Two months after launch, the scores on The Blood of Dawnwalker have barely moved, but almost everything around them has. Update 1.1 shipped on October 22, players have left thousands of Steam reviews, and the game goes into the Golden Joystick Awards on November 11 with four nominations. Here is where the critic scores, user scores and buying advice stand today, with every number checked on November 3, 2026.
Quick answer: As of November 3, 2026, The Blood of Dawnwalker holds 83 on Metacritic (PS5), 84 on PC and Xbox Series X, and 84 on OpenCritic with the "Mighty" tag, recommended by 93% of 188 critics. Player sentiment is strongly positive too: 87% positive on Steam ("Very Positive" across 13,951 English-language reviews) and 8.2/10 user score on Metacritic on PS5 and PC. It is worth buying if you want a story-first, choice-driven RPG. Skip it, or wait, if repetitive quests and simple combat would ruin it for you, because neither has been redesigned by patches.
What is The Blood of Dawnwalker's Metacritic score?
83 on PS5 and 84 on PC and Xbox Series X, all tagged "Generally Favorable" on Metacritic. No outlet has given it a review Metacritic counts as negative on any platform. Across the three pages, that is 124 positive reviews, 13 mixed and zero negative.
| Platform | Metascore | Positive | Mixed | Negative | User score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation 5 | 83 | 71 | 7 | 0 | 8.2 (1,646 ratings) |
| PC | 84 | 45 | 5 | 0 | 8.2 (235 ratings) |
| Xbox Series X | 84 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 8.1 (74 ratings) |
Metacritic platform pages, read November 3, 2026. Metacritic's headline review counts run slightly higher than the sorted counts above (up to 80 on PS5, 52 on PC, 10 on Xbox).
The scores have held. Embargo-day coverage on August 31 put Metacritic at roughly 83, and two months of late reviews have not shifted it. That stability is unusual for a game with this much disagreement inside the number: the range on Metacritic runs from 60 (Game Rant on PS5, GamesRadar+ on PC) up to at least eight perfect 100s, including Eurogamer Germany, Vice and Radio Times.
What is the OpenCritic score?
84, "Mighty," with 93% of critics recommending it, based on 188 reviews as of November 3. OpenCritic ranks it in the top 9% of games on the site.
This is the one aggregate number that has really moved. On embargo day the recommendation rate was 89% across roughly 50 reviews. It has climbed four points as the review count more than tripled, so the later reviews have skewed kinder than the first wave.
What do players think of The Blood of Dawnwalker?
Players broadly agree with the critics. The Steam store page shows "Very Positive": 87% of 13,951 English-language reviews, and the last 30 days are running at 88% of 1,985 reviews, as of November 3. The recent number sits above the all-time one, so there has been no post-launch collapse.
On Metacritic, 81% of PS5 ratings, 79% of PC ratings and 74% of Xbox ratings are positive.
Reading the current threads on r/DawnwalkerOfficial, the complaints are the same two the critics made, plus one new one. Players who finish the game often say it wears thin late, with one writing that "the game was kind of repetitive by the end." The other recurring argument is combat. Some players find late enemies spongy, while others beat the final boss in minutes, and the usual explanation in those threads is that damage comes from how heavily you specialise your build rather than from your gear. That matches what our best build guide found.
The new complaint is about the clock itself. The 30-day structure is the most divisive idea in the game, and the demand is measurable: the Better Story Timer mod, which stretches the limit to 90 days, has passed 298,000 downloads on Nexus, as covered in our mods guide. That is a download count rather than a head count, but it shows real interest in playing without the full time pressure.
What did each outlet score The Blood of Dawnwalker?
Native scores as listed on OpenCritic and Metacritic on November 3, 2026.
| Outlet | Score | The verdict in brief |
|---|---|---|
| Eurogamer Germany | 100 | Reviewer was on a third playthrough at review time |
| Destructoid | 9.5/10 | "The perfect game in almost every conceivable way." |
| CGMagazine | 9.5/10 | Among the top scores of the launch window |
| IGN | 9/10 | "One of this year's best open-world RPGs." |
| PCGamesN | 9/10 | "One of my favorite games in quite some time." |
| RPG Site | 9/10 | An impressive debut that uses time as a resource |
| PC Gamer | 83/100 | "A resolutely miserable horror RPG with some great ideas of its own" |
| GameSpot | 8/10 | "Not every good idea lands" |
| Eurogamer | 4/5 | "Mostly, enormously successful." |
| VGC | 4/5 | "A fantastic first outing," with launch performance flagged |
| Game Informer | 7/10 | Curating an RPG "holds immense potential" |
| Push Square | 7/10 | Among the lower PS5 scores |
| GamesRadar+ | 3/5 | "All too frictionless and forgiving." |
| Game Rant | 6/10 | "Repetitive design, uneven systems, and constant jank" |
What do critics love about it?
Praise lands on three things: the writing, the weight of your choices and the time structure.
IGN's Travis Northup called it "an impressive, bloody cocktail of interesting ideas and well-written characters, making it one of this year's best open-world RPGs." He treated the time pressure as a feature, writing that "the constraints placed on how you spend your limited time end up being one of the coolest, most wonderfully stressful parts of the adventure."
Eurogamer's Robert Purchese singled out the day and night split in the central city, where night-time Coen hunts across rooftops while day-time Coen walks the streets below, and called the game "a hell of a debut." GameSpot's Phil Hornshaw said that "there's a good chance you'll want to do everything in Dawnwalker. The fact that you can't is part of what makes it so compelling."
What are the main criticisms?
