Ahead of its release next year, The Blood of Dawnwalker developer Rebel Wolves revealed more details on the dual-gameplay loop that will drive this experience. Set in 14th-century Europe, players will step into the boots of Coen as he works to save his family from a local vampire warlord.

The catch here is that Coen has two sides to him, as his Dawnwalker abilities allow him to unlock vampiric powers at night. Daylight hours make Coen revert back to his human side, and Rebel Wolves says that players will be able to experiment with different approaches and discover how the world reacts to their actions.

“Choices and consequences in our games have three layers,” game director Konrad Tomaskiewicz said in a gameplay deep-dive video shown during the Future Games Show at Gamescom livestream. “First, is quite traditional. Similar to other RPGs, you make choices and then deal with the consequences. The second layer plays into our dual-gameplay loop. Day and night often present different choices. And finally, not making a choice is also a choice. You can choose not to react, and the world will react in ways that are often hard to predict.”

The Blood of Dawnwalker story unfolds over 30 days, with quests moving time forward. Players won’t have to rush, as lead quest designer Rafal Jankowski confirmed that exploration in the game won’t consume time. “We give you the pieces, but it’s up to you how you put them together,” Tomaskiewicz added. The game even allows players to skip the entire campaign and storm the Brencis castle stronghold of the final boss right away, but Jankowski did caution against doing this as it will be “extremely difficult” to emerge victorious without powering up first.

The Blood of Dawnwalker will launch for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2026, but if you’re looking for a different slice of vampiric fun this year, Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will be out on October 21.