The Blood of Dawnwalker launches to strong reviews and weak PC performance
The Blood of Dawnwalker is out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S — and its launch tells two different stories. Critics scored the vampire RPG an 85 on both Metacritic and OpenCritic, praising its dark narrative and meaningful choice systems. PC players, meanwhile, are reporting poor frame rates, stuttering, and controller bugs even on high-end hardware, pushing the Steam rating down to 73% positive with a peak of 44,000 concurrent players at launch.
The game itself
Rebel Wolves — founded by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, director of The Witcher 3, alongside other CD Projekt Red veterans — built the game around Coen, a young man turned half-vampire who goes up against an ancient vampire lord named Brenesis. Reviewers consistently highlight the writing: dialogue is sharp, story choices carry real weight, and the cinematic presentation holds up next to The Witcher 3. Combat is more divisive — players seem to need time to adjust — but narrative strength is the clear selling point here.
The PC problem
The game runs on Unreal Engine 5, which demands at least 6–8 GB of VRAM and an NVMe SSD to keep stuttering under control. According to the PC Gamer optimization guide, shadow quality is the biggest frame-rate bottleneck, and upscaling (DLSS, FSR, or XeSS) is effectively mandatory to hit smooth frame rates at any resolution. The ResetEra performance thread documents controller input bugs, asset-streaming hitches on otherwise capable rigs, and SSD dependency that catches players off guard.
Console versions — PS5 and Xbox Series X/S — are reportedly more stable, which fragments the experience across platforms from day one. At £59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99, that's a meaningful gap if you're buying on PC.
Worth buying now?
The critical consensus is solid, and the story ambition is clearly there. But the pattern here echoes CD Projekt Red's own Cyberpunk 2077 launch: strong creative execution, rough technical delivery. The broader player community is already advising others to wait for optimization patches — or a discount — before jumping in on PC. If you're on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, the calculus looks considerably better right now.
