@ryo's review of The Blood of Dawnwalker
★★★★
Just finished The Blood of Dawnwalker. I got an ending that might count as a bad ending? Short review (spoiler-free, kinda): This game is pretty unique. There's a 30-day time limit for the main story, and several story branches along the way. It's not linear. You can approach things from different directions and complete quests in whatever order you want. But there's also a sense of false choice in the game, where your decisions feel like they matter, but the story still leads to the same final destination. The Time mechanic is probably the most interesting part of the game. Unlocking a skill tree? Takes time. Doing side quests? Takes time. And honestly, I love how it creates a sense of urgency and responsibility around what you do, what you choose, and the consequences of those choices. Gameplay also changes depending on whether it's day or night. For anyone who knows absolutely nothing about the game, there are two modes: human and vampire. Human mode is for daytime, while vampire mode is for nighttime. The combat is different in each mode, but so are some of the choices you can make. There's also a lot of room for different character builds. Unfortunately, while the story has a lot of potential to make this a 10/10 game, it's pretty obvious that Rebel Wolves is setting things up for a sequel. It's like finishing God of War (2018) and feeling completely satisfied, only to finish God of War Ragnarök and go, "Wait... that's it?" Dawnwalker gave me that same "cliffhanger-but-bad" feeling after finishing Ragnarök. And for a game that looks like it's giving you meaningful choices, a lot of it is honestly just an illusion. From what I've read online, there are around 6-8 endings, but they all still lead to the same major point in the finale that you can't change. Sure, you can save some people or sacrifice them, but in the end, it still leads toward a sequel. Combat-wise, this game is a winner. The combination of Kingdom Come: Deliverance-style combat with a heavy focus on parrying and ripostes makes it really fun. Unfortunately, there aren't that many enemy types, so a lot of enemies get reused or reskinned. It gets pretty repetitive. My score? 8/10. A good first attempt from Rebel Wolves; the ex-Witcher 3 developers, at making their first AAA game. The game is fun, and the sense of progression is great. The biggest downsides are the full AAA price and the performance issues, which make it feel less worth it right now. The overall quality feels closer to AA. And while the game initially makes you feel like your decisions really matter, they don't matter in the same way they do in Baldur's Gate 3 for example. Not that this is a huge problem. The game is still enjoyable. The combat also gets repetitive because there aren't that many enemy types. A lot of them are reused or reskinned. That's understandable, considering this is their first game and they probably couldn't be too ambitious. I'd probably give it a higher score if the game were priced around $40-$50, because that's where I think it belongs. But at the full AAA price of $70, it feels like they priced it too high, and that definitely affects my review. The price creates certain expectations, and Dawnwalker doesn't always live up to them. After finishing it, I'm honestly a little skeptical about the potential sequel. The ending already gives you a teaser of where they're planning to take it, and I'm not really impressed by the looks of it. Hopefully, they can pull off what they're aiming for.
Open this review on Memorycard
Download Memorycard on the App Store Get Memorycard on Google Play