If players of Medieval vampire RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker have been wondering why they feel noticeably weaker during daylight hours as a human than they do after dark as a vampire, the answer from developer Rebel Wolves is simple: that imbalance is by design. Game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz confirmed that the asymmetry between the two forms is a deliberate creative choice rather than a balancing oversight, and that struggling in human form is part of the intended experience.
The revelation comes as the studio continues to field questions about the game’s divisive day-and-night mechanic, which ties directly into its core identity. The Blood of Dawnwalker, which launched at the beginning of September, invites players to switch between a fragile mortal body and a far more potent undead form depending on the in-game clock, a system that has generated plenty of discussion among the growing player base.
A Deliberate Design Philosophy
When asked directly whether players should feel more powerful as a vampire and more underpowered as a human, Tomaszkiewicz did not hesitate. “Yes, you should,” he said. “You should. When I created the idea for the protagonist the Dawnwalker, it was supposed to be something like the werewolf, which in the day as a human [you are] weaker than at night.”
The director explained that the power disparity was rooted in narrative goals as well as gameplay. He noted that remaining grounded as a human “allows us to tell the stories with different antagonists or different events where you will not be overpowered, and you don’t need – like in the superhero movies – to create even stronger villains every time you create a new story.”
While the disparity was evident during playing The Blood of Dawnwalker for review — with challenges like assaulting the vampire Brencis’ castle proving far easier at night — Tomaszkiewicz broke down the mechanical reasons behind the vampire form’s edge. In human form, players must hunt for better weapons, purchase upgrades, and craft potions to heal mid-combat, whereas the vampire can heal by biting enemies, consume blood vials found in the world, and benefit from a regenerating secondary health segment.
“Vampires should always be stronger, but as a human with witchcraft, you should also have strong skills for many reasons.”
Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Game Director, Rebel Wolves
Witchcraft Keeps the Human Path Viable
The vampire form’s dominance is counterbalanced by the protagonist Coen’s access to witchcraft abilities during daylight, spells that are unavailable at night and can prove enormously powerful. This duality ensures that the human form remains a legitimate route through the game. “We knew that [day and night] needed to be different, but we also knew that they needed to be interesting because we were afraid that if, in the human form, you did not have some strong skills that allowed you to finish the game, it would be problematic from many points,” Tomaszkiewicz said.
One of those concerns was ensuring the game could always be completed as a human without hard blockers impeding progress. Some activities are restricted to night or day, but many are achievable in both forms. The studio also recognized that if the daytime experience failed to offer something compelling, players “would just skip to the night.” That realization is what drove the creation of Coen’s witchcraft toolkit, which the director described as needing to be “good,” even if not perfectly equal to vampire abilities.
There are also narrative incentives for staying human. Tomaszkiewicz hinted that the human form offers multiple ways to conclude the story, including endings achievable alone or with allies, without revealing specifics. Players might simply prefer a human-specific ending, dislike being a vampire, or want to vary their approach — all of which fits the studio’s emphasis on “freedom of choice.” Still, one fact is now official: the hardest way to finish The Blood of Dawnwalker remains in human form.
Looking Ahead
The Blood of Dawnwalker was released at the beginning of September and seems to have been a success, selling 1m copies in three days, though no updated sales figures have been released since then. Solid reviews were tainted slightly by gripes about game performance, technical issues, and some gameplay quirks. But the good news in this regard is The Blood of Dawnwalker’s first major patch may be only days away, with an update planned for early October.
The asymmetric time mechanic itself will not be patched out, despite some player frustration, though the director acknowledged that the system was once much stricter in early designs of The Blood of Dawnwalker. And while the day-night cycle features heavily in the current title, the time mechanic won’t necessarily return for future Blood of Dawnwalker games, leaving the studio’s plans for the franchise deliberately open-ended.
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