STACK #263 September 2026

GAMING FEATURE

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GENRE: Action RPG MULTIPLAYER: No

FORMAT:

A RED-LETTER DAY

A new IP from a studio with serious The Witcher pedigree? That’s this month’s The Blood of Dawnwalker , an intriguing vampire-soaked tale.We sat down for a chat with Piotr Kucharski, writer at Polish developer Rebel Wolves, to find out more about this exciting new action RPG. Words Amy Flower

“To get a full story, you have to play once, because this is the story of Coen trying to find his way in this new reality and also trying to save his family. So basically, if you play once, you will learn the story. You will get the full adventure. But the different playthroughs and the level of engagement you choose for yourself will give you more layers of the story. “So, for example, you will probably be able to find out more about Francis, the antagonist, or the other vampires that join him, because we have prepared for all those lore maniacs that want to lick the walls and find everything possible. You won't find all the answers in this one, but if you learn some things, you’ll get some reward in the next instalments of the game. “I think it's a neat thing that both players and Coen, they are the babes in the wood, so to speak, lost and finding their way, and it's only up to the player and the choices they make how much they will find out about what's really happening.” Hopes are high amongst the Rebel Wolves team that the game will find an eager audience. “Firstly, I hope they’ll create their own stories and that

Y ou might think that with it known that your sparkling new studio features people who worked on The Witcher, such as Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the Rebel Wolves team might feel extra pressure. Surprisingly, they don’t. “We talked about this and we’ll not avoid comparisons, especially when that's who our CEO is,” says Kucharski. “Konrad was one of the main people behind The Witcher , so we welcome the comparison because The Witcher III was marvellous, and one of the golden stars for playing games. But also, we’re making our own thing, and we really feel confident about the IP and our original ideas.” With an aim to make a series of games that move through time, a classic vampire story unfolded. “The people behind it were Konrad, again, and Jakub Szamalek, who is our narrative director,” reveals Kucharski. “They were talking about many things, and one of them was how to make a game that would be a saga in which you’d play the same character, which would also move from periods of times going forward. So, of course, vampirism was the easiest answer. “They also talked about werewolves and the dual nature of them, so being a human by day and by night.

DYK?

The Blood of Dawnwalker is just the first episode in a series of planned games that will culminate in present times.

they’ll create their own Coens, so to speak. But also, I just really hope as a writer,

“We drew inspiration from quite a lot of folklore, legend, and so on, especially from the area we live in – we are, as you know, from Poland,” says Kucharski

especially, that when they finish the

game, they’ll remember some emotional beats,” Kucharski tell us. “You know, they’ll feel like, ‘This is something that is staying with me’ – some quotes, some scenes, and so on, because to us, creating a narrative-driven game is all about evoking emotions in players. So, if at the end of the day they played The Blood of Dawnwalker and they cried a bit, I would be very happy.”

with a smile. “In Slavic mythology, instead of folklore, vampires are a thing. They’re also I think in Germanic folklore, and in Romanian folklore, so we drew from those. “We added our own twists to make it an original idea, but also one in which people who love vampires will feel at home. But there will also be something for them to explore and find out some new things about vampires.” In an interesting turn, The Blood of Dawnwalker gives players an in-game 30-day and 30-night window in which to play through, so to get all aspects of the story you’d need to play through more than once. Kucharski explains...

In the end, they came up with the Dawnwalker, a creature that would be a mix of both.” It isn’t necessarily a predictable vampire tale, as the team have taken aspects from many cultures, as well as adding their own twists.

• The Blood of Dawnwalker is out Sep 3

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, Code Vein II

10 SEPTEMBER 2026

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