"New RPG Blends Witcher and Persona Styles"

Rebel Wolves, a Polish studio founded by former CD Projekt Red developers, recently unveiled their debut game, The Blood of Dawnwalker, with a cinematic reveal trailer. This eagerly anticipated title blends elements reminiscent of The Witcher with innovative mechanics inspired by Persona, promising an immersive open-world RPG experience.

The reveal trailer, showcased during a stream hosted by Rebel Wolves and publisher Bandai Namco on January 13, 2025, provided fans with over four and a half minutes of pre-rendered footage and brief glimpses of gameplay. The trailer sets the stage for The Blood of Dawnwalker's dark fantasy world and introduces the Dawnwalkers—powerful vampire-like beings. The protagonist, Coen, is thrust into this world after being transformed into a Dawnwalker, setting off on a journey filled with morally gray choices and a quest to save his family.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Echoes The Witcher

Drawing parallels with The Witcher, The Blood of Dawnwalker features an open-world RPG setting steeped in dark fantasy, complete with monsters and challenging decisions. The game's tagline, "the world needs what it fears," encapsulates its thematic essence. Fans of The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion, with its vampire-centric narrative and tough choices, will find The Blood of Dawnwalker's premise particularly engaging. The game introduces a morality system that allows Coen to navigate his transformation, choosing between embracing his Dawnwalker nature to save his family or preserving his humanity.

Incorporating Persona's Time Management

Beyond its Witcher-like qualities, The Blood of Dawnwalker introduces a unique twist with Persona-inspired time management mechanics. According to Rebel Wolves co-founder and game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, every quest in the game takes time to complete, and players must strategically decide how to allocate their time. There is no clear distinction between main and side quests, and it's impossible to complete all story arcs in one playthrough. This design encourages replayability and offers a "narrative sandbox" experience, where each playthrough can feel unique.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is currently in development for PC and current-gen PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Envisioned as the first installment in a trilogy, it is being published by Bandai Namco. Although a specific release date has yet to be announced, given its start in 2022 and triple-A budget, a launch is not expected before 2027. Fans can look forward to a gameplay reveal in summer 2025.