslaving humans. In the midst of all this, we go through some personal drama while trying to save our lovely family from Brencis's clutches.
Our main character, Coen, is a total wildcard.. depending on your choices, he becomes either an absolute maniac or a complete paragon of virtue. Depending on which direction you develop your skills, your notoriety increases, and killing people directly affects your reputation and even your savagery.
I found the main storyline quite engaging. Without giving away any spoilers, I can say this: the replayability of this game is extremely high. I was most surprise by how a simple side quest you start purely out of curiosity ends up impacting the main story to such a massive degree.
I'd suggest paying close attention to time in the game because time is a critical factor yayy! You need to get certain things done within a given time frame or things quickly go sideways.. Time even passes while you r upgrading skills, so you really have to plan meticulously. The day night cycle adds a completely different atmosphere to the game. We are a "Dawnwalker," a different type of Vrakhir to put it simply, during the day you're a young, black haired Geralt, and at night you r a vampire, black haired Geralt. And yes, we are much, much stronger at night...
Yea, soundtrack isnt bad, but don't expect bangers on the level of Witcher 2 or 3. That said, I can comfortably say the combat mechanics are better than Witcher 3 they feel much more fluid and responsive. Aaa there's a woman named Xanthe, and shes the one I'm most terified of I was just thinking, "I hope she pops up near the end of the game so I can take her down with my newly unlocked high/usefull skills." Right before writing this review, I ran into her, and let's just say our meeting didn't go so welll. Long story short, I dont get along well with women in real life, and nothing changed here either...
The map feels both huge and packed with content. I dont know, maybe it feels that way because I haven't played a decent game in a long time, but Blood of dawnwalker managed to leave me really satisfied on the content front. As for optimization, it is typical Unreal engine 5 stuff.. Don't go in with massive expectations, but it's not bad. On my weary RTX 4070 that keeps trying its best, I haven't had any major issues yet with Dlss and Frame generation enabled.
Overall, I'm really pleased with Blood of Dawnwalker. I didnt want to write a review right away because I expected it to start strong and then become generic, but I'm glad I waited. It turned out muuch better than I thought. The Rebel Wolves team did a great job, hats off to them!\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tOur main character, Coen, is a total wildcard.. depending on your choices, he becomes either an absolute maniac or a complete paragon of virtue. Depending on which direction you develop your skills, your notoriety increases, and killing people directly affects your reputation and even your savagery.
I found the main storyline quite engaging. Without giving away any spoilers, I can say this: the replayability of this game is extremely high. I was most surprise by how a simple side quest you start purely out of curiosity ends up impacting the main story to such a massive degree.
I'd suggest paying close attention to time in the game because time is a critical factor yayy! You need to get certain things done within a given time frame or things quickly go sideways.. Time even passes while you r upgrading skills, so you really have to plan meticulously. The day night cycle adds a completely different atmosphere to the game. We are a "Dawnwalker," a different type of Vrakhir to put it simply, during the day you're a young, black haired Geralt, and at night you r a vampire, black haired Geralt. And yes, we are much, much stronger at night...
Yea, soundtrack isnt bad, but don't expect bangers on the level of Witcher 2 or 3. That said, I can comfortably say the combat mechanics are better than Witcher 3 they feel much more fluid and responsive. Aaa there's a woman named Xanthe, and shes the one I'm most terified of I was just thinking, "I hope she pops up near the end of the game so I can take her down with my newly unlocked high/usefull skills." Right before writing this review, I ran into her, and let's just say our meeting didn't go so welll. Long story short, I dont get along well with women in real life, and nothing changed here either...
The map feels both huge and packed with content. I dont know, maybe it feels that way because I haven't played a decent game in a long time, but Blood of dawnwalker managed to leave me really satisfied on the content front. As for optimization, it is typical Unreal engine 5 stuff.. Don't go in with massive expectations, but it's not bad. On my weary RTX 4070 that keeps trying its best, I haven't had any major issues yet with Dlss and Frame generation enabled.
Overall, I'm really pleased with Blood of Dawnwalker. I didnt want to write a review right away because I expected it to start strong and then become generic, but I'm glad I waited. It turned out muuch better than I thought. The Rebel Wolves team did a great job, hats off to them!\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t630 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
22 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t22 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Jumber\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/ec56cd18ac9d7aa71bceaaf7721380f06f1f53a9.jpg\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t35.7 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(30.5 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 11\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tI admit it: At first, this game really did not appeal to me.
This game was directed by the director of Witcher 3, and features a lot of the staff of that game. Now, I'm a massive fan of Witcher 3 - It's one of my absolute favorite games of all-time. But I am just not super into vampire fiction. A game that revolves around it is really just not for me.
Or so I thought.
The Blood of Dawnwalker absolutely wears its inspirations on its sleeve. Two parts Witcher 3, one part Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines, one-half part Kingdom Come Deliverance. And it all works really, really well.
I read some criticism of the writing, but I really cannot get behind that whatsoever. The writing is really sharp. Dialogue is good, characters are excellent. There's a nice narrative hook in the main story, and the power fantasy is certainly here as well. Riding along with Coen going from a stressed out youth caring for his sick mother and young siblings to an all-powerful Vampire that's feared by the entire Vale of Sangora is quite the ride.
Most noteworthy is the high level of effort put into a lot of the side content. You can see the Witcher 3 experience there; the side quests are populated with interesting characters, and there is far more branching quest design here than ever there was in Witcher 3, which was pretty straightforward by comparison.
Quests in Dawnwalker change drastically depending on your choice. I've replayed several of them and been quite surprised by what I thought to be a relatively minor decision turning into a major change for the side quest in question. And they all make sense: Those twists based on your decisions never feel arbitrary. They always result in a, "Oh shoot, I should've considered that" kind of thought. That's something that must incredibly hard for the devs to design for, but they nailed it here.
Most surprising for me was the combat. I expected it to be rough and janky; something like Witcher 2, but it's not. It's surprisingly snappy, quick, and addictive. I applaud the devs for not going the easy "let's just rip off Dark Souls" route, and instead taking their inspiration straight from Kingdom Come Deliverance's directional parries and attacks system (which I adored!). This is a game in which I'll beat my head against the wall for hours, fighting an enemy I absolutely should not be fighting because I'm way underleveled, but repeatedly trying it anyway because the combat is so weighty, impactful, and satisfying.
There are some "go here and kill all the bad guys" side content, but it never quite becomes dull because the combat is so entertaining. It never gets old ripping apart human enemies at night as a vampire.
I will levy one criticism at the character movement: Coen moves so tanky and takes time to turn, which, humorously enough, is a criticism I had of Witcher 3 as well! The DNA shows there. It's very irritating trying to maneuver Coen through tighter spaces like inside homes, and I recall having that very same issue with Witcher 3.
Character-building is also really fun. You have three basic trees: Swordplay, Witchcraft, and Vampirism. Each have their own impacts, upgrades for each are floored in entirely different aspects (you need skill books to improve swordplay, you need to increase your corruption by feeding on the blood of humans and animals for vampirism, etc.) and they're all hyper-addictive to engage with as you roam around the map and complete various well-written side content.
The main quest timer has been controversial, but I'm glad the developers tried something bold and new. I actually really like the notion for an open world game; I'm a completely addicted completionist. I cannot stop myself from clearing every map marker, and that sometimes bogs me down in open world games (looking at you, Assassin's Creed). I like that the timer in Dawnwalker forces me to prioritize and choose! The main quest timer gives you plenty of slack to get the important things done, so it's not a huge constraint unless you're really being careless with how you're spending your time.
Further, I think it should be made clear that this isn't a ticking clock. It's a set of 8 blocks you spend (different quests cost different blocks, with most only costing you a single block of time), which is good. I tend to play games very slowly; I like to investigate everything, wander around, take in the views, etc. A ticking clock would've killed the experience for me. The timer in this game is more of a resource to be spent strategically, and I think that really works for this game. If you're worried about that and avoiding this game as a result: Don't be. You're missing out on a really enjoyable game.
The one area I will criticize is the feature in which upgrading most of your skills costs a block of time. This is, frankly, stupid. There's no real logical reason it should do so, and it really only serves to stifle exploration into different skills. I'm spending most of my time traversing around with a million unused skill points and using them when I find something that requires them, which is not the experience I think the devs want. Skill points should be driving the dopamine drip, and they don't here because of the way the game ties them into the timer system.
That said, the rest of this game's foundation is good enough to keep you driving along. The story is really good, the main character is likable, it's fun to engage with. The worldbuilding is also superb - Great job to the writing team there as building an entire world in lockstep with a brand new video game cannot be easy. Additionally, the music is excellent!
If you liked Witcher 3, Kingdom Come Deliverance's combat, open world games or cinematic RPGs like Mass Effect, or are a fanatic for vampire fiction, I honestly think one's worth it at full price. I expected a janky, rough-around-the-edges AA game, but it's got a lot more heart and polish than that, particularly in its writing, world, and combat.
Thanks and congratulations, Rebel Wolves. You guys nailed it. Can't wait to see what you do next in this world.
🧾 Feel free to follow my Curator page if you like my reviews.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tThis game was directed by the director of Witcher 3, and features a lot of the staff of that game. Now, I'm a massive fan of Witcher 3 - It's one of my absolute favorite games of all-time. But I am just not super into vampire fiction. A game that revolves around it is really just not for me.
Or so I thought.
The Blood of Dawnwalker absolutely wears its inspirations on its sleeve. Two parts Witcher 3, one part Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines, one-half part Kingdom Come Deliverance. And it all works really, really well.
I read some criticism of the writing, but I really cannot get behind that whatsoever. The writing is really sharp. Dialogue is good, characters are excellent. There's a nice narrative hook in the main story, and the power fantasy is certainly here as well. Riding along with Coen going from a stressed out youth caring for his sick mother and young siblings to an all-powerful Vampire that's feared by the entire Vale of Sangora is quite the ride.
