Witcher 3's director made a strong new RPG — but it's not a Witcher replacement
The Blood of Dawnwalker, the debut RPG from Rebel Wolves — a studio founded by Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz and other CD Projekt Red veterans — releases September 3 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Critics have published their verdicts, and they broadly agree: the story and world-building are exceptional, but the open world and combat fall short of the genre's best. On OpenCritic it sits at 84 with a 90% recommendation rate; Metacritic scores range from 83 to 87 depending on platform.
The pitch
You play as Coen, a man turned half-vampire who has 30 in-game days to save his family from an ancient vampire lord ruling a dark medieval kingdom in the Carpathians. That time limit is the game's defining mechanic — every major quest advances the clock, so a single playthrough can't cover everything. Critics praise how this structure blurs the line between main and side missions: every quest feeds into the same goal, and each choice shapes how the story ends. Reviewers consistently highlight the writing, cinematic cutscenes, and Sangora's atmosphere as the game's genuine strengths. Rebel Wolves has built something with its own identity, even against inevitable Witcher comparisons.
Where it stumbles
The open world is the most consistent complaint. Enemy camps feel repetitive, random events repeat, and enemy variety is thin — all of which works against the narrative momentum the story builds. Combat has directed strikes and parrying, but reviewers find the progression system shallow and enemy AI too basic even on harder difficulty settings. MeriStation review put it bluntly: the open world is "too conservative and monotonous, and secondary content quickly becomes tiresome."
Console players should also note the launch context. Rebel Wolves initially announced a 40fps cap, which triggered significant player backlash. The studio responded with a day-one 60fps Performance Mode — an unusually fast course correction, confirmed by GameInformer. Three modes are available on PS5 and Xbox Series X: Performance (60fps), Balanced (40fps), and Quality (30fps). Some quest bugs and performance dips on consoles are reported in the launch build; patches are expected.
Worth it?
The Blood of Dawnwalker costs $69.99 for the Standard Edition in the US. It's the first entry in a planned RPG saga — think Cyberpunk 2077 positioning rather than a standalone one-and-done. If you buy it on Xbox, Play Anywhere means one purchase covers both console and PC.
This isn't Witcher 3 with vampires. It's a tighter, more narrative-focused RPG that trades open-world breadth for moral weight and story consequence. For players who prioritize story over systems, the ResetEra review thread consensus suggests it's well worth the asking price — just go in knowing the world exploration won't match the storytelling.
