The Blood of #Dawnwalker will receive a Performance Mode targeting 60 FPS on PS5, PS5 Pro, and Xbox Series X on Day 1 through the launch patch.
On Friday, we answered your questions about console performance with what we knew we could confidently deliver at launch.
Performance Mode was already in the works, but it was still being tested. We simply weren’t ready to promise it yet.
We heard your feedback. It was clear how much this mattered to many of you, so we focused on finishing the next round of tests. Those results gave us the confidence we needed to confirm Performance Mode for Day 1.
On PlayStation 5 Pro:
Performance, targeting 60fps
Balanced, targeting 40fps
Quality, targeting 30fps
PlayStation 5 Pro also provides overall visual enhancements.
On PlayStation 5:
Performance, targeting 60fps
Balanced, targeting 40fps
Quality, targeting 30fps
On Xbox Series X:
Performance, targeting 60fps
Balanced, targeting 40fps
Quality, targeting 30fps
On Xbox Series S:
Targeting 30fps
friketje wrote:
Why are we actually discussing console performance in the pc section??
We have to wait after release to see how the game performs, there is no point discussing this now. It will probably run fine with some tweaking.
Sorry, vurt brought it up and there is not thread for this game in the Console Arena.
May the NFOrce be with you always.
Last edited by headshot on Tue, 25th Aug 2026 13:25; edited 2 times in total
Sure, but we have to wait and see, there is no point in discussing this beforhand.
And second. Even if this is one of those poorly optimised UE5 games it still isn't a big deal. I think all humpers have a rig that will run the game fine with some tweaking with stable 60FPS and a decent picture. It's not a crucial thing to enjoy a game, not for me at last. Tweaking down shadows 1 or 2 extra steps, who cares.
Sure, but we have to wait and see, there is no point in discussing this beforhand.
And second. Even if this is one of those poorly optimised UE5 games it still isn't a big deal. I think all humpers have a rig that will run the game fine with some tweaking with stable 60FPS and a decent picture. It's not a crucial thing to enjoy a game, not for me at last. Tweaking down shadows 1 or 2 extra steps, who cares.
Well, I read some comments that STALKER2 after the latest patch that upgraded UE5 version runs much better. Maybe they will upgrade to it soon...
harballaz wrote:
Hey dont be so hard the little console eunuchs, they need time to aim their lil vibratin thumbstick.
Ue5 is not the problem, it’s the devs that use all the options it provides (and gamers refusing to scale down settings cause fuck it I paid 3k for my rig, I demand 60 gps max settings)
some positives and some a bit over average. We'll see. I already look unfavorably upon it due to the timer the game forces on you. Fucking hate that shite.
Probably gonna make you quite op i bet. But i also suspect that these side stories are so optional that you'll feel it, since you can ignore them all afterall
The bigger problem is that game just doesn't seem to excel in anything it seems and there are some negatives. It's your typical AA RPG, only fun if it's exactly what you are looking for of don't have anything else to play.
So the timer adds to that. Sure you can mod it, but it feels like cheating and why bother with a game like this.
Perfomance seems the biggest issue. Mortismal footage was choppy and he uses a 4090 and he mentioned bigger frame drops in his review. If it's realy that bad this will get review bombed.
Seems average. No NPC schedules is meh i think, if you're going for immersion then do it correctly.
The RPG part seems weak. This part must work, even in action RPG's it must feel fun to find loot and upgrade. If this loop isn't fun and addicting you have failed.
What it does seem to do well is the branching stuff i guess. Cool if you want to replay a game a lot, personally its not something i'm into.
But who knows, if they're gonna be super active with patches it could end up being great.
Last edited by vurt on Tue, 1st Sep 2026 03:50; edited 1 time in total
🎮 Overall: The Blood of Dawnwalker is a dark-fantasy action RPG from former The Witcher 3 developers, offering a distinctive mix of time-limited gameplay, meaningful choices, directional combat, and human/vampire playstyles.
🧛 Setting & Story: Set in 14th-century Europe in the Carpathian Mountains, the story follows Coen, a young man transformed into a Dawnwalker—human by day and vampire by night—after vampires conquer his valley following a devastating plague.
📖 Main Story: The reviewer found the central plot too simple and emotionally weak, particularly compared with The Witcher 3. Coen's family and the main villain don't receive enough development to make the overarching story especially compelling.
👥 Characters & Writing: Individual characters, dialogue, voice acting, investigations, and character-focused quests are considerably stronger. Choices can significantly alter relationships, quest outcomes, rewards, and even the ending.
🔀 Choices & Consequences: This is considered one of the game's best features. Decisions branch naturally, sometimes without being obvious to the player, making quests feel less linear and encouraging experimentation or a second playthrough.
⏳ Time-Management System: The day/night time mechanic affects quests, abilities, and activities across the game. Certain quests require specific times, while completing activities consumes limited time chunks. The reviewer initially worried it would be tedious but ultimately considered it one of the game's strongest mechanics.
⚔️ Combat: Combat is better than expected, using directional attacks and blocking. Perfect blocks/parries are particularly satisfying, with clear visual cues and well-balanced timing.