Most noteworthy is the high level of effort put into a lot of the side content. You can see the Witcher 3 experience there; the side quests are populated with interesting characters, and there is far more branching quest design here than ever there was in Witcher 3, which was pretty straightforward by comparison.
Quests in Dawnwalker change drastically depending on your choice. I've replayed several of them and been quite surprised by what I thought to be a relatively minor decision turning into a major change for the side quest in question. And they all make sense: Those twists based on your decisions never feel arbitrary. They always result in a, "Oh shoot, I should've considered that" kind of thought. That's something that must incredibly hard for the devs to design for, but they nailed it here.
Most surprising for me was the combat. I expected it to be rough and janky; something like Witcher 2, but it's not. It's surprisingly snappy, quick, and addictive. I applaud the devs for not going the easy "let's just rip off Dark Souls" route, and instead taking their inspiration straight from Kingdom Come Deliverance's directional parries and attacks system (which I adored!). This is a game in which I'll beat my head against the wall for hours, fighting an enemy I absolutely should not be fighting because I'm way underleveled, but repeatedly trying it anyway because the combat is so weighty, impactful, and satisfying.
There are some "go here and kill all the bad guys" side content, but it never quite becomes dull because the combat is so entertaining. It never gets old ripping apart human enemies at night as a vampire.
I will levy one criticism at the character movement: Coen moves so tanky and takes time to turn, which, humorously enough, is a criticism I had of Witcher 3 as well! The DNA shows there. It's very irritating trying to maneuver Coen through tighter spaces like inside homes, and I recall having that very same issue with Witcher 3.
Character-building is also really fun. You have three basic trees: Swordplay, Witchcraft, and Vampirism. Each have their own impacts, upgrades for each are floored in entirely different aspects (you need skill books to improve swordplay, you need to increase your corruption by feeding on the blood of humans and animals for vampirism, etc.) and they're all hyper-addictive to engage with as you roam around the map and complete various well-written side content.
The main quest timer has been controversial, but I'm glad the developers tried something bold and new. I actually really like the notion for an open world game; I'm a completely addicted completionist. I cannot stop myself from clearing every map marker, and that sometimes bogs me down in open world games (looking at you, Assassin's Creed). I like that the timer in Dawnwalker forces me to prioritize and choose! The main quest timer gives you plenty of slack to get the important things done, so it's not a huge constraint unless you're really being careless with how you're spending your time.
Further, I think it should be made clear that this isn't a ticking clock. It's a set of 8 blocks you spend (different quests cost different blocks, with most only costing you a single block of time), which is good. I tend to play games very slowly; I like to investigate everything, wander around, take in the views, etc. A ticking clock would've killed the experience for me. The timer in this game is more of a resource to be spent strategically, and I think that really works for this game. If you're worried about that and avoiding this game as a result: Don't be. You're missing out on a really enjoyable game.
The one area I will criticize is the feature in which upgrading most of your skills costs a block of time. This is, frankly, stupid. There's no real logical reason it should do so, and it really only serves to stifle exploration into different skills. I'm spending most of my time traversing around with a million unused skill points and using them when I find something that requires them, which is not the experience I think the devs want. Skill points should be driving the dopamine drip, and they don't here because of the way the game ties them into the timer system.
That said, the rest of this game's foundation is good enough to keep you driving along. The story is really good, the main character is likable, it's fun to engage with. The worldbuilding is also superb - Great job to the writing team there as building an entire world in lockstep with a brand new video game cannot be easy. Additionally, the music is excellent!
If you liked Witcher 3, Kingdom Come Deliverance's combat, open world games or cinematic RPGs like Mass Effect, or are a fanatic for vampire fiction, I honestly think one's worth it at full price. I expected a janky, rough-around-the-edges AA game, but it's got a lot more heart and polish than that, particularly in its writing, world, and combat.
Thanks and congratulations, Rebel Wolves. You guys nailed it. Can't wait to see what you do next in this world.
🧾 Feel free to follow my Curator page if you like my reviews.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t262 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
2 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t2 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t60.4 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(18.3 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 3\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tThis is Vampire done right. None of that Twilight bull****. This is Nosferatu reinvented.
I am not going to lie, at first I was a bit disappointed. I went into this thinking it was something else. I looked at the tags and saw "action adventure" and was expecting more of that. This is VERY MUCH more of an action RPG game, leaning heavily into the narrative elements to start. Think 'The Witcher' meets 'KCD2'.
That being said, you need to give this game time to see the true action part. It very slowly sets the stage and tone. The prologue can easily take 2-4 hours to complete if you are like me and need to a) loot/steal everything, b) try to complete every quest and c) explore every nook and cranny/unlock all the fast travel hearths. If that sounds like you, be prepared for very light combat (barely scratches the surface of what you can do) and more back and forth questing that can seem rather dull, but it is more to ease you into all the basic mechanics. Once you get past the prologue, the whole world map opens up. And this is where the real fun begins.
I can't believe I am saying this (because I hate soul like games and block/parry based mechanics) but the coordinated blocking in this game is my favourite part. It feels so satisfying. Instead of just pressing the block button to block, you also need to press a directional button to block incoming attacks (for example: left block, right block, up block, down block). Sounds like a lot but the tutorials are great and there are different difficulty modes and prompts that can be enabled to let you know what direction you need to block in, with options for an auto block in the settings (still need to press block but you won't be penalized with health if you press the wrong directional key, it just uses up stamina). The directional key thing is also applicable for combat which I found pretty unique.
I don't want to give away the story or spoil the discovery at all, but in addition to swordplay there are multiple skill trees dabbling in both vampirism and witchcraft that you allocate points into. The combat really evolves over time and I love how you actually feel like you are a vampire with the abilities you can use, in and out of combat. You can bite to recover health, crawl up walls, teleport. My only complaint with combat are the controls. You cannot remap keys. And I find it a bit cumbersome to navigate through the inventory and ability wheels during combat. Just a lot of unnecessary button pressing. Ain't no one got time for all that mid combat -_-
Once the whole map opens up, it very much is open world with guided questing and a progressing storyline. But there are limitations to be aware of. You only have a set amount of time during the day and night. Completing missions and tasks, eats up time. You also have a set amount of days to complete the main storyline. So you need to be aware of that and sometimes, choose your activities wisely. Some are time sensitive. Decisions appear to shape and matter in this game. They did a really good job with the RPG elements and allowing you to play the way you want to play. Only complaint being… how you gonna have an open world and no mini map??
If you are having a hard time getting through the prologue, push past that. It is but a sliver of the gameplay. You will be rewarded with not only beautiful graphics, great characters and an engaging story but vampire lore that is effortlessly weaved into every aspect of the game.
It is not everyday vampire fans get something like this, so enjoy!!
Update:
For people worried about time management…
The main storyline quests will tell you if you are high enough level to progress (it says stuff like ‘at your current level this will be a challenge’ in orange text). So what I am doing is using this as an indicator when I need to do some quests on the side to level up vs if I should be progressing the story along. Hopefully it doesn’t screw me over but I’m assuming that is why they incorporated comments like that. Good luck!!
\n\n\t\t\t\tI am not going to lie, at first I was a bit disappointed. I went into this thinking it was something else. I looked at the tags and saw "action adventure" and was expecting more of that. This is VERY MUCH more of an action RPG game, leaning heavily into the narrative elements to start. Think 'The Witcher' meets 'KCD2'.
That being said, you need to give this game time to see the true action part. It very slowly sets the stage and tone. The prologue can easily take 2-4 hours to complete if you are like me and need to a) loot/steal everything, b) try to complete every quest and c) explore every nook and cranny/unlock all the fast travel hearths. If that sounds like you, be prepared for very light combat (barely scratches the surface of what you can do) and more back and forth questing that can seem rather dull, but it is more to ease you into all the basic mechanics. Once you get past the prologue, the whole world map opens up. And this is where the real fun begins.
I can't believe I am saying this (because I hate soul like games and block/parry based mechanics) but the coordinated blocking in this game is my favourite part. It feels so satisfying. Instead of just pressing the block button to block, you also need to press a directional button to block incoming attacks (for example: left block, right block, up block, down block). Sounds like a lot but the tutorials are great and there are different difficulty modes and prompts that can be enabled to let you know what direction you need to block in, with options for an auto block in the settings (still need to press block but you won't be penalized with health if you press the wrong directional key, it just uses up stamina). The directional key thing is also applicable for combat which I found pretty unique.
I don't want to give away the story or spoil the discovery at all, but in addition to swordplay there are multiple skill trees dabbling in both vampirism and witchcraft that you allocate points into. The combat really evolves over time and I love how you actually feel like you are a vampire with the abilities you can use, in and out of combat. You can bite to recover health, crawl up walls, teleport. My only complaint with combat are the controls. You cannot remap keys. And I find it a bit cumbersome to navigate through the inventory and ability wheels during combat. Just a lot of unnecessary button pressing. Ain't no one got time for all that mid combat -_-
Once the whole map opens up, it very much is open world with guided questing and a progressing storyline. But there are limitations to be aware of. You only have a set amount of time during the day and night. Completing missions and tasks, eats up time. You also have a set amount of days to complete the main storyline. So you need to be aware of that and sometimes, choose your activities wisely. Some are time sensitive. Decisions appear to shape and matter in this game. They did a really good job with the RPG elements and allowing you to play the way you want to play. Only complaint being… how you gonna have an open world and no mini map??
If you are having a hard time getting through the prologue, push past that. It is but a sliver of the gameplay. You will be rewarded with not only beautiful graphics, great characters and an engaging story but vampire lore that is effortlessly weaved into every aspect of the game.
It is not everyday vampire fans get something like this, so enjoy!!
Update:
For people worried about time management…
The main storyline quests will tell you if you are high enough level to progress (it says stuff like ‘at your current level this will be a challenge’ in orange text). So what I am doing is using this as an indicator when I need to do some quests on the side to level up vs if I should be progressing the story along. Hopefully it doesn’t screw me over but I’m assuming that is why they incorporated comments like that. Good luck!!
