The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildhas proven to be a watershed release for open-world games, with its influence extending well past this year to 2026’s upcomingThe Blood of Dawnwalker.BOTWwas theZeldaseries' first attempt at a true open-world environment, and Nintendo created its version of Hyrule in spectacular fashion. There’s an incredible sense of exploration that has reverberated through many open-world games subsequently released, from projects by small teams likeTchiaandSableto monoliths of the RPG genre likeElden Ring.
The Blood of Dawnwalkerismade by ex-Witcherdevelopers, and likely hews closer generally toThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, butpart of its gameplay promotes player agency in a way that’s distinctly inherited fromBreath of the Wild. The action RPG will be the debut title for developer Rebel Wolves, but it is already shaping up to be a title to keep an eye on. It boasts an interesting day/night cycle that affects the protagonist and his vampiric abilities, but the broad strokes of its main quest have a notable feature in common withBreath of the Wild.
The Blood Of Dawnwalker’s Main Quest Can Be Completed At Any Time
A Narrative Sandbox
In a recent gameplay overview posted to theDawnwalkerYouTube channel, there is discussion of how the main quest operates. Main character Coen must save his family from Vale Sangora’s castle, which has been usurped by a Brencis, an ancient and exceptionally powerful vampire.The Blood of Dawnwalkerhas a time limitthat gives players only so long before they’re forced to take on the main quest, butCoen can attempt to save his family at any time. Much of the game is spent developing Coen’s abilities and weakening Brencis' alliances in order to prepare for the final fight.
Rebel Wolves envisionsThe Blood of Dawnwalkeras a narrative sandbox, where players are free to pull on whichever threads they find most interesting as the main quest grows increasingly urgent. Part of that appears to be simply setting up the main quest and letting players take the reins from there.
Breath Of The Wild Continues To Influence Open-World Games
Calamity Ganon Could Be Challenged Almost Immediately
The idea of challenging the final boss whenever you feel like it was popularized byBreath of the Wild, which famously gives you the “Defeat Ganon” quest as soon as you finish thetutorial section on the Great Plateau. If you want,you can immediately head to Hyrule Castle, where Ganon is locked in a century-long struggle with Princess Zelda, to end the game.
While Calamity Ganon isn’t a particularly hard boss fight, the idea is that most players opt to take the advice of activating the four Divine Beasts first, which will significantly help in the final battle. That branch of the main quest spans all of Hyrule, leading to the open-ended gameplay the game is beloved for.Breath of the Wildhas since influenced plenty of open-world games, includingElden Ring, one of thebest games of all time, which has a similar level of organic exploration.
The Blood Of Dawnwalker Is An RPG To Keep An Eye On
Coming In 2026
While it’s still too early to say if it’ll be a hit,The Blood of Dawnwalkeris an RPG to keep tabs on, and not just because of itsBreath of the Wildinfluence. Following inThe Witcher’s tradition,Dawnwalkerborrows heavily from Eastern European folklore, and even takes place in the Carpathian Mountains. It appears to have a constrained scope, though, focusing on just a single major city in the kingdom of Vale Sangora, which may be a huge benefit for the new development studio.
Setting players loose in a sandbox narrative to explore a world on a strict timer and with a day/night cycle with gameplay implications is a strong elevator pitch for players like me, who are growing weary of open-world games pushing the envelope when it comes to sheer size, but not substance. Its sword and vampire claw combat is also trying some interesting things with directional input, though it remains to be seen how effective it is in practice. The clear influence fromBreath of the Wildis just another reason to look out forThe Blood of Dawnwalkerwhen it releases next year.
