The Blood of Dawnwalker

Lore & Background

The Blood of Dawnwalker is set in Vale Sangora, a kingdom ravaged by plague. The king orders the execution of the infected, but the ancient vampire Brencis seizes control, offering a cure in exchange for a monthly blood tax. The weak are killed during the ritual, leading to widespread discontent. The protagonist, Coen, is a young man whose mother suffers from a neurological disorder. An attempt by Brencis to turn Coen into a vampire fails, instead making him a Dawnwalker—half-human, half-vampire. Brencis abducts Coen's family to be sacrificed at his investiture as Prince, giving Coen 30 days and nights to save them.

Reader's Guide

The Blood of Dawnwalker is significant as the debut title from Rebel Wolves, a studio founded by former CD Projekt developers including Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. The game emphasizes non-linear storytelling, with player decisions influencing the plot across a 30-day time limit. Only actions that affect the story advance time; exploration does not. The game features a reputation system, four difficulty levels, and takes 50 to 70 hours to complete. Gameplay changes between day and night: as a human, Coen uses swordplay and witch magic; as a vampire, he uses claws, wall-walking, and Shadowstep. Bloodlust must be satisfied or Coen will attack innocents. The game is the first in a planned series of self-contained stories without cliffhangers or time travel, set in different eras. Its legacy lies in its narrative sandbox design and the studio's ambition to create a saga of interconnected but independent games.

Did You Know?

• The game is set in a fictional 14th-century kingdom called Vale Sangora, located in the Carpathian Mountains.
• The protagonist Coen is a Dawnwalker, half-human and half-vampire, with different abilities depending on the time of day.
• The game has 30 days and nights to complete the main quest, but only actions that affect the plot advance time.
• Rebel Wolves plans to develop further games set in the same universe but outside the medieval era, each with a self-contained story.