Bloodlines 2 Was a Disappointment for Vampire Fans, but This 2026 RPG Won’t Be

Despite their popularity in other media, vampires seldom appear in games and even more rarely as the driving force. Castlevania, perhaps the most iconic vampire game series, has been dormant for years, and despite the success of Vampire Survivors, few developers seem keen to sink their teeth into it. As someone who grew up playing Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption & Bloodlines, I was eagerly anticipating Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, not just because I love vampire games, but because I deeply love the series. Sadly, like so many others, Bloodlines 2 just didn’t line up with my expectations or deliver a game I wanted.

Yet there is still hope for my fellow vampire lovers, as Rebel Wolves have been hard at work developing The Blood of Dawnwalker. The dev team is composed of former CD Projekt RED veterans, ones who worked on The Witcher 3, so I am confident the game will deliver in the narrative department. But what has me most excited is how The Blood of Dawnwalker is approaching the vampire mythos and how gameplay revolves around it. While Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 left me wanting more, The Blood of Dawnwalker is shaping up to be the vampire game of this generation.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Is Emerging as the Vampire RPG Fans Actually Wanted

Dedicated vampire RPGs are far and few between. Marvel’s Blade is nowhere to be seen, with many questioning whether it will be released at all. Arkane, the studio behind Dishonored, failed to deliver with Redfall, but perhaps most disappointing was the showing from Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. After years of development hell and reboots, my expectations were low, but I still hoped the VotM world would carry the game to the finish line in triumph. But with its middling reception and failure to match the quality of the first two games, I turned my gaze toward the next vampire game prowling the night.

The Blood of Dawnwalker ditches the modern setting for that of 14th-century Europe, one ruled by vampires. This open-world dark fantasy stars Coen, a Dawnwalker who can combat and explore the world as human during the day, or embrace the dark powers of a vampire at night. How you move through the world, what decisions you make, and actions you take shape the narrative and influence the outcomes. But the crucial aspect of this system revolves around a simple concept: time. Time may seem inconsequential as an immortal vampire, but in The Blood of Dawnwalker, it is everything.

Rebel Wolves have crafted the world to move through time as you take on quests. From the beginning, you are given a set amount of time to save Coen’s family, but everything you do on the way moves time forward. You’re immediately forced to choose who to save and what to do, knowing that you will not be able to save everyone. Or, you can forego your human emotions and simply act on your vampiric desires. The Blood of Dawnwalker is a narrative-focused game completely centered on fulfilling vampire fantasies, and I cannot wait to taste it.

Former Witcher 3 Devs Are Crafting a Vampire World Worth Sinking Your Teeth Into

One of the reasons I am so excited about The Blood of Dawnwalker is the team behind it. While Rebel Wolves is a new studio, the talent behind it includes several developers who worked on The Witcher 3, widely considered one of the greatest RPGs ever made. That pedigree alone is enough to raise expectations, but what matters more is the philosophy those developers bring with them. From the initial reveal, fans provided criticisms, many of them valid, like the camera, and Rebel Wolves have demonstrated a willingness to listen and adjust The Blood of Dawnwalker in its game dev videos.

The Witcher 3 team built worlds filled with moral complexity, tangled relationships, and stories that lived far beyond the main quest. Those same strengths are already visible in The Blood of Dawnwalker’s tone and structure. Rather than leaning on clichés, it’s embracing the moral gray areas that made CD Projekt’s fantasy world so memorable. From what we’ve seen so far, the writing is sharp, grounded, and character-driven. NPCs have layered motivations, factions have historical grudges, and quests appear to branch in ways that actually change the course of the story. That’s something Bloodlines 2 desperately struggled to achieve.

The world-building also feels more organic and confident. Instead of trying to imitate a tabletop rulebook, The Blood of Dawnwalker is crafting its own mythology, mixing gothic horror with political intrigue and personal tragedy. The art direction leans into moonlit streets, candlelit halls, cryptic ruins, and oppressive nighttime atmospheres, exactly what I want from a supernatural RPG. It feels handcrafted in a way we haven’t seen from a vampire game in nearly two decades.

How The Blood of Dawnwalker Is Fixing Everything Bloodlines 2 Got Wrong

While it’s not fair to expect every vampire RPG to match the impact of the original Bloodlines and Redemption, fans had reasonable hopes for Bloodlines 2. After all, it had the brand name, the legacy, and the potential. But the result fell short due to inconsistent writing, stiff animations, shallow role-playing depth, and a repetitive world that didn’t feel alive (even if it had a lot of vampires). But The Blood of Dawnwalker appears to be addressing these weaknesses head-on.

Player choice actually matters, especially with its time mechanics. Choices aren’t just defined as good and bad, but have the same moral complexity seen in The Witcher 3. These choices feel more impactful because the world feels alive: areas filled with ambient conversations, reactive NPCs, hidden passages, and secrets that reward exploration. It feels like a world that continues moving even when the player isn’t looking. With the team behind it, I have confidence that the writing will make the narrative and world come alive.

Then there is the combat. Where Bloodlines 2 felt floaty and disjointed, Dawnwalker’s combat mixes supernatural abilities with grounded melee and stealth systems. The animations look fluid, the abilities pack a punch, and encounters allow for multiple playstyles. Rebel Wolves seems to have designed thrilling combat for both Coen’s human form and vampire aspects that I cannot wait to experience. Everything that the studio has shown off leads me to believe The Blood of Dawnwalker will be the definitive vampire game of this generation, and one that rivals Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines’ legacy.

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