If you enjoy my reviews and find them helpful, please consider following our Starpatch curator page: Starpatch on Steam\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t485 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
8 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Mydna\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/1679ac2b856ee0496b28f99c9b4cda8b18d342af.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t38 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 13\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tAs a huge fan of vampires and all the folklore surrounding them, its really not easy when it comes to games.
For one thing, games set in a vampire universe are very rare, and the ones that do exist are mostly either watered down with the worst clichés or just pure junk from top to bottom.
In my opinion, the only really good games set in the vampire universe are the Legacy of Kain series and Vampire: The Masquerade. There are other “okayish” vampire games, but personally I wouldnt consider BloodRayne a top tier title, for example.
And now comes The Blood of Dawnwalker!
Basically, for me its The Witcher 3 in vampire clothing. Thankfully with a fun combat system. I found the combat in The Witcher absolutely dreadful and completely devoid of fun.
The combat system in Dawnwalker isnt extremely complex, but its just fun and works flawlessly. Its similar to the one in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, where you can attack and parry from four different directions. Its incredibly satisfying when you knock an opponent off their feet and they are hurled through the air, gurgling.
I could go into detail about the individual skill trees, but that would go beyond the scope of this post. Just briefly: I actually found that every skill serves a purpose, and none of them seemed useless to me. My favorite skill is the one where you simply make the enemy explode.
The entire world is incredibly beautiful, gloomy, filthy, and merciless. In Dawnwalker theres no joy, everything is simply terrible, and everyone suffers. Just as it should be in dark fantasy!
Theres something to discover everywhere. The world is inhabited by all sorts of creatures, such as goat people, fat elves, ghouls, and much more.
The characters are all well developed too, and I didnt come across a single one where I thought, “Well, that one isnt so great.” They are all very different characters, all trying to ease their suffering their own way.
Coen is also an extremely good main character whom I enjoyed playing, because hes very likable right from the start.
The quest design is also extremely good. No quest is boring. There are no cheap fetch quests like in other games where you just mindlessly run around the area doing things like “collect 100 of this or that” or “talk to person A and then talk to person B.”
Every quest has its own story. Sometimes its a short little story, but most of the time its quest chains with fairly long and detailed stories. In any case, I wasnt bored at any point, and I didnt find a single quest to be bad. There is a bit of collecting stuff, but thats really limited to checking off fast travel points or clearing small camps of jerks.
In any case, its not overloaded, and definitely not Ubisoft-style “I cant see the map because its covered in icons.”
Just a quick note about the time limit that many people criticized beforehand: I dont think anyone likes time limits. I, for one, hate them. But I can say that in Dawnwalker, its absolutely no problem. It doesnt stress you out at all, and you dont feel any pressure or anything like that. I was able to do everything I wanted to do, and I still had 5 days left at the end. The time limit is just part of the narrative, but it doesnt really affect the gameplay itself.
My only real criticism of the game is the traversal at times. When you try to climb a wall or run over some boulders, it can feel pretty clunky. It wasnt a dealbreaker for me, but it definitely needs a bit more polish.
For me, The Blood of Dawnwalker is a strong contender for GOTY 2026, and the game truly deserves to be played.
If you liked The Witcher 3, then you will like Dawnwalker too. And if you like vampire games on top, then this is your wildest dream come true!\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tFor one thing, games set in a vampire universe are very rare, and the ones that do exist are mostly either watered down with the worst clichés or just pure junk from top to bottom.
In my opinion, the only really good games set in the vampire universe are the Legacy of Kain series and Vampire: The Masquerade. There are other “okayish” vampire games, but personally I wouldnt consider BloodRayne a top tier title, for example.
And now comes The Blood of Dawnwalker!
Basically, for me its The Witcher 3 in vampire clothing. Thankfully with a fun combat system. I found the combat in The Witcher absolutely dreadful and completely devoid of fun.
The combat system in Dawnwalker isnt extremely complex, but its just fun and works flawlessly. Its similar to the one in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, where you can attack and parry from four different directions. Its incredibly satisfying when you knock an opponent off their feet and they are hurled through the air, gurgling.
I could go into detail about the individual skill trees, but that would go beyond the scope of this post. Just briefly: I actually found that every skill serves a purpose, and none of them seemed useless to me. My favorite skill is the one where you simply make the enemy explode.
The entire world is incredibly beautiful, gloomy, filthy, and merciless. In Dawnwalker theres no joy, everything is simply terrible, and everyone suffers. Just as it should be in dark fantasy!
Theres something to discover everywhere. The world is inhabited by all sorts of creatures, such as goat people, fat elves, ghouls, and much more.
The characters are all well developed too, and I didnt come across a single one where I thought, “Well, that one isnt so great.” They are all very different characters, all trying to ease their suffering their own way.
Coen is also an extremely good main character whom I enjoyed playing, because hes very likable right from the start.
The quest design is also extremely good. No quest is boring. There are no cheap fetch quests like in other games where you just mindlessly run around the area doing things like “collect 100 of this or that” or “talk to person A and then talk to person B.”
Every quest has its own story. Sometimes its a short little story, but most of the time its quest chains with fairly long and detailed stories. In any case, I wasnt bored at any point, and I didnt find a single quest to be bad. There is a bit of collecting stuff, but thats really limited to checking off fast travel points or clearing small camps of jerks.
In any case, its not overloaded, and definitely not Ubisoft-style “I cant see the map because its covered in icons.”
Just a quick note about the time limit that many people criticized beforehand: I dont think anyone likes time limits. I, for one, hate them. But I can say that in Dawnwalker, its absolutely no problem. It doesnt stress you out at all, and you dont feel any pressure or anything like that. I was able to do everything I wanted to do, and I still had 5 days left at the end. The time limit is just part of the narrative, but it doesnt really affect the gameplay itself.
My only real criticism of the game is the traversal at times. When you try to climb a wall or run over some boulders, it can feel pretty clunky. It wasnt a dealbreaker for me, but it definitely needs a bit more polish.
For me, The Blood of Dawnwalker is a strong contender for GOTY 2026, and the game truly deserves to be played.
If you liked The Witcher 3, then you will like Dawnwalker too. And if you like vampire games on top, then this is your wildest dream come true!\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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1 person found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Pattarek\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/4cd1c605d53a09f4d9138b42cad23470d326f41f.jpg\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t37.1 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(36 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 6\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tIgnore haters. This game is absoloutly fantastic. Finally a game with some balls to try something new. We should encourage this\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1,497 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
31 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t31 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Okin\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/1c1a87485ade50690dd2cd3c5171bbb16185627f.jpg\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t46 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(38.4 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 3\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSoooo this dropped on my birthday, so I got it myself as a gift. Yeey.
Review time!
So far I played the prologue which took me around three hours, taking my sweet time, and I really liked it. People compare it to the Witcher 3 (which I played through twice) and rightfully so, but it also got some genes from Kingdom Come (which I didn't play but watched some).
Visually the game looks amazing but the perfomance could be better I've heard. Runs fine for me though. Maybe a patch will fix the performance for the folks who've got bad luck or an older system.
Faces look a bit stiff still but you'll forget about that soon enough as the writing and voice acting makes up for it. If you enjoyed a Bethesda game you'll know that stiff faces vanish as soon as you get sucked into the world. I think it's the same for Dawnwalker.
In terms of how your decisions matter, Dawnwalker teaches you early on that there isn't the "right" solution (just how it was in Witcher and BG3) and that every coin has two sides to it. They also teach you that you can't do everything at once at the same time. You've got to choose which quests to tackle and which not. Thats something I haven't experience before in an RPG and I think I like it? Could be frustrating for the completionists and FOMO-type of people.
Anyway, if you aren't sure wait for a sale. So far I didn't regret my money and I am a broke student who thinks twice about ordering a pizza.
I hope this game is a success for Rebelwolves as they seem to be a promising new euro-studio.
To say it with Palpatines words: "We'll watch your career with great interest."
Cheers!
Update: (I'll try to keep this as spoiler free as possible)
After roughly 40 hours I stand with my review but the game started to show some cracks but whats even more important: the 30 in-game-days are sufficient to experience nearly everything the game has to offer!
Now let's take a look at the expected cracks:
In the end it's a fantastic RPG with amazing writing, great quests and a loveable main character. Sure it has some flaws but it's the first game of a new studio and I think they'll listen to feedback for their next game - which is already in the works.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tReview time!
So far I played the prologue which took me around three hours, taking my sweet time, and I really liked it. People compare it to the Witcher 3 (which I played through twice) and rightfully so, but it also got some genes from Kingdom Come (which I didn't play but watched some).
Visually the game looks amazing but the perfomance could be better I've heard. Runs fine for me though. Maybe a patch will fix the performance for the folks who've got bad luck or an older system.
Faces look a bit stiff still but you'll forget about that soon enough as the writing and voice acting makes up for it. If you enjoyed a Bethesda game you'll know that stiff faces vanish as soon as you get sucked into the world. I think it's the same for Dawnwalker.
In terms of how your decisions matter, Dawnwalker teaches you early on that there isn't the "right" solution (just how it was in Witcher and BG3) and that every coin has two sides to it. They also teach you that you can't do everything at once at the same time. You've got to choose which quests to tackle and which not. Thats something I haven't experience before in an RPG and I think I like it? Could be frustrating for the completionists and FOMO-type of people.
Anyway, if you aren't sure wait for a sale. So far I didn't regret my money and I am a broke student who thinks twice about ordering a pizza.
I hope this game is a success for Rebelwolves as they seem to be a promising new euro-studio.
To say it with Palpatines words: "We'll watch your career with great interest."
Cheers!
Update: (I'll try to keep this as spoiler free as possible)
After roughly 40 hours I stand with my review but the game started to show some cracks but whats even more important: the 30 in-game-days are sufficient to experience nearly everything the game has to offer!
