“Notoriety is a Boon”: New RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker Embraces Player Choice, Hints at Larger Saga
COLOGNE, GERMANY – Rebel Wolves, the studio founded by former CD Projekt Red developers, is building The Blood of Dawnwalker as a deeply reactive RPG were player actions – even seemingly destructive ones – have notable consequences, potentially opening up new alliances and questlines. Revealed during Gamescom, the game emphasizes a ”narrative sandbox” approach, allowing players to bypass major quests or eliminate key characters, shaping a uniquely personal experience.
According to studio narrative director Kacper Tomaszkiewicz, the game’s notoriety system isn’t a punishment, but a tool.”It’s not just Brencis and his soldiers [who react to your notoriety,] it’s also the people in the valley,” Tomaszkiewicz explained. “They will recognize you and be afraid of you.So in some quest situations it actually might be helpful. There are some factions that fight against Brencis, they don’t like him. So building up notoriety is actually a good way to gain a good standing with them.”
This focus on player agency extends to the game’s ending(s). The team acknowledges the complexity of crafting conclusions for a game where players can drastically alter the course of the story. Tomaszkiewicz jokingly compared the task to “the meme of [It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day] with the red tape,” highlighting the intricate web of connections the designers are managing.
The Blood of Dawnwalker is envisioned as the first chapter in a larger saga set in the world of Coen, a Slavic fantasy setting.While sequels aren’t guaranteed, Rebel Wolves has already begun laying groundwork for future installments. “There is much more in the IP then just vampires,let’s say,” Tomaszkiewicz teased. “There is this whole hidden world that we are not exploring on purpose in this first game. We want to leave a lot of fuel for the sequels and so on. But we do leave breadcrumbs and hint at these things. So yeah, we have a general idea of where we want to take Coen.”
Currently, a release date for The Blood of Dawnwalker has not been announced. IGN was able to view a demonstration of the game at Gamescom but did not have hands-on access.
