It’s been so long since the gaming public has received a good vampire RPG that I’m, ironically, thirsting for one. Luckily, the new studio on the European front Rebel Wolves looks to slake our hunger with The Blood of the Dawnwalker, which just released 21 minutes of pure gameplay for those curious about how the game is going to play out.

There are some things here that were hinted at in previous trailers and articles that are more overtly shown here that really make The Blood of the Dawnwalker stand out from other RPG titles, such as the day/night cycle being very, very important not just narratively but also on the gameplay, as Coen’s latent vampiric powers only manifest at night, meaning you have an entirely different skillset when the sun sets. You can teleport, walk up walls, and grow your nails into daggers as you feed on people to keep your health up. Of course, these are Witcher 3 developers so the memes are true this time in that you’ll have a “vampire sense” similar to Geralt’s witcher senses. At least Coen doesn’t say, “Hmmm… dead body… gotta be…” at least not for this preview.

Of course, Rebel Wolves is most known at this point for being comprised of former Witcher 3 devs who split off from CD Projekt Red. Witcher 3 was a highly acclaimed game with some rough edges as I pointed out in my last article over The Blood of the Dawnwalker, and that Rebel Wolves would need to show that they’ve learned to smooth those edges in the decade since Witcher 3. Did they do it? We won’t know for sure until 2026 but the 21 minutes of gameplay will certainly help inform your decisions, there are definitely unique areas that exemplify the creative vision Rebel Wolves have for the game, but I can already see some of the fair criticisms people will have too. I, personally, hope they let me turn into a bat.