🐺 Enemy Variety: Combat suffers from repetitive enemies, especially wolves, vampire dogs, and large groups of similar soldiers. These enemies can become frustrating because of their erratic animations and limited variety.
👹 Boss Fights: Major bosses are well designed and have clearly telegraphed attacks, but they were generally too easy on the reviewer's chosen difficulty. Most could be defeated on the first attempt.
🌙 Human vs. Vampire Abilities: Coen has different abilities depending on the time of day. Vampire skills include wall-walking, claw movement, teleportation/blinking, and transforming into a wolf, while human abilities include enhanced speed and time manipulation.
🌳 Skill Trees: There are three major skill trees covering vampire abilities, witchcraft, and sword mastery. The abilities are generally useful and fun, but the reviewer felt their combat implementation was shallow because activating abilities often provides temporary damage immunity.
📈 Character Progression: Despite having multiple skill trees, equipment upgrades, crafting, and different gear qualities, progression feels underwhelming. The suspected level-scaling system prevents the player from becoming dramatically stronger than early-game enemies.
🗡️ Weapons & Equipment: Armor has attractive visual variety and useful day/night-specific stats, but weapon variety is disappointing. Different weapon types largely feel the same apart from minor speed differences.
🏰 Quests & Outposts: Character-focused story quests are among the game's strongest content, with good presentation and set pieces. In contrast, repeatedly clearing enemy outposts and soldiers becomes highly repetitive.
🌍 Open World: The world is considered a good size—not too large or too small—with enjoyable exploration, dungeons, collectibles, and quests discovered naturally. However, the landscape is somewhat flat and lacks much verticality.
🏘️ World Simulation: NPC systems are relatively basic, without highly detailed schedules or deep environmental simulation. The game prioritizes storytelling and combat rather than immersive-simulation elements.
📊 Other World Systems: The game's "court" system changes enemy presence and some economic/world conditions as Coen opposes the vampire rulers, but the reviewer considered its actual impact fairly minor.
🎨 Graphics: Visually, the game resembles The Witcher 3 but with more detailed characters and better animations. Overall, it looks good, although nighttime can become excessively dark even when using a torch.
💻 Performance: Performance was generally solid on the reviewer's PC, although there were noticeable frame drops. The reviewer expected patches, including the day-one update, to improve this.
🔊 Audio: Sound effects and voice acting are high quality. The music is less memorable but fits the dark-fantasy atmosphere well.
⚠️ Biggest Weaknesses: The main criticisms are the shallow overarching story, repetitive enemies and outposts, weak late-game progression, suspected level scaling, limited weapon variety, and combat abilities that lack depth.
❤️ Final Verdict: Despite its flaws, the reviewer enjoyed the game considerably and considers it an impressive first title from Rebel Wolves. They view it as a high-quality RPG with substantial room for improvement.
💰 Price: The reviewer considers the launch price too high and recommends waiting for a sale if you're uncertain whether the game's particular mix of systems appeals to you.
Seems average. No NPC schedules is meh i think, if you're going for immersion then do it correctly.
The RPG part seems weak. This part must work, even in action RPG's it must feel fun to find loot and upgrade. If this loop isn't fun and addicting you have failed.
What it does seem to do well is the branching stuff i guess. Cool if you want to replay a game a lot, personally its not something i'm into.
But who knows, if they're gonna be super active with patches it could end up being great.
Who would want to replay a game tho that is not doing anything good and only the replayability is the key factor? Better have a fucking good story and delivery then...
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
- Albert Camus
Replay for different endings?
Apparently the game doesn’t allow you to do everything you want to in a single playthrough and there are many endings some of which can take upto 50 hours to reach.
I read somewhere that someone finished the game with 1 of the endings in just 3 hours though so I guess that’s determined by the choices made.
I guess you can pass time during the 30 main quest days if you want to progress to the next day which will obviously add to how short the game can be in real time?
Time mechanic for quests is OK and I was actually looking forward to it, especially as I like multiple playthroughs. However, using time for leveling up/learning skills is completely nonsensical and idiotic.
I think they might patch that out it because seems so stupid, especially after watching Mortismal's review. Maybe they can balance it out with some patch because it just makes no sense...
If you had limited resources in terms of character progression, maybe it could work, OK. But Mortismal mentions he had like 60 skill points or whatever (a lot) and he avoided leveling up because he did not want to waste time. IF it is like that, surely they did not playtest it a lot.
Time mechanic for quests is OK and I was actually looking forward to it, especially as I like multiple playthroughs. However, using time for leveling up/learning skills is completely nonsensical and idiotic.
I think they might patch that out it because seems so stupid, especially after watching Mortismal's review. Maybe they can balance it out with some patch because it just makes no sense...
If you had limited resources in terms of character progression, maybe it could work, OK. But Mortismal mentions he had like 60 skill points or whatever (a lot) and he avoided leveling up because he did not want to waste time. IF it is like that, surely they did not playtest it a lot.
Also apparently some of your abilities are only available during the day/night. So you might have spent some time to level up some stuff and then you would have to spend more time to actually use them during a quest. Certain quests and areas are only available during the day/night as well. These are some strange design choices to combine with timed quests. But according to Mort there is only ONE timed quest.
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