The Dawnwalker Previews Are In, and They're Calling It a GOTY Contender

Early hands-on previews for The Dawnwalker have landed, and the consensus is striking — multiple outlets are already calling it a game of the year candidate before it's even out.

The source article rounds up preview coverage but doesn't quote specific outlets or detail which aspects of the game drew the most praise. The Dawnwalker is an upcoming action RPG from Rebel Wolves, a studio founded by former CD Projekt Red developers including ex-Witcher 3 director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. The game casts players as Coen, a monster hunter navigating a dark medieval world with a unique time-limited mechanic tied to the sun — staying in daylight is a core survival constraint.

Rebel Wolves is a relatively new studio, but its pedigree drew attention from the moment it was announced. The Dawnwalker has been positioned as a narrative-heavy RPG with meaningful choices, and early marketing leaned hard into the Witcher comparison — unsurprising given who's making it. Strong preview buzz this early in the cycle suggests the studio has something that holds up under scrutiny, not just in trailers.

With previews this positive, expectations are now firmly set high. Whether the final release can match the hype remains to be seen, but the early word is about as good as a new IP can hope for.