Did you think the days of real consequences in video games were over? Nope, there is a new studio that wants to take a step back to the good old days of slaughtering quest givers.
There was a time when RPGs really let you embrace your inner menace. Games like Fallout: New Vegas and Morrowind didn't bat an eye if you decided to kill off a major character – one adjusted the story, the other simply warned you that you might have just ruined your entire playthrough. But modern RPGs? They coddle their precious VIPs, letting you, at best, knock them unconscious for a brief timeout.
Rebel Wolves' Vampiric RPG Revives The Joy Of NPC Destruction
Not so in The Blood of Dawnwalker. In an interview with GamesRadar, Creative Director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz made it clear: This isn't your standard "everyone is immortal until the cutscene says otherwise" experience. Here, the fangs are out, and no one – not even the most important quest-giver – is safe.
"It's a sandbox, meaning we're trying to maximize your options of your choice in the game," Tomaszkiewicz explained. His new studio, Rebel Wolves, is packed with CD Projekt Red veterans, and while their new title still emphasizes narrative depth, compelling characters, and lore-rich environments, it's also embracing something long-lost in modern RPGs: genuine consequences.
And yes, that means death. Lots of it.
A True Narrative Sandbox – With A (Literal) Body Count
"We allow you to kill off a lot of NPCs, and a lot of them can be really important NPCs," Tomaszkiewicz said. That includes characters who, in most RPGs, would be protected behind the impenetrable plot armor of "story relevance." Not here. In The Blood of Dawnwalker, your actions shape the story in a way only few modern games allow.
Before you start dreaming up elaborate murder sprees, be warned – killing in The Blood of Dawnwalker comes with consequences. "Sometimes this can lead to alternate outcomes or even cut off certain questlines," Tomaszkiewicz elaborated. And if you think you can just restrain yourself and avoid trouble, well, think again. "You being a Dawnwalker means that you have this blood hunger during the night time, so this can actually lead to these NPCs dying if you're not careful."
Yes, you read that right. You might not even have a say in some of the carnage. If you fail to manage your nocturnal appetite, NPCs may simply end up as an unintended midnight snack.
A Return To True Player Agency
Of course, The Blood of Dawnwalker isn't just about unleashing mayhem. Tomaszkiewicz describes it as a "narrative sandbox," where choices aren't limitless, but are designed to have deep and meaningful impact. "It's not exactly endless possibilities, because obviously we have a set character you're playing with Coen, and he has his own personality and so on," he noted. "But within this personality, we're trying to give you the ability to shape your own Coen."
In other words, you won't be a blank slate, but you'll have the freedom to create your own destiny – whether that involves diplomacy, deception, or a well-timed bite to the jugular.
It's a refreshing change from a lot of other games, where key characters were untouchable until the script dictated otherwise. Imagine if you could have taken out the Bloody Baron the first time he annoyed you in The Witcher 3 – well, in The Blood of Dawnwalker, that's not just a possibility, it's an expectation.