For a while, I’ve been hyping up Rebel Wolves and Bandai Namco’s Vampire RPG, The Blood of Dawnwalker. It also seemed that a lot of people were looking forward to the game’s release, as the devs kept teasing what was awaiting players. Was the hype worth it?
The Blood of Dawnwalker takes place in a fictional region of the Carpathian Mountains that was saved from the plague by the Vakhiri, a race of vampires, who in turn close off the region, take control, and demand tribute. After two years of their rule, an attempt is made to overthrow the Vakhiri, and Coen, our protagonist, is attempted to be turned into a Vakhiri but becomes something that even the Vakhiri fear… a Dawnwalker, half-human, half-vampire.
Now, onto the game itself! When it comes to the controls for The Blood of Dawnwalker, be prepared to take some time to learn, as they’re a bit different from what you’re more than likely used to, BUT they are learnable!
The game’s art is good; what really stood out for me was the lighting engine! The Day/Night cycles look amazing, along with changes to the world if you’re using torches to light your way. The character designs, especially for the supernatural characters/NPCs are AWESOME!
The sound design and soundtrack are good, along with the amazing voice acting talent!
Gameplay-wise, it can come across as overwhelming, as this is an RPG, so you know what that means…Skill Trees. And there are multiple ones. This is because Coen is human during the day, a vampire at night, and uses witchcraft. With that, Coen’s skills change, along with what he can and can’t use from his inventory. Which makes a lot of sense. While in Vampire form, Coen can’t eat or drink normal food and has to rely on blood.
A big mechanic in this game that I find frustrating is the time system. Needless to say, you won’t be able to do everything in the story, as events and quests have time limits. Depending on the quests or activities that you do, a certain amount of time will pass (usually too much time!). Also, without spoiling anything, Coen only has a certain number of days to complete the main quest, which adds another level of stress to gameplay, especially since this game is full of exploration opportunities and choices made by Coen can affect outcomes of events within the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed playing The Blood of Dawnwalker and can’t wait to hop back into it. I think the hype was warranted. Gameplay is fun, the story is unique in its own way, the art is amazing, the voice acting is phenomenal, and again, the lighting engine shines (no pun intended). The only thing I can see being an issue for some players is the time limit for activities, which I think this game could have done without, or at least give you an option in the difficulty setting to turn it off, but then again, that’s just me. So with that said, on my scale of 1-10, The Blood of Dawnwalker is a 9.5/10!
The Blood of Dawnwalker is out now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