Now let's take a look at the expected cracks:
- First, the enemy variety is not good and enemies in general are bulletsponges which get's very annoying as the game throws a bunch of them at you during certain quests.
- Second the romance options don't react to each other. Additionally one option basically removes themself from the events of the story entirely after you finish their questline. That's just disappointing.
- The open world is just bland. The only really fun open world games I played were Witcher 3, Oblivion and Skyrim (Sorry, didn't play Fallout and KCD). Every other games open world became boring and empty. Sadly Dawnwalker is no exception in this. Still the big city looks and feels like a proper continental medieval city and not like hollywoods warped image of the late medieval ages.
- Now the last point ... sadly the combat camera is godawful. There is no other way to put it. It needs serious work. The camera and autofokus is your true enemy and everyone who beat the Nameless King in Dark Souls 3 will instantly get their PTSD triggered.
In the end it's a fantastic RPG with amazing writing, great quests and a loveable main character. Sure it has some flaws but it's the first game of a new studio and I think they'll listen to feedback for their next game - which is already in the works.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 11
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900K - RAM: 32 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti - VRAM: 16 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t185 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
6 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t6 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Lordloss345\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/7481d552fb63de33f29b9be9936ff1dafadf877f.jpg\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t57.4 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(19.3 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 8\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tThe Blood of Dawnwalker is a breath of fresh air for the action-RPG genre. For the first time in a long time, it gives RPG players agency over the narrative and 'choice and consequence' are more than just simple buzz words used to market the game.
There are many fantastic, AA or AAA RPGs over recent years, but nearly all of them fail to deliver on the 'choice and consequence' expectations that many RPG players expect. Recent Bethesda titles, such as Skyrim or Starfield, offer a sandbox experience, but allow players to do everything and experience everything in one playthrough, with side quests and the ‘main quest’ nicely sliced and treated separately from each other. As a way to illustrate this point: so you’re on the big quest to stop big bad evil, great, but you’ve also taken a significant amount of time to join the thieves’ guild while the world stops and waits for you to pick up on the main quest again. This probably works well for casual players, but not for die-hard RPG fans looking for something different. Even more recent immersive RPGs, such as KCD II or the Gothic 1 remake, while offering a more narrative-focused experience, still force the player to follow a linear series of quests until they reach the end of the game with little to no agency over how the narrative plays out. In such games, where the player can make a choice, it is actually not telegraphed whilst the player is playing the game, but rather is displayed as part of an ending cinematic or narrated after you put down the controller or step away from the keyboard. A similar game, not in terms of gameplay or overall narrative, but in terms of experimental structure and quest design that resonated with me whilst playing this game, was Dontnod's 2018 'Vampyr'. If you enjoyed what Vampyr tried to do with its progression and quest design, but forgave some of its less polished faults, you will also enjoy Blood of Dawnwalker.
In Blood of Dawnwalker, by having one main goal (with no linear progression) supported by a series of optional quests, which can have a variety of outcomes, depending on when the player decides to start the quest or what time of day they complete it, really adds weight to the choices that the player has to make. This is further supported by treating time as a resource, where undertaking certain quests or actions can eat into the 30 days that you have to complete the main goal of the game. It’s not for everyone and will anger completionist players who like to do everything in one playthrough, but it is different and is probably one of the best innovations to the RPG genre in recent years.
All of this is supported by an extremely dark atmosphere, both in terms of the visual presentation of the game and the narrative, which sets it apart from similar titles that tackle the same subject matter, such Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Everything from the voice acting to the quest design is executed well; it doesn’t work all the time, but when it does it can really pull you in. Whether it’s saving a rebel working against the vampire overlords or helping a vampire who uses his faith in Christianity to stop himself from feeding on human blood; nothing is clearly black and white, or can be placed in ‘good’ and ‘evil’ camps, and you will always be surprised by what you might receive at the end of the quest – perhaps it’s a powerful object or an alliance with the quest giver. Do you lead more in to Coen’s vampiric side, spending most of your time levelling up his vampiric powers and undertaking quests at night, perhaps siding with some other potential vampire allies, or do you perhaps want to roleplay Coen as a bastion of humanity, doing everything you can do avoid having to play as a vampire, skipping night time and investing in your human abilities, siding with human characters (some good, some more morally complex); or perhaps you want to roleplay as the titular Dawnwalker, taking advantage of both day and night and building a jack-of-all trades build and building a coalition of forces to take down Brencis and his vampire allies. The game lets you play out these fantasies and does not punish you for choosing a particular way to play the game.
If you like dark, western action-RPGs, with gameplay similar to the Witcher and want to experience a new experimental method to narrative and storytelling, then you must play this game.
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\n\n\t\t\t\tThere are many fantastic, AA or AAA RPGs over recent years, but nearly all of them fail to deliver on the 'choice and consequence' expectations that many RPG players expect. Recent Bethesda titles, such as Skyrim or Starfield, offer a sandbox experience, but allow players to do everything and experience everything in one playthrough, with side quests and the ‘main quest’ nicely sliced and treated separately from each other. As a way to illustrate this point: so you’re on the big quest to stop big bad evil, great, but you’ve also taken a significant amount of time to join the thieves’ guild while the world stops and waits for you to pick up on the main quest again. This probably works well for casual players, but not for die-hard RPG fans looking for something different. Even more recent immersive RPGs, such as KCD II or the Gothic 1 remake, while offering a more narrative-focused experience, still force the player to follow a linear series of quests until they reach the end of the game with little to no agency over how the narrative plays out. In such games, where the player can make a choice, it is actually not telegraphed whilst the player is playing the game, but rather is displayed as part of an ending cinematic or narrated after you put down the controller or step away from the keyboard. A similar game, not in terms of gameplay or overall narrative, but in terms of experimental structure and quest design that resonated with me whilst playing this game, was Dontnod's 2018 'Vampyr'. If you enjoyed what Vampyr tried to do with its progression and quest design, but forgave some of its less polished faults, you will also enjoy Blood of Dawnwalker.
In Blood of Dawnwalker, by having one main goal (with no linear progression) supported by a series of optional quests, which can have a variety of outcomes, depending on when the player decides to start the quest or what time of day they complete it, really adds weight to the choices that the player has to make. This is further supported by treating time as a resource, where undertaking certain quests or actions can eat into the 30 days that you have to complete the main goal of the game. It’s not for everyone and will anger completionist players who like to do everything in one playthrough, but it is different and is probably one of the best innovations to the RPG genre in recent years.
All of this is supported by an extremely dark atmosphere, both in terms of the visual presentation of the game and the narrative, which sets it apart from similar titles that tackle the same subject matter, such Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Everything from the voice acting to the quest design is executed well; it doesn’t work all the time, but when it does it can really pull you in. Whether it’s saving a rebel working against the vampire overlords or helping a vampire who uses his faith in Christianity to stop himself from feeding on human blood; nothing is clearly black and white, or can be placed in ‘good’ and ‘evil’ camps, and you will always be surprised by what you might receive at the end of the quest – perhaps it’s a powerful object or an alliance with the quest giver. Do you lead more in to Coen’s vampiric side, spending most of your time levelling up his vampiric powers and undertaking quests at night, perhaps siding with some other potential vampire allies, or do you perhaps want to roleplay Coen as a bastion of humanity, doing everything you can do avoid having to play as a vampire, skipping night time and investing in your human abilities, siding with human characters (some good, some more morally complex); or perhaps you want to roleplay as the titular Dawnwalker, taking advantage of both day and night and building a jack-of-all trades build and building a coalition of forces to take down Brencis and his vampire allies. The game lets you play out these fantasies and does not punish you for choosing a particular way to play the game.
If you like dark, western action-RPGs, with gameplay similar to the Witcher and want to experience a new experimental method to narrative and storytelling, then you must play this game.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 11
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-Core Processor - RAM: 32 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 - VRAM: 16 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t237 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
7 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t7 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Plati\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/c7f0063d1d4e9bdf6759d54911e5b182845f0e90.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t121.6 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(32.4 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 7\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tTLDR: Expect more of Shadow of Mordor, Far Cry and Mass Effect 3* than Witcher, Gothic, VtM Bloodlines. Needless to say, RP here is more about skill trees and narrative 'TV channels' than character roleplay or skill/perk checks in dialogue. Though very uneager, I do think it qualifies to be called a 'western' RPG. It's still a very good game with moments of meaningful agency.
First the technical part - this game is yet another unfortunate victim of Unreal Engine 5, which includes stuttering and eye watering blur. While optimization could be better, I felt like I had more or less smooth experience, excluding one-two areas such as densely populated city. Regarding TAA, I am happy to say that it can be disabled with an edit of .ini file and the game actually looks good without grainy/artefact look - which is rare, because in some games TAA is either impossible to disable completely (Avowed) or makes the game too terrible looking (Cyberpunk 2077), so if you prefer sharpness of image over blurry softened edges - this game thankfully can provide.
Now the gameplay - the opening sequence may create a false impression that the architecture of the game follows other western RPGs with settlements densely-filled with npcs, dialogue and quests with varying options and lasting consequences. The feeling you get when the prologue is over and you just enter the open world is intoxicating and I want to give a great praise just for that - always nice to disenchant my game impotence.
Sadly, many players may soon feel burnt and think that the game offers nothing more than ubi-style outpost clearing with 1-2 quests per settlement and 'swiping' the map clean of points of interest a-la witcher 3 question marks. That is mostly the case, although playing for a while longer you realize there is more than meets the eye - the quests are there, dialogue is there and choices do matter - it's just that they are eclipsed with majority of content you will do. The core gameplay loop is 1) bit of dialogue 2) traveling/scanning with 'witcher sense' 3) combat 4) OPTIONAL: trivial choice at the end like spare someones life or engage with moral dilemma, such as clear the bandit outpost only to have their boss beg for mercy in exchange for trinket or knowledge. You still ultimately clear the outpost.