The critics who marked it down agree with each other closely: repetition, thin combat and rough technical edges.
Game Rant's Josh Cotts described the quest loop bluntly: "Talk to a character, go somewhere, inspect something, gather clues, fight some enemies, go somewhere else, gather more clues, fight more enemies, and so on." Game Informer's Diego Nicolás Argüello found that outside boss fights, "confrontations are repetitive Simon Says sequences."
GamesRadar+ went for a different target, arguing the vampire premise lacks teeth: "For an RPG that keeps telling me that it matters I've been cursed to be a vampire, it feels all too frictionless and forgiving." PC Gamer said it "doesn't always have the courage to follow them through," referring to its best ideas.
Have patches fixed what the reviews complained about?
Partly. Patches have addressed performance and flexibility. They have not changed the core quest loop.
| Review complaint | Status on November 3, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Console frame rate | Day-one patch added a 60fps Performance mode on PS5, PS5 Pro and Series X, plus Balanced 40 and Quality 30. Series S has one 30fps mode |
| Locked-in skill choices | Fixed in 1.1. The new Draught of Mind Rebirth lets you "forget all your Swordmastery, Witchcraft, and Vampirism abilities" (official notes) |
| Combat difficulty | Eased in 1.1 with a new Story mode with "additional combat assist." The old Story mode is now called Forgiving |
| Repetitive quests | Not addressed. The 1.1 notes list quest fixes, not a redesign |
| Simple combat | Tweaked, not rebuilt. Exploits were closed and animal enemies rebalanced, but the directional parry system is unchanged |
Reviews from August 31 describe a launch build that has since been patched, so check recent platform impressions before relying on their performance notes. The design complaints still apply. Full details are in our Update 1.1 patch notes breakdown, and PC players should read the best settings guide.
Is The Blood of Dawnwalker a Game of the Year contender?
Yes for awards recognition, unlikely for the top prize. The game has four nominations at the Golden Joystick Awards: Ultimate Game of the Year, PC Game of the Year, Best Storytelling and Best Lead Performer (Will de Renzy-Martin as Coen). Public voting has closed, and winners are announced on November 11, 2026 at the Troxy in London. Rebel Wolves told players on Steam: "It is truly an honor."
The Game Awards follows on December 10, with nominees due in mid-November. As of November 3 they have not been announced, so any claim of a TGA nomination is a prediction. Polygon's running forecast says the game "underwhelmed a little on release, and lives deep in its big brother's shadow, but it's going to be a Best Narrative contender." An 83 to 84 average falls short of what Polygon called "the magic 90-plus Metacritic scores" that usually mark a GOTY nominee, so narrative categories are the realistic target.
The commercial verdict is already in. Rebel Wolves confirmed more than 1 million copies sold within days of launch, and work on the next chapter has started, as covered in our sequel and sales breakdown.
Is The Blood of Dawnwalker worth buying now?
Yes, if story and choice are why you play RPGs. For most other players it comes down to the table below.
| You are... | Verdict |
|---|---|
| A story and choice RPG player | Buy it. This is what the 9s are responding to |
| Someone who hates time limits | Try it with caution. Time only advances when you act, but you cannot do everything. PC players have the timer mods |
| After deep, varied combat | Wait for a deal. The Simon Says criticism still stands |
| Planning to replay straight away | Wait. New Game Plus is planned but has no date (NG+ status) |
| Waiting on expansions | No paid expansion is announced. Free DLC has been discussed but not decided (DLC status) |
Price: Standard Edition is $69.99 on Steam with no discount as of November 3. Its best official price so far was $59.49, the 15% Prime Big Deal Days offer on PS5 and Xbox on October 6 and 7. Metacritic's retailer box currently lists Fanatical at $61.59. If you are not in a hurry, check again over the holiday sales, though no deal has been announced. See our sale breakdown for the history.
Length: HowLongToBeat estimates as of October 29 put it at about 24 hours for the main story, 35.5 hours with side content and 51.5 hours for completionists, so the price buys a substantial single playthrough.
Coming from The Witcher 3? Rebel Wolves was founded by veterans of that game, but this one plays differently.
- Is The Blood of Dawnwalker Like The Witcher 3?
- The Blood of Dawnwalker Beginner Tips
- All Blood of Dawnwalker guides
FAQ
What is The Blood of Dawnwalker's Metacritic score? As of November 3, 2026 it is 83 on PS5 and 84 on PC and Xbox Series X, all rated "Generally Favorable," with no negative reviews on any platform. Metacritic user scores are 8.2 on PS5 and PC and 8.1 on Xbox.
Is The Blood of Dawnwalker good? Yes. It holds 84 on OpenCritic with 93% of critics recommending it, and 87% of English-language Steam reviews are positive. Critics and players praise the writing and choices, and the most common complaints are repetitive quests and simple combat.
What did IGN give The Blood of Dawnwalker? IGN's Travis Northup gave it 9/10, calling it "one of this year's best open-world RPGs."
What is the lowest review score for The Blood of Dawnwalker? On Metacritic the lowest is 60, shared by Game Rant on PS5, which cites "repetitive design, uneven systems, and constant jank," and GamesRadar+ on PC.
Has The Blood of Dawnwalker improved since launch? Yes, on performance and flexibility. A day-one patch added 60fps modes on PS5 and Series X, and Update 1.1 on October 22 added respec and a new Story mode. Quest structure and core combat design have not changed.
Will The Blood of Dawnwalker win Game of the Year? It is nominated for Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards on November 11, 2026. The Game Awards nominees are due in mid-November, and Polygon expects it to contend for Best Narrative rather than the main prize.
