The New Indian Express ·
Into the dark bloody world
A vivid recurring nightmare of his sister turning into a bloodthirsty monster is what starts off Coen’s adventure in the game. It sets the tone quite nicely because reality is worse. When a Vrakhir (fancy term for vampire) named Brencis took over their small hamlet nestled between the Carpathian mountains (a fictional place in Romania), a lot of things changed. While the plague was no longer a threat in their valley, it was at the cost of the village being kept captive by the vampire. He sought the blood of his subjects to keep him well and nourished. It’s not a pretty thought. With this as the title, you can hardly expect “Blood of the Dawnwalker” to tread on lighter ideas.
Last year, I played Oblivion remastered and wrote a bit about the “building blocks of a solid RPG” like I knew what I was talking about. I take it all back. Having now played BotD, which is perhaps the best RPG I’ve played in the last few years, I can now tell you what a great RPG actually needs. It must have an excellent story to tell, and very clear and high stakes. Coen’s situation is well set very soon into the game. He has precisely 30 days before his whole family is sacrificed for Brencis’ coronation. He must stop the evil vampire before it. If this isn’t high stakes, I don’t know what is.
This time constraint is probably the most important mechanic of the game. It’s also the reason I love it so much. A single day is split into sun-time and night. And there are pseudo-hourly intervals within the clock as well. Every time Coen makes a decision to carry out a certain lead, time passes. So it is in his best interest to do the tasks that directly help him find and rescue his family, right?