People that complain about 'janky combat' amuse me. You don't know jank until you played original two Gothics. Combat is not janky, maybe the animations are a bit. Once you understand the controls, it becomes enjoyable and you have full control over its flow. Yes, some things are counter intuitive - for example, if you are cornered (literally), witcher 3 players may think pressing space with a direction will allow you to dash through enemy ranks and change position; here it won't work and you just dash towards enemies and get kicked in the face. To achieve what you want, you actually press [E] during combat and you teleport behind enemy back. Yes, the movement in combat is not just barrel-roll dodge that nullifies all damage and crit-attack from back. And that's refreshingly good. Still, you better enjoy this combat system, since you will be doing it entirety of the game - there is no stealth-as-substitute to combat and little to none pacifist speechcraft.
I enjoyed very much the time system in this game and feel like players will like the game more if they come to terms with it instead of running for nexusmods. Yes, it's a questionable thing like saving with Schnapps in Kingdom Come, but it's purpose is clear - makes the urgency real, instead of 'save Ciri ASAP, but not before winning all Gwent tournaments'. This also finally creates something RPGs miss - because you are time constrained, you cannot help and save everyone, meaning that picking callous/indifferent/neutral options in dialogue/quests actually make sense not just RP or narrative wise, but also mechanically. In normal cases, you just 100% clear the game to get most XP, ignoring that the protagonist would unlikely go on every errand such as clear rats from basement or deliver fish barrel across entire map. Saying 'no' to people, being neutral or even leaving persons in danger to their fate actually felt impactful.
I don't want to police people into 'correct playstyle' since everyone ultimately plays however they want, especially singleplayer games. I have a friend who plays Hitman by giving himself god mode and infinite ammo and he just runs around with fire axe murdering entirety of the level. However, I must urge you (if interested in this game) NOT to go online looking for guides, NOT to reload save when you get an outcome in dialogue/quest you dislike and NOT to use walkthrough. Trust me, even when you feel strong inclination such as 'find X item f*ck knows where', the gameplay becomes much more interesting when you embrace time-constrained ambiguity. Yes, you will not be able to get 100% 'synchronisation' in a single playthrough. This just makes the choices in first playthrough and subsequent playthroughs more meaningful. Sadly, majority of gamers will just ignore this and just save scum and use guides even in their first playthroughs...
Narrative-wise I have no complaints besides some direction and (story) pacing. The premise of the game and opening is so powerful, it can carry you throughout the game with infrequent reinforcement mid and late game. This game has a rare success of answering the question 'why should *I* give a f*ck?', explaining why would protagonist go through all this instead of taking it as given because *you*, the player, bought the game and will play it anyway - a good litmus test is that the player motivation works even if the protagonist is imagined incredibly cynical, selfish and borderline nihilist. However, sometimes game becomes awkward when you are supposed to feel sad about npc you saw once and already forgot the name or feel romantic connection to a person whose 'chemistry' is comparable to Dexter Morgan, although this may be intentional representation of autistic women (and protagonist) in videogames. I doubt it's the case, as the game sometimes even explicitly says 'man I struggle at this, anyway here is exposition, followed by a invisible variable going +1 to mark bonding'.
Endings and ultimate conclusion left a both positive and negative aftertaste. Positive, because I greatly appreciate the 'Slide-show' style ending that tells us about impact of our choices and fates of people we met. Negative, because I disliked the post-credits scene. Developers, people who play videogames about medieval Europe, vampires, witchcraft and swordplay do not want to see *that*. Ending identical to a film 'Dracula Untold'. I just hope they declare it non-canon. But hey, I am open to be proved wrong and they give us a proper VtM Bloodlines successor.
I feel like this is a quintessential example of 'Very Good, but not a Masterpiece', in russian terms - Zaebis, but not Ohuet. With time, it will likely earn the status of Mad Max or Sleeping Dogs with youtubers making video essays 'Dawnwalker is underrated gem'. It's content is highly eclectic, which combines both good and bad parts of various games, including those I've mentioned in TLDR section.
*On ME3 - think endless corridors with hordes of repeating 5-6 enemy types minus the companions. Narrative setup, movement through a combat arena, further movement, another wave, another arena, and eventually a scripted climax. Sometimes I felt - Jesus, game, I think it's enough, no need to go through more waves of monsters in this quest...\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tFirst the technical part - this game is yet another unfortunate victim of Unreal Engine 5, which includes stuttering and eye watering blur. While optimization could be better, I felt like I had more or less smooth experience, excluding one-two areas such as densely populated city. Regarding TAA, I am happy to say that it can be disabled with an edit of .ini file and the game actually looks good without grainy/artefact look - which is rare, because in some games TAA is either impossible to disable completely (Avowed) or makes the game too terrible looking (Cyberpunk 2077), so if you prefer sharpness of image over blurry softened edges - this game thankfully can provide.
Now the gameplay - the opening sequence may create a false impression that the architecture of the game follows other western RPGs with settlements densely-filled with npcs, dialogue and quests with varying options and lasting consequences. The feeling you get when the prologue is over and you just enter the open world is intoxicating and I want to give a great praise just for that - always nice to disenchant my game impotence.
Sadly, many players may soon feel burnt and think that the game offers nothing more than ubi-style outpost clearing with 1-2 quests per settlement and 'swiping' the map clean of points of interest a-la witcher 3 question marks. That is mostly the case, although playing for a while longer you realize there is more than meets the eye - the quests are there, dialogue is there and choices do matter - it's just that they are eclipsed with majority of content you will do. The core gameplay loop is 1) bit of dialogue 2) traveling/scanning with 'witcher sense' 3) combat 4) OPTIONAL: trivial choice at the end like spare someones life or engage with moral dilemma, such as clear the bandit outpost only to have their boss beg for mercy in exchange for trinket or knowledge. You still ultimately clear the outpost.
People that complain about 'janky combat' amuse me. You don't know jank until you played original two Gothics. Combat is not janky, maybe the animations are a bit. Once you understand the controls, it becomes enjoyable and you have full control over its flow. Yes, some things are counter intuitive - for example, if you are cornered (literally), witcher 3 players may think pressing space with a direction will allow you to dash through enemy ranks and change position; here it won't work and you just dash towards enemies and get kicked in the face. To achieve what you want, you actually press [E] during combat and you teleport behind enemy back. Yes, the movement in combat is not just barrel-roll dodge that nullifies all damage and crit-attack from back. And that's refreshingly good. Still, you better enjoy this combat system, since you will be doing it entirety of the game - there is no stealth-as-substitute to combat and little to none pacifist speechcraft.
I enjoyed very much the time system in this game and feel like players will like the game more if they come to terms with it instead of running for nexusmods. Yes, it's a questionable thing like saving with Schnapps in Kingdom Come, but it's purpose is clear - makes the urgency real, instead of 'save Ciri ASAP, but not before winning all Gwent tournaments'. This also finally creates something RPGs miss - because you are time constrained, you cannot help and save everyone, meaning that picking callous/indifferent/neutral options in dialogue/quests actually make sense not just RP or narrative wise, but also mechanically. In normal cases, you just 100% clear the game to get most XP, ignoring that the protagonist would unlikely go on every errand such as clear rats from basement or deliver fish barrel across entire map. Saying 'no' to people, being neutral or even leaving persons in danger to their fate actually felt impactful.
I don't want to police people into 'correct playstyle' since everyone ultimately plays however they want, especially singleplayer games. I have a friend who plays Hitman by giving himself god mode and infinite ammo and he just runs around with fire axe murdering entirety of the level. However, I must urge you (if interested in this game) NOT to go online looking for guides, NOT to reload save when you get an outcome in dialogue/quest you dislike and NOT to use walkthrough. Trust me, even when you feel strong inclination such as 'find X item f*ck knows where', the gameplay becomes much more interesting when you embrace time-constrained ambiguity. Yes, you will not be able to get 100% 'synchronisation' in a single playthrough. This just makes the choices in first playthrough and subsequent playthroughs more meaningful. Sadly, majority of gamers will just ignore this and just save scum and use guides even in their first playthroughs...
Narrative-wise I have no complaints besides some direction and (story) pacing. The premise of the game and opening is so powerful, it can carry you throughout the game with infrequent reinforcement mid and late game. This game has a rare success of answering the question 'why should *I* give a f*ck?', explaining why would protagonist go through all this instead of taking it as given because *you*, the player, bought the game and will play it anyway - a good litmus test is that the player motivation works even if the protagonist is imagined incredibly cynical, selfish and borderline nihilist. However, sometimes game becomes awkward when you are supposed to feel sad about npc you saw once and already forgot the name or feel romantic connection to a person whose 'chemistry' is comparable to Dexter Morgan, although this may be intentional representation of autistic women (and protagonist) in videogames. I doubt it's the case, as the game sometimes even explicitly says 'man I struggle at this, anyway here is exposition, followed by a invisible variable going +1 to mark bonding'.
Endings and ultimate conclusion left a both positive and negative aftertaste. Positive, because I greatly appreciate the 'Slide-show' style ending that tells us about impact of our choices and fates of people we met. Negative, because I disliked the post-credits scene. Developers, people who play videogames about medieval Europe, vampires, witchcraft and swordplay do not want to see *that*. Ending identical to a film 'Dracula Untold'. I just hope they declare it non-canon. But hey, I am open to be proved wrong and they give us a proper VtM Bloodlines successor.
I feel like this is a quintessential example of 'Very Good, but not a Masterpiece', in russian terms - Zaebis, but not Ohuet. With time, it will likely earn the status of Mad Max or Sleeping Dogs with youtubers making video essays 'Dawnwalker is underrated gem'. It's content is highly eclectic, which combines both good and bad parts of various games, including those I've mentioned in TLDR section.
*On ME3 - think endless corridors with hordes of repeating 5-6 enemy types minus the companions. Narrative setup, movement through a combat arena, further movement, another wave, another arena, and eventually a scripted climax. Sometimes I felt - Jesus, game, I think it's enough, no need to go through more waves of monsters in this quest...\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t150 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
6 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t6 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Karbonyth\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/0ed02d6269f150b8411828eb647c3b0f243794f6.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/shared/images/userreviews/icon_thumbsDown_v6.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https://community.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/apphubs/bigpicture/thumbs_down_selected.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t7.9 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 3\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tThis negative review is probably telling more about myself than about the game.
