Last night, Polish developer Rebel Wolves finally unveiled its debut project, a single-player open world roleplaying game called The Blood of Dawnwalker. During the live event, fans can learn more about the game, watch a gorgeous CGI trailer, and even catch a glimpse of in-game footage.

Rebel Wolves was founded three years ago by former The Witcher III: Wild Hunt director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz following his departure from CD Projekt RED. After securing investment from NetEase, the studio signed a deal to publish their first title with Bandai Namco.

The influence of The Witcher III is quite clear, although there are some changes. The Blood of Dawnwalker is set in 14th century Carpathia, in the fictional region of Vale Lenora. While not a high fantasy game, the setting definitely supports magic and the supernatural inspired by the realm of dark fantasy. The story begins when, at the height of the Black Plague, a powerful band of vampires leaps out of the shadows to overthrow a feudal lord and seize the Vale for themselves. They are led by an old and powerful vampire named Brencis, who promises safety to the battered population. Of course, such protection comes at a huge cost – routine blood collections where humans must donate blood, no matter the consequences.

In the CGI trailer, we see Coen’s protagonist’s first encounter with the vampires. Just as the human rulers were about to burn the Coen sisters, who were infected with the Black Plague, the vampires arrived and slaughtered them all. Later, they heard Coen’s plea to save her and proceeded to heal the little girl with their blood (which did not turn her into a vampire).

The game begins about two years after those events. Coen himself has been turned into a vampire of sorts, but as you might guess from the title, he’s a special kind of vampire. Due to his argyria, silver poisoning he contracted while working in a silver mine, he is weaker than a regular vampire but also has not fully transformed, meaning he can still walk among humans during the day.

Blood of Dawnwalker will reportedly feature two different loops for day and night. During the day, Coen will basically fight like a human (except for the magical magic he can learn throughout the game); However, at night, he can use his vampire powers. He’ll need them, as there are other supernatural enemies besides vampires that have appeared since Brencis took over: the undead, Kobolds, and some creatures called uriash.

Being an open world roleplaying game, it is not surprising to hear confirmation that players will be able to befriend or become enemies with various characters. The former would probably be smarter to achieve Coen’s ultimate goal of taking down Brencis and freeing his family, although he could also go solo. However, players only have 30 days and three nights to make it a success. This also means they won’t be able to complete all of the story (which Rebel Wolves doesn’t traditionally divide into main missions and side missions) in one playthrough. There is one more mechanism that needs to be monitored at all times: bloodlust. Not only will Coen become weaker in combat if not fed, but he may lose control and even kill his companions, potentially failing the mission.

This all sounds very interesting. This Unreal Engine 5 powered game will reveal its full gameplay this summer. There’s no release window yet, but we already know The Blood of Dawnwalker will be available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X.