Games with a day-night cycle often play with various mechanics depending on the time of day, sometimes even with time pressure – or the obligation to sleep. Not so with The Blood of Dawnwalker. At gamescom 2025, MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus got his first look at the new RPG and was immediately impressed by the time mechanic.
The Blood of Dawnwalker was one of the games I was most looking forward to at this gamescom. An RPG with vampires in a pseudo-historical setting filled with Dark Fantasy, created by former makers of The Witcher 3 – sounds like exactly my thing.
On Friday morning, the developers Rebel Wolves, together with publisher Bandai Namco, showed me, along with several other press visitors, how their game currently looks. In a recreated old chapel with gothic windows and chandeliers, we saw about 50 minutes of gameplay.
The premise: The plague threatens the land, and the current ruler murders anyone who is sick, even children. Vampires – referred to here as “Vrakhiri” – do not approve of this waste of life and intervene. They take over the religion and become the new rulers, with humans as… well, a food source, living under the new masters.
While we don’t see exactly how this happens, somehow we as players become vampires – or rather, part-time vampires. A Dawnwalker. And right here, the RPG introduces a mechanic that has been shamefully neglected until now.
Think carefully about when you do something, as time affects your abilities
The main character, Coen, is part vampire, part human. This means he has vampire abilities, but only at night and with a good dose of thirst for blood. In return, he can walk in daylight without burning. And yes, this idea was already present in Blade, but it remains cool.
In gameplay, this translates to vampire powers only working at night. Here we see how Coen teleports as a swarm of bats to higher places, runs up walls, and fights with claws.
During the day, however, he relies on his sword, but can cast magic – something that vampire Coen is not allowed to do. Curses and spells open up some possibilities to gain additional information or complete quests in other ways.
How you arrive at a solution always has consequences and partially influences how NPCs react to you. Day and night are not just mechanics, but an important game element.
The Blood of Dawnwalker makes time a resource – but without real pressure
You have only 30 days in The Blood of Dawnwalker to complete the main quest. That’s how much time the developers give you to save your family. However, this does not mean you need to rush.
Time does not simply “pass”. You can roam the world as much as you want, completely without limits. The open world offers many things to discover, and you should be able to enjoy that.
Instead, days and nights are divided into time units – currently, each consists of five, as far as I have seen. A hourglass icon in the interface indicates when an action advances time.
The developers explain: Time is a resource you can and should use. It’s important to weigh whether you want to complete a quest immediately or if you can afford to wait until the next morning or evening for day or night.
A game from the creators of The Witcher and you can see that
What we have seen of the gameplay, inventory, spells, and especially the combat, strongly reminds us of The Witcher – which makes sense considering where the studio comes from. The Blood of Dawnwalker is not a spiritual successor, but it still looks similar.
Especially in battles, which are repeatedly interrupted by quick slots and a skill wheel, the Witcher feeling emerges. Nibbling on a neck as a vampire or throwing sand in the eyes of opponents as a human are indeed legitimate actions.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is set to release in 2026 for PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox; a specific date is still pending. Especially the facial animations still seem a bit rough, but the game made a good impression during the presentation.
Even though I watched the gameplay early in the morning, with severe lack of sleep, and in a dangerously dark chapel, I am still raving about it now. And if you want to convince yourself: Here are 20 minutes of gameplay of The Blood of Dawnwalker.