I'm not gonna talk about the performance issues, nor the occasional jank in movements, combats, NPCs behavior. Those aspects can be improved, and might with future patches, and they are extensively talked about in other reviews.
The graphics are good enough, if not a bit weird at times, especially concerning characters. The story is really nice, the overall ambiance is very good and the music is amazing. By all accounts, this should be a positive review.
But my gripe with the game is apparently what other people love: The whole design mechanic around the time management. I know this simply means this game is not made for people like me, but I'd still like to talk about it.
To put it simply, this game makes me feel bad about how I play it. The FOMO is overwhelming. I'm obviously okay with the principle of exclusive quests and decisions: If I do this, I'm locked out of that. No problem, I was aware of this before buying. I was just not aware of how far this was pushed. Engaging with what I find by roaming will lock me out of content. Getting curious will lock me out of content. Leveling up will lock me out of content. I ended up paralyzed by my own indecisiveness. I ignored so much stuff that crossed my path. What is usually driven by curiosity was instead met with apathy. "Ho, a trail of blood, corpses to investigate... Why would I do that? Why would I engage with this content? The game made the sense of urgency clear, both narratively and mechanically. I have no reason whatsoever to engage with that, this has nothing to do with my objective."
Eventually, I got to a city...And the feeling got even worse. Instead of wanting to look around, enjoy the area, I just had to go to my objective. I have no time to stop. The game made it clear. I shouldn't stop. Look around? Sure. But don't engage with anything. Here's the problem: maybe I did have time to stop and engage with all of this. Maybe I didn't. There is no way to know without already knowing what the rest of the game will demand from me. So instead of making choices based on curiosity or role-playing, I make them based on uncertainty. The game keeps asking me, in effect, “are you sure this is worth your time?” And eventually, my answer becomes “probably not".
Concerning the leveling up part, I eventually got to a point where I have 13 skills points unused, because spending them would pass time. I fully believe this game is balanced around that cost, but that doesn't change how it feels: leveling up is robbing me of playtime, prompting me to stay underleveled just so I can have more of the game.
I just don't believe in making the player second guess themselves for every single thing.
It's an RPG telling me that if I engage with the RPG, I get less RPG. What could have been done with branching quests, conflicting objectives, and narrative consequences, was instead done with a "FOMO bar" on the top-right. Sure, the result is the same, but how I experience it as a player is vastly different.
Now, you could of course see what you missed by restarting the game all over again, but...
Will you?\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tI'm not gonna talk about the performance issues, nor the occasional jank in movements, combats, NPCs behavior. Those aspects can be improved, and might with future patches, and they are extensively talked about in other reviews.
The graphics are good enough, if not a bit weird at times, especially concerning characters. The story is really nice, the overall ambiance is very good and the music is amazing. By all accounts, this should be a positive review.
But my gripe with the game is apparently what other people love: The whole design mechanic around the time management. I know this simply means this game is not made for people like me, but I'd still like to talk about it.
To put it simply, this game makes me feel bad about how I play it. The FOMO is overwhelming. I'm obviously okay with the principle of exclusive quests and decisions: If I do this, I'm locked out of that. No problem, I was aware of this before buying. I was just not aware of how far this was pushed. Engaging with what I find by roaming will lock me out of content. Getting curious will lock me out of content. Leveling up will lock me out of content. I ended up paralyzed by my own indecisiveness. I ignored so much stuff that crossed my path. What is usually driven by curiosity was instead met with apathy. "Ho, a trail of blood, corpses to investigate... Why would I do that? Why would I engage with this content? The game made the sense of urgency clear, both narratively and mechanically. I have no reason whatsoever to engage with that, this has nothing to do with my objective."
Eventually, I got to a city...And the feeling got even worse. Instead of wanting to look around, enjoy the area, I just had to go to my objective. I have no time to stop. The game made it clear. I shouldn't stop. Look around? Sure. But don't engage with anything. Here's the problem: maybe I did have time to stop and engage with all of this. Maybe I didn't. There is no way to know without already knowing what the rest of the game will demand from me. So instead of making choices based on curiosity or role-playing, I make them based on uncertainty. The game keeps asking me, in effect, “are you sure this is worth your time?” And eventually, my answer becomes “probably not".
Concerning the leveling up part, I eventually got to a point where I have 13 skills points unused, because spending them would pass time. I fully believe this game is balanced around that cost, but that doesn't change how it feels: leveling up is robbing me of playtime, prompting me to stay underleveled just so I can have more of the game.
I just don't believe in making the player second guess themselves for every single thing.
It's an RPG telling me that if I engage with the RPG, I get less RPG. What could have been done with branching quests, conflicting objectives, and narrative consequences, was instead done with a "FOMO bar" on the top-right. Sure, the result is the same, but how I experience it as a player is vastly different.
Now, you could of course see what you missed by restarting the game all over again, but...
Will you?\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tArch Linux
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core Processor - RAM: 30 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNVIDIA Corporation NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER/PCIe/SSE2 - VRAM: 16 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2,485 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
124 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t124 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t72\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t26\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t26\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t18\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t18\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Life](\"https://store.akamai.steamstatic.com/public/images/loyalty/reactions/still/30.png?v=5\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t7\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t7\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t7\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t7\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t6\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t6\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t107\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t107\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Mischief\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/08b6fdb357cdb9132eb8056e14bb81c3b3c455f6.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t53 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 19\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tI honestly started this game quite blind. I wishlisted it when it was announced but didn’t pay much attention, the “new IP from former big-studio veterans” trope often ends up mediocre (looking at you, Back 4 Blood). I waited for release and the first reviews.
Overall this is a solid AA game. Almost every system has something good or even great, but you can clearly see the AA limitations. It’s not perfect and has its issues, yet it’s never bad. As a package it works. You can feel the former CDPR veterans’ experience from the start (I had just begun replaying The Witcher 3), but where that game feels polished and streamlined, Dawnwalker is more uneven. Its peaks are excellent, the flaws easier to spot. It’s like a pretty lake on a hot day: inviting and refreshing, but a bit shallow.
The most polarizing mechanic is time. Every day is split into day and night, each with 8 time units. Meaningful actions, quests, some activities, even leveling, advance the clock. After the prologue you get 30 days and nights for the main goal. Missing the deadline isn’t a game over, but the pressure is real. This creates a lot of friction, especially for completionists. You either adapt or decide it’s not for you. It isn’t perfect. Spending time on skill unlocks and empty chests feels particularly lame. The early hours can feel overwhelming, but eventually you learn to manage your time and accept you can’t do everything. There’s still plenty to experience in one playthrough.
Exploration thankfully doesn’t cost time, the world is huge, handcrafted, and worth wandering, though running around early on gets tiring without movement skills. The game is clearly built for multiple playthroughs (New Game+ is planned but by the time I wrote this review isn't implemented yet).
You play as Coen, a peasant who becomes a Dawnwalker, human by day, vampire by night. Daytime relies on sword and witchcraft; at night you become stronger and faster but need/crave blood. Skills split into swordsmanship, witchcraft, and vampirism (the strongest). Combat mixes The Witcher 3’s feel, movement and the use of magic with simpler directional attacks inspired by Kingdom Come. It feels awkward at first but clicks once you get used to it and invest in skills. Flaws include enemies politely taking turns, camera issues, getting stuck on terrain, and especially level scaling, high-level trash mobs become spongy annoyances. Day/night differences are biggest in combat and movement, and some quests are time-of-day locked, which lets you plan smartly.Most choices have consequences and the morality is nicely fuzzy (reminiscent of The Witcher 2). The world and majority of quests are interesting, with standouts like Anca’s questline. Dialogue can feel uneven in tone, and world reactivity is limited, NPCs barely react to blatant vampire powers. There’s an infamy system with Brencis’ court, but not much beyond direct quest consequences. The near-total lack of stealth also feels like a missed opportunity for a night stalker creature you are. Music, sound, and English voice acting are strong and very Witcher-like.
Visually it’s pretty but uneven (good models, mixed animations and textures). Performance is the usual UE5 story: not unplayable, but I had a post-prologue crash and VRAM spikes with particles on Linux/Proton. Patches have helped, but UE5 is still UE5.
In summary, I expected a mediocre Witcher 3 clone and found something better: an imperfect game made with real experience, an engaging world, and the courage to use bold limiting mechanics. That ambition deserves respect. I really enjoyed The Blood of Dawnwalker. It’s a good game, and even better foundations for a potentially great saga.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3804766917\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tOverall this is a solid AA game. Almost every system has something good or even great, but you can clearly see the AA limitations. It’s not perfect and has its issues, yet it’s never bad. As a package it works. You can feel the former CDPR veterans’ experience from the start (I had just begun replaying The Witcher 3), but where that game feels polished and streamlined, Dawnwalker is more uneven. Its peaks are excellent, the flaws easier to spot. It’s like a pretty lake on a hot day: inviting and refreshing, but a bit shallow.
The most polarizing mechanic is time. Every day is split into day and night, each with 8 time units. Meaningful actions, quests, some activities, even leveling, advance the clock. After the prologue you get 30 days and nights for the main goal. Missing the deadline isn’t a game over, but the pressure is real. This creates a lot of friction, especially for completionists. You either adapt or decide it’s not for you. It isn’t perfect. Spending time on skill unlocks and empty chests feels particularly lame. The early hours can feel overwhelming, but eventually you learn to manage your time and accept you can’t do everything. There’s still plenty to experience in one playthrough.
Exploration thankfully doesn’t cost time, the world is huge, handcrafted, and worth wandering, though running around early on gets tiring without movement skills. The game is clearly built for multiple playthroughs (New Game+ is planned but by the time I wrote this review isn't implemented yet).
