Review: The Blood of Dawnwalker

Listen To Them, The Children Of The Night. What Music They Make! 

This one was a bit of a surprise dear reader.

Admittedly perhaps it shouldn't have been given the pedigree of the creators involved but The Blood of Dawnwalker was still a risky move. You see the team over at Rebel Wolves is comprised of many folks who worked on The Witcher III back in the day and that game is widely considered to be one of the most well constructed (and narratively driven) RPGs of all time. Following that up would be tough in general, but to do so while shifting from adapting an established book series to creating their very own universe was a ballsy move to say the least.

The question stands, however, of "did it pay off?"

Oh. Oh, yes.

In spades in fact.

Set in an isolated valley nestled in the Carpathians during the onset of the Black Death, Dawnwalker was already intriguing.

Oh our protagonist is trying to save his family from the plague and must fight the evil Lord trying to grind them to dust beneath his heel? Perfect I can roll with that.

Then come the vampires.

Not your run of the mill, dashing aristocrats with slightly longer canines either. Oh, no, these guys and ghouls make Nosferatu look like Brad Pitt when they get going, and honestly? It's kind of a vibe.

The vamps kill the local Lord, take over the valley in his stead, and the game proper kicks off two years later.

Ok, Rebel Wolves, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.

The gameplay opens with you getting a little slice of life of our main protagonist, Coen, and then WHAM you get gut punched by your choices (results may vary!) and before you can recover you're turned into a vampire against your will and have your family taken to be executed.

Now here's the rub- your turning doesn't quite take and so you aren't a pure blood. You become what is known as (you guessed it) a Dawnwalker, ie human by day and vampire by night.

Yes, Coen, We Know

You'll never truly belong to either world, but you will be able to use your sword and blood magic by day and vampiric powers by night to build up your strength and do what needs be done.

So clearly we are nailing the premise, but where this game truly excels is in two areas, namely the time mechanic and the writing.

Oh, yes, Coen and his allies are beautifully written, dear reader, displaying anger, despair, joy, sorrow, lust, and loss to utter perfection but what truly makes them so fascinating is their logic. They don't just act like characters but how real people would when thrust into such a bonkers scenario.

They react as humans, gather information, and then act on that information as best they can, all while experiencing a constant and growing horror at what they are facing. It all makes everything so grounded that having a conversation with a rebellious she-goat-ogre thing can come off as entirely wholesome instead of patently absurd.

And on top it all is Coen’s constant struggle to save whats left of his humanity. The thirst for blood is constant, the desire to push away his humanity as strong as his need to retain it. As Coen we see what happens to those face immortality without the conviction to remain themselves, and so he must ask: is he strong enough to survive, not just physically, but morally as well?

Everyone Deserves A Cheat Day Though

This tremendous care in characterization and world building doesn't just end at the protagonists either.

Oh, no. The villains here's are phenomenally well written, adding depth and pathos to what could easily have devolved into cartoonishly overdone tropes.

Instead of a poor caricature of the stereotypical moustache twirling villain, the vampires youre fighting are presented as coldly reasonable. Sinisterly at times, perhaps, but it's that appeal to reason that makes it all so compelling.

The peasants are living better under them, they say. And they're right. Where before the people of Vale Sangora were treated as subhuman they now enjoy no taxes while being protected from outside invasion as well as a sickness that is killing millions elsewhere! The world rots around them, yes, but here? Here they are safe.

And all that is asked in return is that they donate a little blood once a month.

Yes, just a little blood and you'll be left alone. All you have to do is not rock the boat.

Mind you you're treated as sentient cattle this whole time, but hey, better a live cow than a dead man right?

Or, is it?

The question stands because you've seen what happens to those who dare question the new order of things- they go to sleep and in the morning there's nothing left of them besides bloodstains and wet meat.

In the end whether you dare challenge this regime, and by how much, is entirely left up to you. But when your family's life is on the line do you even have the time to question the world order?

Yes, dear reader, in Dawnwalker Time matters.

Reminiscent of Majora's Mask the clock is always ticking. Every quest and line of dialogue demands your attention as you try and determine what would actually equate to pertinent or time sensitive options in real life. Where in other games someone telling you the dosage of a medicine would be flavor text here it matters.

Did you listen to random NPC #8675 with the charming eastern European name? Sure hope so because now you're on stage to prepare the medicine that was discussed and your success is the difference between a loved ones life and death. 

All of a sudden the 30 day time limit to save your family looks depressingly slim. After all, youre a baby vampire and a half breed at that. You (probably) can't just walk up to the castle and fistfight your way through to save them. In order to stand a chance youll have to grow stronger in both your human and vampiric forms while gathering allies and weakening your enemies but every action taken to do so costs a portion of that precious allotted time.

Better yet, nearly every quest has a fail state that evolves the story organically instead of a traditional game over or "quest failed." Wait too long and some quests may expire leaving the NPCs opinion if you in the gutter. If that happens theyll inevitably shit talk you, sure, but they might also increase the price of their wares, shut their door to you at night, or even alert the soldiers to your presence in petty revenge the next time you wander through town. It all creates a sense of realism that breathes so much life into the world.

Simple enough you might think, but you'll quickly find that while some quests may be started at any time they may only be completed during certain times of day or night meaning if you don't prioritize things correctly you'll fail them all and end up wasting all the time you've spent for nothing. 

The need to balance those shifting priorities is a compelling gimmick, sure, as is the very real possibility of your actually failing, but it doesn't just end at the side quests, dear reader. A jilted npc may call you out for dilly dallying but as I've said there's no hard game over unless you die. Even if you royally screw up and dont save your family in time the narrative still continues via shifting to a revenge driven plot.

Hell you technically have the choice to just fuck off entirely to try and save your own skin, but the game will adapt to your decisions regardless.

This flexibility allows for endless possibilities along with weighted choice and I freaking love it.

Do you expand your skills as a swordsman or succumb to the lust of vampirism? Do you forsake both for the power of magic or dabble in all three? You can truly choose how you want to play this game and it is all reflected in who you want Coen to be.

Look At This And Tell Me You Don’t Want To Dabble

Make no mistake, this is a true RPG, dear reader. You do roleplay, choosing and living with the consequences of your choices.

And all the while Coens delivery on his every line, his inner turmoil, and his family drama grounds the narrative and takes what could have been a whacky tale about the supernatural and turns it into a gritty, hyper focused and believable journey into the dark unknown.

The name Dawnwalker is appropriate, dear reader, as Rebel Wolves shot for the stars and, in my opinon, stuck the landing.

I don't know about you but I can't wait to see where Coens journey takes us next.