How Blood of Dawnwalker Places a Premium on Player Agency in its Quest Design

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The newly established studio, Rebel Wolves, was formed by veterans from CD Projekt Red, and their first project, titled “The Blood of Dawnwalker“, is an enticing action-RPG with a captivating vampire theme. Leveraging their extensive experience on games such as The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, Rebel Wolves has expressed a focus on creating quests with multiple options and meaningful choices, accompanied by a day-night cycle that alters the story’s outcome based on whether the main character is in human or vampire form.

During a chat with Game Rant regarding the development of “The Blood of Dawnwalker,” writers Piotr Kucharski and lead quest designer Rafał Jankowski shared insights. They emphasized that player autonomy is key in designing the game’s quests, but it’s not just about varying outcomes or boosting replay value with multiple paths. Instead, they aim to establish a narrative playground where every playthrough offers a distinct experience and provides players with the freedom to mold the game’s protagonist into either a hero or a villain as desired.

The Blood of Dawnwalker’s Quests Avoid Holding the Player’s Hand While Still Having Purpose

For enthusiasts of games such as “The Witcher 3” and “Cyberpunk 2077”, branching storylines with multiple choice-driven outcomes are a known terrain. Drawing upon its expertise from working on those titles, the team at Rebel Wolves has crafted a comparable experience with “The Blood of Dawnwalker”. However, given the protagonist’s status as a freshly cursed vampire, decisions regarding the approach to various situations – be it through violence or compassion – significantly influence the way each significant quest unfolds. Regarding this interactive gameplay aspect, Jankowski highlights:

As a gamer, I can’t help but highlight the captivating structure of this game. The developers have crafted a compelling narrative where my character is tasked with saving his loved ones. They were abducted by the ruthless prince, our main adversary, and I’ve got exactly one month – 30 days and nights – to complete this rescue mission.

As a passionate fan, I’d put it this way: In The Blood of Dawnwalker, the journey to rescue the protagonist’s family is entirely yours to shape. You can opt for a diplomatic path, leveraging your human traits to win over non-player characters (NPCs) and reach your goals peacefully. Alternatively, you might prefer to embrace your new vampiric powers under the cover of night and tackle objectives with brute force, as suggested by Jankowski. The choice is yours!

The entire journey offers a lot of freedom, with multiple layers. One such aspect is that many of our missions provide two options – a day route and a night route. Additionally, there are elements within the game that are dependent on the time of day.

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This implies that things aren’t always black and white; players might need to explore both methods rather than strictly adhering to one side. So far, Rebel Wolves has been picky about revealing too much of the fight scenes from The Blood of Dawnwalker, but Jankowski guarantees that combat is crucial to the gameplay.

In simpler terms, as Jankowski states, our aim is to make the combat in The Blood of Dawnwalker enjoyable for players. However, it’s important to clarify that the game won’t offer a purely pacifist playthrough option. Yet, Kucharski highlights that in certain quests, players will have the chance to bypass combats and opt for peaceful resolutions instead, which emphasizes the player’s control not only over the final outcome of a quest but also the way it unfolds during gameplay.

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2025-08-23 00:04