You play as Coen, a peasant who becomes a Dawnwalker, human by day, vampire by night. Daytime relies on sword and witchcraft; at night you become stronger and faster but need/crave blood. Skills split into swordsmanship, witchcraft, and vampirism (the strongest). Combat mixes The Witcher 3’s feel, movement and the use of magic with simpler directional attacks inspired by Kingdom Come. It feels awkward at first but clicks once you get used to it and invest in skills. Flaws include enemies politely taking turns, camera issues, getting stuck on terrain, and especially level scaling, high-level trash mobs become spongy annoyances. Day/night differences are biggest in combat and movement, and some quests are time-of-day locked, which lets you plan smartly.Most choices have consequences and the morality is nicely fuzzy (reminiscent of The Witcher 2). The world and majority of quests are interesting, with standouts like Anca’s questline. Dialogue can feel uneven in tone, and world reactivity is limited, NPCs barely react to blatant vampire powers. There’s an infamy system with Brencis’ court, but not much beyond direct quest consequences. The near-total lack of stealth also feels like a missed opportunity for a night stalker creature you are. Music, sound, and English voice acting are strong and very Witcher-like.
Visually it’s pretty but uneven (good models, mixed animations and textures). Performance is the usual UE5 story: not unplayable, but I had a post-prologue crash and VRAM spikes with particles on Linux/Proton. Patches have helped, but UE5 is still UE5.
In summary, I expected a mediocre Witcher 3 clone and found something better: an imperfect game made with real experience, an engaging world, and the courage to use bold limiting mechanics. That ambition deserves respect. I really enjoyed The Blood of Dawnwalker. It’s a good game, and even better foundations for a potentially great saga.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3804766917\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCachyOS
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D 8-Core Processor - RAM: 31 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (radeonsi, gfx1201, ACO, DRM 3.64, 7.2.3-1-cachyos) - VRAM: 16 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t48 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Ryan](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/7555242c686776a23dcb43f4bdf1192b4ad3811d.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t27 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(24.5 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 8\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSuper fun game, vampires done right for sure! Needs a little work on optimization but the overall experience was fantastic.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t107 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
6 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t6 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"PixeledPython\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/5db2077ab9878fa94679a5201e1b70d222928e3a.jpg\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t29.2 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(14.7 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 5\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tFull clarity: I haven't beaten the game yet(I don't think I'm even close to halfway lol)
I'm really loving this game so far. I'd honestly been anticipating this more than GTA6, and boy, did it ever deliver.
I organized by thoughts into categories so just like skip to your favorite or read the whole thing if you want.
Similarities to the Witcher 3:
It's a lot like The Witcher 3(which is a good thing in my book since W3 is one of my fav games of all time), which makes sense since the director for this game also directed W3 and a lot of former CDPR devs worked on this, but that also means that if you didn't really jive with W3 this probably wont be for you; but on the other hand if you, like me, loved W3 you'll love this too.
Issues/cons:
The only real issue I have with the game is that the character and facial animations can be a little wooden, but the peak voice acting and writing more than make up for that. Other than that there's a small handful of performance issues and bugs, but thats to be expected, you cant catch everything in testing and devs are already releasing patches. Oh and also this is kinda really nitpick-y but night time is just waay tooo well lit, it feels like very early morning when it should feel like midnight.
Combat:
So first off, I'm playing on the highest difficulty(Duelist), but I gave myself the handicap of turning back on the directional indicators since it was impossible to see what was happening in a crowd of dudes with swords.
The combat is really fun with the directional blocking and attacking system, it feels really immersive but also allows me to win any duel out of pure skill unless I'm being swarmed with like 10 dudes. I love how your fighting style changes depending on if its day or night: like if it's night I can be really aggressive because I can recover any lost health by biting some people or consuming some blood, nut because of this I have a lot less health. But during day time although I have more health, I can only really get it back out of combat, which leads to me playing more carefully and defensively.
Story:
It's peak. Writing is top-notch. I don't wanna spoil anything so I'll just leave it at that. Oh yeah one more thing actually, since the story is non-linear there's no 'main quest' per se but there's a bunch of side-quests that very obviously feel like they're the equivalent to a main quest since they tie back in to your main objective of gathering power and allies to get an edge on the main villain.
Oh, also there's a ton of banging lore and worldbuilding all over the place.
Gameplay:
Alright, lets address the elephant in the room, the Time System. Honestly, it's not that bad, in fact I kinda wish it was more stressful, I feel like I have too much time to do things, in fact, I wish it was tighter so it would force me into difficult situations where I'd have to like choose who to help and who to leave behind since I wouldn't have time for both. Anyways after 14hrs I'm still only on like day 4 of 30.
Score/Music:
It's peak. sounds a lot like the music from the Witcher 3, maybe it's the same group/band? anyways some of the music here is definitely going into my Spotify playlist.
Artstyle/Graphics/Visuals:
Also very peak. very distinct style of like gothic/pagan/supernatural stuff with a healthy dose of mysteriousness, blood and creepy vampire stuff.
Although it's not without it's flaws, The Blood of DawnWalker is everything I hoped it would be and more. Highly recommend if you can afford the $70 price point.
P.S. Devs if you're reading this, PLEASE add Vsync support, I'm getting screen tearing and its annoying.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tI'm really loving this game so far. I'd honestly been anticipating this more than GTA6, and boy, did it ever deliver.
I organized by thoughts into categories so just like skip to your favorite or read the whole thing if you want.
Similarities to the Witcher 3:
It's a lot like The Witcher 3(which is a good thing in my book since W3 is one of my fav games of all time), which makes sense since the director for this game also directed W3 and a lot of former CDPR devs worked on this, but that also means that if you didn't really jive with W3 this probably wont be for you; but on the other hand if you, like me, loved W3 you'll love this too.
Issues/cons:
The only real issue I have with the game is that the character and facial animations can be a little wooden, but the peak voice acting and writing more than make up for that. Other than that there's a small handful of performance issues and bugs, but thats to be expected, you cant catch everything in testing and devs are already releasing patches. Oh and also this is kinda really nitpick-y but night time is just waay tooo well lit, it feels like very early morning when it should feel like midnight.
Combat:
So first off, I'm playing on the highest difficulty(Duelist), but I gave myself the handicap of turning back on the directional indicators since it was impossible to see what was happening in a crowd of dudes with swords.
The combat is really fun with the directional blocking and attacking system, it feels really immersive but also allows me to win any duel out of pure skill unless I'm being swarmed with like 10 dudes. I love how your fighting style changes depending on if its day or night: like if it's night I can be really aggressive because I can recover any lost health by biting some people or consuming some blood, nut because of this I have a lot less health. But during day time although I have more health, I can only really get it back out of combat, which leads to me playing more carefully and defensively.
Story:
It's peak. Writing is top-notch. I don't wanna spoil anything so I'll just leave it at that. Oh yeah one more thing actually, since the story is non-linear there's no 'main quest' per se but there's a bunch of side-quests that very obviously feel like they're the equivalent to a main quest since they tie back in to your main objective of gathering power and allies to get an edge on the main villain.
Oh, also there's a ton of banging lore and worldbuilding all over the place.
Gameplay:
Alright, lets address the elephant in the room, the Time System. Honestly, it's not that bad, in fact I kinda wish it was more stressful, I feel like I have too much time to do things, in fact, I wish it was tighter so it would force me into difficult situations where I'd have to like choose who to help and who to leave behind since I wouldn't have time for both. Anyways after 14hrs I'm still only on like day 4 of 30.
Score/Music:
It's peak. sounds a lot like the music from the Witcher 3, maybe it's the same group/band? anyways some of the music here is definitely going into my Spotify playlist.
Artstyle/Graphics/Visuals:
Also very peak. very distinct style of like gothic/pagan/supernatural stuff with a healthy dose of mysteriousness, blood and creepy vampire stuff.
Although it's not without it's flaws, The Blood of DawnWalker is everything I hoped it would be and more. Highly recommend if you can afford the $70 price point.
P.S. Devs if you're reading this, PLEASE add Vsync support, I'm getting screen tearing and its annoying.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 11
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIntel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900F - RAM: 32 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER - VRAM: 12 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t81 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
1 person found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Samtaro\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/3b1ea8be763692bdfc0bfa81c50c0aee1e62e910.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t2.2 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tDecent game but its not well optimised, the animations are jank and the graphics somehow look good and bad at the same time. The combat also takes some getting used to, it's like The Witcher mixed with KCD combat. The story and quests seem good so far, possibly wait for a sale if you're not 100% certain you want the game.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 11
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16-Core Processor - RAM: 95 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 - VRAM: 31 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t288 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
27 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t27 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Duckie\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/24f49da9fbb3f171ae0239d4abdc216633635f8d.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t0.8 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tReally digging the vibe. Story is interesting. Characters are interesting.. Sadly the optimization needs some work. The movement feels super strange, and every time I entered a cutscene, it reset my sensitivity without changing the setting, meaning I kept having to make my sensitivity lower and lower until I couldn't lower it more.
I'd wait a few weeks for them to iron out the wrinkles before buying the game.
edit: people are trashing my PC specs, even though they are above minimum needed, and I ran everything on Low settings with downscaling. It's crazy how you jump to defend companies and insult others instead of thinking logically.
Optimization was just a small part of my review, but it seems to be what everyone is clinging onto.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tI'd wait a few weeks for them to iron out the wrinkles before buying the game.
edit: people are trashing my PC specs, even though they are above minimum needed, and I ran everything on Low settings with downscaling. It's crazy how you jump to defend companies and insult others instead of thinking logically.
