Blood of Dawnwalker’s Average Duration is ’40 Hours’, But I Finished It In 15

Over the last couple of weeks, I was fortunate enough to be playing The Blood of Dawnwalker, an all-new vampire-themed RPG from Rebel Wolves, a studio backed by former CDPR talent. It smacks of The Witcher 3, but in the best way possible, and it offers an awesome adventure into an entirely new IP.

However, the meat on the bones that was promised wasn’t there for me when it came to duration. Earlier this year, Rebel Wolves stated that the average playtime for The Blood of Dawnwalker was somewhere around 40 hours, but my entire journey through the game took just 15 hours.

I guess I was at the lower end of the bell curve when it came to that average.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Can Be Done Quickly

The Blood of Dawnwalker is a stellar title with a few teething issues, which is the long and short of what I said in my recent review. I enjoyed my time with the game, but owing to a few reasons, I was able to finish it very quickly.

To preface this, I’ll stress that I finished the game and rolled credits, but I also secured a slew of achievements, defeated the game’s ‘mini bosses’, explored the entire map, leveled up to unlock ‘ultimate’ skills, and secured a fine array of legendary equipment.

I also took care of most of the game’s side content and box ticks, like unlocking fast travel points, visiting villages, and defeating otherworldly monsters.

How then did I manage to complete The Blood of Dawnwalker so quickly?

Well, I played on story mode, first of all. I never want a ‘challenge’ with games like this, and as a fearsome vrakhir, I wanted to feel powerful and threatening. Second, I finished the game in ’20 days’, leaving 10 spare on the in-game clock that dictates exactly how long you have to complete the core mission of saving your family from bloodthirsty vampires.

Third, I left a bit of content untouched, which is what I meant by completing most of the side missions and tertiary tasks.

But ultimately, I was able to go from pillar to post and complete The Blood of Dawnwalker in 15 hours.

What does that mean?

Well, it means that if you’re a more casual gamer with less time on your hands, you’re in luck! You’ll be able to dominate The Blood of Dawnwalker in no time at all.

But it also means that the ’40 hour average’ might have been inflated, just a bit. For instance, another one of our fantastic team members here at Insider Gaming managed to platinum The Blood of Dawnwalker in 30 hours, while applying a little save cheese to their playthrough.

That means all endings, all side quests, maximum level, and everything else associated with this game’s base offering.

I think it’s also worth stressing that there are some glaring gaps in The Blood of Dawnwalker’s makeup that should be addressed by post-launch updates: no photomode, no transmog, no new game plus, and so on.

The Blood of Dawnwalker will launch globally on September 3rd with a base price of around $60 – $70, depending on where you shop. While it’s a fantastic game that earned a 9 out of 10 in our full review, I think the expectations around peak duration have been a little misinformed.

Are you going to play The Blood of Dawnwalker? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.

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