New The Blood of Dawnwalker gameplay is already delivering on player feedback with an addition I'm very pleased about

Rebel Wolves is back with another gameplay demo for The Blood of Dawnwalker, and it's already been making changes from its last showing based on player feedback. Given the studio's origins as a team of ex-CD Projekt Red developers with credits across Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher games, there's every reason to hope that The Blood of Dawnwalker could turn into one of the best RPGs on the horizon. Writer Ariana Siarkiewicz walks us through some fresh gameplay, and details some of the adjustments that have been implemented so far.

Our resident vampire game enthusiast Lauren got a closer look at The Blood of Dawnwalker at Gamescom, and came away describing it as "an undead chimera" of everything from Bloodborne and Vampire: The Masquerade to Plague Tale. Today, however, we're looking at the continuation of a quest that Rebel Wolves showed off back in June called 'A Monk and a Saint,' where protagonist Coen is on the hunt for a legendary sword. "Today we're going to get to the end of that quest," Siarkiewicz says.

This demonstration serves another purpose alongside the changes, which is to give an example of how differently events in The Blood of Dawnwalker can play out if you experience them in human form during the daytime versus as a vampire at night. In the first instance, Coen investigates an asylum, where he bribes a resident to learn about a hidden wing, home to patients who have fallen ill with plague and were left inside to die.

There, he fights a creature called a Murohn, the result of a failed transformation into a vampire. This means it can use tricks like Shadowstep, but in a much more unstable form. With it defeated, Coen uses the Compel Soul hex to speak with the dead (as a magic ability, this is something you can only do in human form). Heading back with newfound information, Siarkiewicz notes that our new quest objective is marked with an hourglass symbol, an indication that it'll push time forward.

Rather than doing so, we then jump back to the start of the sequence, but this time sneaking into the cathedral in his bloodsucking night-time form under the cover of darkness. Avoiding the powerful vampire, Xanthe, who is performing a ritual on the ground floor, Coen examines frescoes from the scaffolding and then uses Shadowstep to infiltrate a nearby library through an unlocked balcony door.

Upon heading back outside, guards quickly draw steel against Coen, and here's where we start to see some of the new additions Rebel Wolves has implemented. "We've listened to your feedback and we've worked on the flow of using active abilities," Siarkiewicz explains, as our lead battles with fangs and sword alike. "We are no longer pausing the choice menu - it's real time, in gameplay." That certainly feels a little more like The Witcher 3, and will force you into making snap decisions and living with them (or reaching for the quick-load key, I suppose).

Another big change is for the camera, which Siarkiewicz says was "one of the hottest topics after our gameplay reveal. We got lots of feedback about it, and we decided to add a second option for those of you who prefer the camera slightly further away from the character." While the original distance was perhaps more immersive, I'm immediately in favor of the new perspective. The camera will be adjustable for combat and exploration separately, so if you just want the wider angle while in battle you can do that.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is set to launch some time in 2026. You can keep up to speed with The Blood of Dawnwalker release date and latest details with our handy guide, or check the final minutes of the video above for a little more of a tease about where the narrative of this quest is leading. There are no major spoilers, but given how eagerly I'm anticipating delving into the world Rebel Wolves has built, I'm trying not to look too closely.