Rebel Wolves is preparing to add a new “even easier” difficulty mode to its action RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker, with the studio signalling that it may allow players to bypass combat entirely. Announced through an interview with Eurogamer and confirmed for implementation via a patch landing in early October 2026, the move would let players experience the game’s story without facing its central gameplay challenge—a radical proposition for a title built around action.
The announcement follows growing demand from players seeking more accessible ways to engage with demanding games. According to studio head Maciej Tomaszkiewicz, the current difficulty setting will be rebranded as “Demanding,” while a new Story mode sits below it in the difficulty ladder. The intent is explicitly to welcome those who want to focus on narrative rather than mechanical skill.
A New Difficulty Ladder
Tomaszkiewicz outlined the plan directly, explaining that the studio heard repeated requests for additional accessibility options. “We will introduce an additional difficulty level [to The Blood of Dawnwalker], but an easier one, because many people are asking for a more easy difficulty,” he said. He clarified how the existing and new modes would relate to one another.
“The Story mode which we have right now will be a different difficulty—we will call it Demanding or something like this—and we will add a new Story mode which will be even easier for people who don’t want to experience the combat, they just want to learn the story and go through the game without this gameplay challenge.”
Maciej Tomaszkiewicz, Rebel Wolves
The phrasing strongly implies that the new mode would permit players to skip encounters altogether rather than merely soften them. This distinction matters: a gentler difficulty still requires engagement with combat, whereas a full skip removes it as a barrier entirely.
A Radical Move in Action Games
If confirmed, allowing players to turn off the action would place The Blood of Dawnwalker among a rare group of games that offer such an option. Most action-oriented titles resist this idea, since removing their central tension strips away much of what defines them.
The recent Ghost of Yotei stands out as one notable example. When players enable its “combat skip” feature, they receive a prompt whenever a fight begins, granting the choice to bypass it. A somewhat different approach appears in another title that offers an invincibility mode—framed not as a cheat but as an accessibility option—that lets users move through encounters unchallenged.
The trend extends beyond pure action games as well. One of 2026’s most acclaimed titles introduced assist options that transform its deliberately punishing design into something far more approachable, including the ability to place checkpoints anywhere—a powerful tool in fast-paced platformers.
A Broader Industry Conversation
The discussion raises a fundamental question about blockbuster games and their audiences. Rebel Wolves’ apparent willingness to offer combat skip suggests it senses strong demand for such flexibility, particularly within narrative-heavy experiences that prioritise storytelling over mechanical mastery.
Commentators have pointed to titles like The Last of Us Part 2 as examples where an option like this could resonate with players who wish to absorb the story without being repeatedly tripped up by difficulty. Whether combat skip becomes a standard expectation remains to be seen, but the conversation is clearly gaining momentum.
Looking Ahead
The new Story mode arrives via patch in early October 2026, though Rebel Wolves has not yet confirmed whether it will include an explicit combat-skip toggle or simply a greatly reduced challenge. Players hoping to experience the game’s full difficulty can still expect the rebranded “Demanding” setting to remain available.
The studio also confirmed in the same interview that a New Game Plus mode is coming to The Blood of Dawnwalker, though no release timing has been provided for it yet. As October approaches, attention will focus on exactly how Rebel Wolves implements its accessibility ambitions and whether other studios follow suit.
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