The Blood of the Dawnwalker embraces the night in a dark fantasy RPG

The recent The Blood of the Dawnwalker: Road to Launch event unveiled fresh gameplay footage of the medieval roleplaying game. The presentation introduced Vale Sangora, the homeland of the protagonist, Coen. As a dawnwalker, Coen is not human, but not entirely human, either, offering players a distinctive character perspective in this open‑world adventure set in 14^th Century Europe.

The gameplay footage clearly shows off the game's DNA, drawing from some of the minds behind CD Projekt RED's The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077. At the same time, the authentic medieval architecture and detailed character designs echo what makes Kingdom Come: Deliverance and its sequel so compelling.

The Blood of the Dawnwalker offers players two game styles in one. During the day, Coen is a swashbuckling spellcaster, like Geralt of Rivia on a good day. But by night, Coen is a shapeshifting vampire, powerful enough to give the White Wolf a serious run for his money.

The main villain is Brencis, a bald, Nosferatu‑style vampire lord who holds the region in a grip of fear. He is also keeping Coen's family hostage, giving the protagonist just 30 days to rescue them. Former UFC champion Jan Błachowicz provides the motion capture for another antagonist, Bakir, promising some truly epic combat encounters.

Over the course of 30 days and nights, Coen alternates between his human abilities and his vampiric powers. These shifts define both how he fights and how the world responds to him.

At night, Coen's dark powers allow him to scale walls, teleport over short distances, and even transform into a wolf to move swiftly across the world. He can sink his fangs into enemies' necks, draining their blood to gain an advantage in combat alongside his deadly claws. Afterwards, he can recover by feeding on the blood of humans or animals. Stepping into the role of such a conflicted character, with teeth and claws, is likely to be a thrilling experience.

During the day, the game leans more towards a traditional fantasy RPG experience. Sword combat focuses on parrying and carefully chosen strikes, with successful hits charging up magical abilities and execution moves. While Coen cannot transform into a wolf in daylight, he can use a spell to move quickly across the landscape.

The time of day only changes as players progress through the main story, with a bar showing the current time. This allows players to explore the world at their own pace, advancing the clock only when the main quest moves forward. While the time of day may remain static, the game features a dynamic weather system, with fog, rain, and snow altering the environment as you play.

As an open‑world RPG, the game places a strong emphasis on exploration, with side quests and new abilities waiting to be discovered throughout the world. And what a world it is. The developers describe Vale Sangora as a living place where everyone is going about their daily business. Players might, for example, observe a blacksmith forging a sword, hitting his finger, and cursing in frustration.

I'm a big fan of strong in‑game worldbuilding. I love it when a game world feels genuinely lived in, where its inhabitants and buildings seem to have existed long before I ever arrived. It's this level of attention to detail that truly draws me into a game, and from what we've seen so far, The Blood of the Dawnwalker appears to have nailed it.

Rebel Wolves have emphasised that Coen's actions will carry consequences, giving players the power to shape the world around them. Exploration, interactions, and activities all feed into the narrative. A wide cast of secondary characters, allies, and acquaintances helps flesh out the story, with many hiding their own secrets and inner conflicts. The game looks set to deliver plenty of drama and emotional depth.

The Blood of the Dawnwalker runs on Unreal Engine 5, Epic's AAA game engine. This promises top‑tier visuals that are well-suited to such a visually striking fantasy game.

An open world alone is not enough, however. From what we have seen so far, Vale Sangora is layered with stories that intertwine with the central arc of Coen's journey. Combined with its distinctive gameplay mechanics, this narrative depth should help the game stand out as a promising and memorable open‑world RPG.

The Blood of the Dawnwalker launches on 3 September 2026 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.  So, there's not long to wait.