New RPG Is Like The Witcher Meets Persona

Summary

• Former CD Projekt Red developers at Rebel Wolves unveiled a cinematic trailer for their debut game, The Blood of Dawnwalker.
• The Blood of Dawnwalker is an open-world RPG set in a dark fantasy world, offering morally gray choices and featuring an outcast protagonist, reminiscent of The Witcher.
• The game incorporates Persona-like time management mechanics.

The Blood of Dawnwalker recently debuted its highly anticipated reveal trailer, showcasing pre-rendered cinematic footage interspersed with brief gameplay glimpses. The trailer highlights the game's previously announced similarities to The Witcher, blended with unique Persona-inspired elements.

The Blood of Dawnwalker marks the first title from Rebel Wolves, a Polish studio founded by former CD Projekt Red developers who contributed to The Witcher series and Cyberpunk 2077. Initially announced as Dawnwalker in January 2024, Rebel Wolves described it as a narrative-driven open-world RPG within a dark fantasy setting, emphasizing meaningful player choices.

Exactly one year later, on January 13th, Rebel Wolves and publisher Bandai Namco presented a reveal stream culminating in an extended cinematic trailer exceeding four and a half minutes. This trailer establishes the game's world and introduces the Dawnwalkers, essentially powerful vampires within the game's lore. We also meet Coen, the protagonist, who is transformed into a Dawnwalker at the game's outset.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Reveal Trailer Echoes The Witcher

With its dark fantasy setting, monstrous creatures, and open-world RPG structure featuring morally gray choices—further underscored by the tagline "the world needs what it fears"—The Blood of Dawnwalker evokes a strong Witcher vibe, even independent of its development team's history. Fans who enjoyed the vampires and challenging decisions in The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine expansion will likely find the premise intriguing. The game's emphasis on player choice is reflected in its morality system, allowing Coen to either embrace his Dawnwalker nature to save his family or cling to his remaining humanity.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Borrows from Persona

While superficially similar to The Witcher, The Blood of Dawnwalker introduces unique twists to the open-world RPG formula. Most notably, it incorporates Persona-style time management mechanics, where each quest consumes a portion of in-game time. As Rebel Wolves co-founder and game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz explains, "There are multiple approaches to saving Coen’s family with no clear division between main and side quests; you decide on how you spend the time." Completing every quest and storyline in a single playthrough is impossible, a design choice intended to foster replayability and ensure each playthrough feels distinct. Rebel Wolves terms this a "narrative sandbox."

The Blood of Dawnwalker is currently in development for PC and current-generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Envisioned as the first installment in a trilogy, it will be published by Bandai Namco. While a concrete release date remains unannounced, given its 2022 development start and AAA budget, a release before 2027 seems unlikely. Rebel Wolves has promised a gameplay reveal in Summer 2025.