Optimization was just a small part of my review, but it seems to be what everyone is clinging onto.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 11
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Ryzen 5 5600 6-Core Processor - RAM: 32 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Radeon RX 6650 XT - VRAM: 8 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2,227 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
301 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t301 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Ragecéleste\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/7f536480f2bb273ff81516da64267258d86ef8c8.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t42 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(20.9 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 4\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tthere was no good vampire themed game on the market, and i had been waiting for this game since the day it was announced. after 20 hours, i can say that i am really happy that i waited for it.
this is one of the best games i have played this year, and maybe the best one. so why do i say this.
first of all, the atmosphere of the game is amazing. sometimes i just hold the alt key and walk around while enjoying the views. the dialogue, the characters, everything feels great. when i am talking to a character, sometimes i think about an option in my head, and then i see the same option in the dialogue. i really love this.
some people do not like the day system, but for me it makes the game even more fun. if this was another open world game, i would probably do every side quest and always choose the good options. but this game sometimes makes me choose bad decisions and leave some important side quests behind, and i really enjoy that. it makes my choices feel more important.
maybe upgrading abilities should not use one bar of time, that is probably my only real criticism. but after 20 hours i have only used 9 days, so it is not a big problem for me.
about the optimization, i was getting around 80 fps on the first day of release. but after the nvidia update, my fps went up to around 180 to 200 with dlss.
after 20 hours of playing, i can easily give this game 90 out of 100.
if you like rpg games and you are not sure if you should buy this game, you should definitely give it a chance. i really hope we get to see more games in this series.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tthis is one of the best games i have played this year, and maybe the best one. so why do i say this.
first of all, the atmosphere of the game is amazing. sometimes i just hold the alt key and walk around while enjoying the views. the dialogue, the characters, everything feels great. when i am talking to a character, sometimes i think about an option in my head, and then i see the same option in the dialogue. i really love this.
some people do not like the day system, but for me it makes the game even more fun. if this was another open world game, i would probably do every side quest and always choose the good options. but this game sometimes makes me choose bad decisions and leave some important side quests behind, and i really enjoy that. it makes my choices feel more important.
maybe upgrading abilities should not use one bar of time, that is probably my only real criticism. but after 20 hours i have only used 9 days, so it is not a big problem for me.
about the optimization, i was getting around 80 fps on the first day of release. but after the nvidia update, my fps went up to around 180 to 200 with dlss.
after 20 hours of playing, i can easily give this game 90 out of 100.
if you like rpg games and you are not sure if you should buy this game, you should definitely give it a chance. i really hope we get to see more games in this series.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tReviewer's PC Specs:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWindows 11
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core Processor - RAM: 31 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti - VRAM: 16 GB
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t97 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
3 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t3 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Mash131\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/b458cfc2b87710f3353e3d366945d78abc2a9751.jpg\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tNot Recommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t26.9 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(26.1 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 3\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tI like the game a lot - the vibe, (some of) the characters, the historical references mixed with fantasy. However - I really feel falsely sold on the time mechanic.
I was told I would be able to freely roam the world and only things that impact the story or key activities would progress the time. However, I cannot even level my skills without passing time. I can't fight bandits without passing time. All I can really do without passing time is run around and loot herbs and kill animals (for more skill points that I don't want to spend because I don't want to pass the time).
I understand the mechanic. It is a good idea. However, it feels WAY too restrictive and causes way more stress to ignore otherwise interesting activities than it should. On top of that, the WORST way they could have introduced it is making you immediately spend a full day on clearing rubble to get into the rest of the game. This is because this sets the bar SO HIGH for the need for time that I don't want to do activities, I don't want to level my skills - all I want to do is do the story beats and then back track with any excess time I think I have. And when that's the path, you run into inconsistencies in the story. Suddenly Coen doesn't recognize things he's already seen because the game expected you to complete the side activities earlier in the story.
In the effort to make a game where choices matter, the game certainly accomplishes that but you have NO REFERENCE for what choices will matter. Maybe that's the point. But if the first playthrough is really just built around gathering knowledge for your second playthrough, then people aren't going to buy your second game.
Also - side note: Ambrus' voice was a let down. It would have been perfect if he addressed Coen prior to the duel to set the tone but he comes in SO flamboyant and over the top (which does not match his letters that you find throughout the game) that it completely kills the mood of the first really big fight.
Edit: I think I'm done with the game. I've found a quest that pays zero respect to the player and that is beyond frustrating. What should have been one of the coolest, most intriguing quests in the game - a blood mage in a remote tower that you stumble upon, is actually a 3 part dream sequence where you fight leveled enemies over and over again for no loot, no reward and with no gear. Coen gets his training sword in this dream sequence against, what seem to be, on level enemies. On top of that, the "4 time segments" the game promised this would take has now carried me well into the next day - so about 8. I'm not here to be booby-trapped with a mechanic that I didn't create and have no way of controlling once a choice is made. The game isn't even honest with you.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\tI was told I would be able to freely roam the world and only things that impact the story or key activities would progress the time. However, I cannot even level my skills without passing time. I can't fight bandits without passing time. All I can really do without passing time is run around and loot herbs and kill animals (for more skill points that I don't want to spend because I don't want to pass the time).
I understand the mechanic. It is a good idea. However, it feels WAY too restrictive and causes way more stress to ignore otherwise interesting activities than it should. On top of that, the WORST way they could have introduced it is making you immediately spend a full day on clearing rubble to get into the rest of the game. This is because this sets the bar SO HIGH for the need for time that I don't want to do activities, I don't want to level my skills - all I want to do is do the story beats and then back track with any excess time I think I have. And when that's the path, you run into inconsistencies in the story. Suddenly Coen doesn't recognize things he's already seen because the game expected you to complete the side activities earlier in the story.
In the effort to make a game where choices matter, the game certainly accomplishes that but you have NO REFERENCE for what choices will matter. Maybe that's the point. But if the first playthrough is really just built around gathering knowledge for your second playthrough, then people aren't going to buy your second game.
Also - side note: Ambrus' voice was a let down. It would have been perfect if he addressed Coen prior to the duel to set the tone but he comes in SO flamboyant and over the top (which does not match his letters that you find throughout the game) that it completely kills the mood of the first really big fight.
Edit: I think I'm done with the game. I've found a quest that pays zero respect to the player and that is beyond frustrating. What should have been one of the coolest, most intriguing quests in the game - a blood mage in a remote tower that you stumble upon, is actually a 3 part dream sequence where you fight leveled enemies over and over again for no loot, no reward and with no gear. Coen gets his training sword in this dream sequence against, what seem to be, on level enemies. On top of that, the "4 time segments" the game promised this would take has now carried me well into the next day - so about 8. I'm not here to be booby-trapped with a mechanic that I didn't create and have no way of controlling once a choice is made. The game isn't even honest with you.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t538 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
26 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"QUETZAL\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/45c61048dc62578c211ad7654cb7c62d2b253475.jpg\")
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tRecommended
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t21.4 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(2.1 hrs at review time)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 2\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tWhen it was first announced that The Blood of Dawnwalker was being developed by veterans from The Witcher 3 team under Bandai Namco, I was incredibly excited yet "skeptical" about the chosen genre an openworld dark fantasy Action-RPG. It is a rather generic blend of genres that requires plenty of surprising elements to truly become a "Grande" masterpiece.
The setting 14th century Europe, ravaged by plague and brutal warfare is fascinating. The medieval European scenery, forest landscapes, and detailed urban environments feel incredibly dense and immersive. The day-night gameplay variation is striking combat styles and exploration differ so much between day and night that it feels like playing two distinct characters. By day, Coen operates as a human, utilizing a sword, elemental magic, and investigative skills reminiscent of a Witcher. By night, he unleashes his vampire form, gaining access to supernatural abilities, brutal executions, and parkour-style rooftop navigation.
Open-world exploration is free from time constraints, but undertaking main or critical missions causes time to advance. This means you cannot complete every single mission in a single playthrough. The Witcher 3 DNA is palpable the dialogue writing, dark atmosphere, and morally grey consequences are executed masterfully. The time-progression system adds significant replayability, as quest choices genuinely impact the storyline.
However, the parry and combat systems feel a bit stiff. The swordplay attempts a directional parry approach (similar to Kingdom Come) but can feel clunky at times, and the camera lock-on lacks precision. Personally, I also found some side quests and minor open-world activities to be somewhat monotonous.
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\n\n\t\t\t\tThe setting 14th century Europe, ravaged by plague and brutal warfare is fascinating. The medieval European scenery, forest landscapes, and detailed urban environments feel incredibly dense and immersive. The day-night gameplay variation is striking combat styles and exploration differ so much between day and night that it feels like playing two distinct characters. By day, Coen operates as a human, utilizing a sword, elemental magic, and investigative skills reminiscent of a Witcher. By night, he unleashes his vampire form, gaining access to supernatural abilities, brutal executions, and parkour-style rooftop navigation.
Open-world exploration is free from time constraints, but undertaking main or critical missions causes time to advance. This means you cannot complete every single mission in a single playthrough. The Witcher 3 DNA is palpable the dialogue writing, dark atmosphere, and morally grey consequences are executed masterfully. The time-progression system adds significant replayability, as quest choices genuinely impact the storyline.
However, the parry and combat systems feel a bit stiff. The swordplay attempts a directional parry approach (similar to Kingdom Come) but can feel clunky at times, and the camera lock-on lacks precision. Personally, I also found some side quests and minor open-world activities to be somewhat monotonous.
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t873 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
25 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t25 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Warlock\"](\"https://avatars.akamai.steamstatic.com/3f47c3634c822270cbccf23f4cb4fcf2272e23d1.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t70.7 hrs on record\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted: September 8\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDirect from Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tSolid 9/10 game. Story and characters are really good. I can clearly see the inspirations from the witcher series. Combat takes getting used to at the start and is especially tough on duelist difficulty in the early game but once you get used to the animations and movement of the enemy it becomes fun to play with no indicators. Then mid-late game when you get all the perks and legendary gear, it becomes a cake walk even on duelist preset. Some skils are just busted especially in witchcraft tree, makes the game trivial. After level 25+ I rarely died and beat all bosses first try. Even brencis got destroyed in under a minute.\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\tWas this review helpful?\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t61 people found this review helpful\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
4 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t4 people found this review funny\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
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