In the media you will often see that when an evil is taken down, if people aren’t careful a new and worse evil will take its place. The Blood of Dawnwalker shows the perfect example of this. The game starts with the main character trying to escape with his sister from the hunting knights. Just as they corner the hero, The Dawnwalkers attack the knights and feed off them. The leader then cures your sister from her disease, but inevitably turns her into a Dawnwalker. Later on you are turned by your own sister and now have to use your new abilities to try and save her and take down the other Dawnwalkers.
When you start the game, you are given a simple tutorial on both your combat and future abilities. More games need a tutorial like this. The level allows you to get used to how the combat flows and how exploring will work. When you are turned, you get accused of the basic abilities of the Dawnwalker, such as teleportation and feeding. The former allows you to travel short distances and the latter both heals you and damages the enemies. Both of these abilities can be used during combat but they affect the flow of battle. While the teleportation works fine, the feeding abilities require you to go to a specific menu to use it, pausing the fight and slowing down the fight. This could have been solved by equipping it to a specific button.
While in combat, you have to swing your sword/claw in a certain direction and block attacks the same way. While on easier difficulties, the game does show you what direction to press while blocking so this helps with new players. The big problem is that the fights tend to be too slow for my taste and you don’t really have an option to deal with a lot of enemies at once, even with your Dawnwalker abilities. You will however, get plenty of chances to use both of your sword skills and witchcraft in battle so get ready for a wild ride.
The game has a 30 day and night cycle making your time management important.Every mission and quest has a time frame where it can be completed so you have to make sure you use your time wisely if you want to do everything in the game. The quests are even more important in this game since they directly affect the story and events in the game. You wont have to complete every quest but i highly recommend it if you want to get the full experience.
The world gives off a dark fantasy feel to it and always has me on edge. I have to keep an eye out for soldiers and monsters during both the day and night so I’m never completely safe, keeping me on my toes. While traveling through the world takes a long time, the moment you unlock more of your Dawnwalker abilities, that becomes a nonissue. The world looks exactly what you expect from a world with so many dangers and fear.
As you explore you will have to forage and loot for supplies. Then you will have to craft items to make yourself stronger. Better weapons, clothes, everything you need to survive this dark world. You have to make sure you look in every nook and cranny to get what you need to craft the best items, and trust me you will need everything you can get.
This game has a lot you have to keep in mind, from the day and night cycle and the time limits for the quests. While you are given enough time if you manage your time, it can be stressful. I always felt like I had to rush things just to make sure I could get everything done. I recommend you just focus on certain quests and missions for your first playthrough so you can get used to how the game works and better prepare yourself.
In conclusion, The Blood of Dawnwalker is a long experience you will have to be prepared for. With slow combat, limited time for quests and a huge world to explore, this game has both good and bad qualities. If you are into these types of games then you are sure to enjoy it. If you aren’t, then at least give it a try. You might end up becoming a fan, especially if you are into dark fantasy games or games with huge open worlds.
Score: 7 out of 10
Reviewed on PlayStation 5
