Spoiler-light. I'm keeping plot specifics out of this so nobody gets anything spoiled going in.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is a good game, and I enjoyed it very much. From the jump it's an open-world fantasy RPG where you play as a Dawnwalker, which basically means you're human by day and a vampire by night. It's a really fun game, and an easy recommend.
The immediate thing to know is this is from Rebel Wolves, a studio full of ex-CD Projekt Red guys, including the game director of The Witcher 3. And it reads like that. It feels like a Witcher game. I've only put about two hours into The Witcher, so I'm not claiming to be an expert, but the feeling is definitely there. Honestly, that turned me off at first. It's not that I don't like The Witcher, I just never gave it a real chance, and the Carpathian-era setting isn't normally my vibe. But a good game is a good game.
You play as Coen. His village is being ravaged by a plague and ruled by a tyrant named Skender, and the game opens with Coen and his sister hiding out, about to be killed, when the Vrakhir show up and save them. The Vrakhir are vampires, and they take over the whole region with an offer. Their blood cures the plague, and all the citizens have to do is give them blood every week. No more Skender, no more plague. Of course, there are undercurrents of rebellion from people who want the old life back and don't want to be fed on.
The opening culminates with Coen getting bitten by Brencis, the leader of the Vrakhir, who expects him to turn into one of them. It doesn't go that way. Coen becomes a Dawnwalker. After a rebellion gets crushed, Brencis takes Coen's family, and in 30 days there's a ceremony where they get drained. The whole story is go save your family.
The time mechanic is the heart of it. You have 30 days to save your family, and time is basically currency here. Everything you do costs time. Some things you can only do in the day, others only at night, and that gives you a real give and take in how you manage your schedule. Run out, and theoretically your family dies and you lose the main objective, though it's not an instant game over. I like the time mechanic a lot.
Out in the world it's very much an open-world RPG. You get tasks, side quests, meeting cohorts, and learning that nothing is as clean as it looks. Roaming around is just fun. Seeing people live their lives, merchants who all offer different things, and merchants can actually die, which means you lose access to them. Quests for so many people can change how things go, and the outcomes are everywhere. I did things in conversations I didn't know you could do, and when I heard other people's stories, they'd met characters I never saw and fought people in a completely different order. It's a truly organic experience, and it's your story. You get your own canon.
The combat is where I had a lot of fun. It's an omnidirectional block, so when someone attacks, you press block in the direction they're coming from, parry, and counter. I never played Kingdom Come: Deliverance even though I own it, so this was brand new for me. It keeps you engaged, and as you level up, whether it's your sword skills or vampire abilities, it gets more devastating. You're blocking from all angles, and you handle mobs easier as you grow.
The audio deserves a callout too. It has very fitting sound design and a soundtrack that fits right into this world, giving it real layers when you're playing. Out of this world? No, but it is very good, and I will be thinking about certain pieces from this game for a while.
The characters are fun, and I like Coen a lot. He feels like a good protagonist. Rebel Wolves has already said they're making another game, and there's a trailer showing a future timeline, so this could go anywhere. 100 years later, 200 years later, even different combat. If it stays with Coen, I like where it's going.
It's not a perfect game, and enemy variety is just not there. At all. It's the same four or five enemies the whole game, just a little harder or weaker depending on where you are. It gets repetitive, and the omni-blocking is honestly what got me through it.
The game looks dated too, like a PS4 game. I don't really mind, and there's a reason it only cost about $40 million and took about four years, which is unheard of nowadays. If this is what we get for that time and money, I'm all for it, but I do wish it was a little more advanced visually. The lip sync isn't great either, and you lose some emotional depth when they're trying to land a serious moment. The areas also get a little samey, and the targeting gets wonky when things get chaotic.
My biggest issue though is that leveling up costs you time. You level up and you lose days. It feels like a penalty. Do I level now and get more powers, but lose two days? I never want to feel limited in my power when I'm leveling. You want that power fantasy, especially as a vampire. As you play, you realize you have enough time, but it still stinks.
Lastly, it's basically a Ubisoft map game. Checkboxes everywhere, literal towers to reveal the land. I don't mind it and I think it does it well, but if you're fatigued from that, this may not be for you.
I played on Fair difficulty, which felt like Normal to me, and put about 26 hours into it. If I were starting fresh, I'd bump it up a notch to make it a bit more challenging.
Because of the 30-day clock, I couldn't just explore and learn everything on the map the first time through, so I really want New Game Plus. I think it's coming. I want to roam freely and try the other endings.
Easy recommend, and one of my favorite games this year. The Blood of Dawnwalker is a really good time.