Kes’ Take —
The brand new AAA RPG from Insurgent Wolves has shades of The Witcher (and that is okay)
- The Blood of Dawnwalker is a brand new AAA action-RPG coming to Xbox Collection X|S
- Developer Insurgent Wolves is shaped of ex-CD Projekt Pink builders
- Within the first trailer, you’ll be able to really feel The Witcher’s DNA shining by way of within the music, landscapes, and fantasy setting
We’ve the primary trailer for an motion RPG that ought to be in your radar — The Blood of Dawnwalker. Being made by Insurgent Wolves, a developer shaped primarily of ex-CD Projekt Pink workers, the darkish fantasy theme is in full swing, and its AAA funds is on present within the first trailer. I’ve embedded it beneath, so test it out, after which inform me it does not provide you with greater than just a little trace of The Witcher.
To be truthful, if lots of your improvement group has labored on The Witcher 3 — the best RPG of the Xbox One era — you must in all probability dive into a few of what made that recreation nice in your new challenge. Insurgent Wolves appear most snug with a return again to darkish fantasy for his or her Xbox Collection X|S debut in an open-world RPG the place you play as Coen, a Dawnwalker.
In a world of vampires, people, monsters, and plagues, Coen can be straddling the world of day and evening, human and beast, to try to save his 14th-century European homeland. There can be a Persona-like mechanic of a ticking clock in your questlines, and it sounds very very similar to participant selection can be on the coronary heart of a diverging narrative.
I believe what pushes The Blood of Dawnwalker and The Witcher comparisons from ‘well-known ancestor’ to a ‘matching DNA’ are the shared themes and tone. It isn’t simply the darkish fantasy style, however The Blood of Dawnwalker additionally appears to be all about participant company and gray morality — how do you form the response to a fancy ethical drawback? We solely simply noticed this seem in The Witcher 4’s reveal trailer, too.
Then you may have your monstrous protagonist, right here it’s a Dawnwalker which appears to be a half-monster staddled between worlds in Insurgent Wolves’ lore. Does that remind anybody else of our favourite Geralt of Rivia — half-man, half-mutant? Our human civilization is even on the verge of breaking from the Black Dying right here and from the Nilfguardian Battle over there!
The Blood of DawnwalkerJust a few different callbacks I cherished have been issues just like the rating by Mikolai Stroinski, which has that Polish people affect, very similar to certainly one of his different initiatives — The Witcher 3. I imply, The Blood of Dawnwalker’s setting can be closely influenced by medieval European society, with the panorama bringing that rolling inexperienced grass and snowcapped mountains of southern Poland and north Slovakia within the Tatras to thoughts. Once more, The Witcher 3 additionally used its builders’ homeland as an affect in these areas.
I carry all this showcased DNA ahead to not slight The Blood of Dawnwalker, however as a result of it fascinates me. There’s something concerning the tone and setting of The Witcher’s continent that appealed to me over different fantasy RPGs. This primary trailer for Insurgent Wolves’ new recreation has recaptured each these issues splendidly, and now I am excited to see the way it differs from its RPG heritage.
In any case, I am hoping we get a double dose of darkish European fantasy on our listing of finest open-world video games by the point Daybreak of Bloodwalker comes out. We’ve no launch window simply but, however we can be seeing extra gameplay in Summer time 2025. So, ideas on the trailer TrueAchievements group? Is anybody else actually vibing with the tone and setting? Let me know within the feedback beneath!
