If you have pre-ordered The Blood of Dawnwalker — or you are waiting for scores before you spend $69.99 — the question that matters this week is simple: when do the reviews actually go live? Rebel Wolves' vampire RPG launches September 3, 2026, and the community has been circulating a specific review-embargo time. Here is exactly what is known as of August 27, 2026, what is still unconfirmed, and how to read the early word-of-mouth without mistaking a preview for a review.
TL;DR — Quick Answer: As of August 27, 2026, Rebel Wolves and Bandai Namco have not posted an official review-embargo graphic. The date circulating across the game's community is Monday, August 31, 2026, at 5:00 PM CEST — that is 11:00 AM ET / 8:00 AM PT / 4:00 PM UK — roughly three days before the September 3 launch. Treat it as community-reported, not officially confirmed. There are no scored reviews yet: Metacritic and OpenCritic are still empty, and everything published so far is a hands-on preview, not a review. Even if the exact time shifts, reviews will land in the final days before September 3.
When does The Blood of Dawnwalker review embargo lift?
The date being repeated everywhere is Monday, August 31, 2026, at 5:00 PM CEST. It has been posted across the game's community — including the r/DawnwalkerOfficial and r/Blood_of_Dawnwalker subreddits — and picked up by fan trackers. Be honest about the source, though: this is community-reported. Rebel Wolves and Bandai Namco have not published an official embargo image on their channels as of today, and no Tier-1 outlet has independently confirmed a specific minute. Until the studio posts it or the first reviews actually appear, the exact time can still move.
If that 5:00 PM CEST time holds, here is when the first scored reviews would appear in your region:
| Region | Local unlock (if 5:00 PM CEST holds) |
|---|---|
| Central Europe — Berlin / Warsaw / Paris (CEST) | Mon Aug 31, 5:00 PM |
| UK — London (BST) | Mon Aug 31, 4:00 PM |
| Brazil — São Paulo (BRT) | Mon Aug 31, 12:00 PM |
| US East — New York (EDT) | Mon Aug 31, 11:00 AM |
| US Central — Chicago (CDT) | Mon Aug 31, 10:00 AM |
| US West — Los Angeles (PDT) | Mon Aug 31, 8:00 AM |
| India (IST) | Mon Aug 31, 8:30 PM |
| Japan — Tokyo (JST) | Tue Sep 1, 12:00 AM |
| Australia East — Sydney (AEST) | Tue Sep 1, 1:00 AM |
Times are converted from the community-reported 5:00 PM CEST figure (15:00 UTC). If the studio confirms a different time, this whole table shifts with it — so check Metacritic, OpenCritic and your favourite outlets from late-morning Eastern on August 31 onward.
One quick note for searchers: the game is officially titled The Blood of Dawnwalker, but a lot of people type it as "Blood of the Dawnwalker" — the review timing is the same either way.
Why is the embargo lifting before launch?
A pre-launch embargo is a good sign, and it is worth understanding why. Many publishers hold review embargoes until the day before or even the day of release, specifically so early criticism cannot cool off pre-orders. Lifting reviews a full three days early, ahead of the September 3 launch, is the opposite move — it gives buyers time to read verdicts before the pre-order window closes, which is generally read as a studio that is confident in the product.
That confidence has some backing. Rebel Wolves confirmed the game went gold in mid-July 2026 — announced on the studio's official channels with the line, "The Blood of Dawnwalker has gone gold! Vale Sangora awaits." Going gold that far out (roughly seven weeks before launch) means the game was finished and submitted early, which lines up with an early-embargo strategy rather than a last-minute scramble.
Are there any reviews or scores yet?
No. As of August 27, 2026, there are no scored critic reviews of The Blood of Dawnwalker, and no Metacritic or OpenCritic aggregate — both pages exist as placeholders but carry zero critic scores. Anyone quoting you a "Metacritic score" for this game right now is either guessing or looking at user-submitted noise. Ignore predicted-score videos and "leaked review" posts; the real scores do not exist until the embargo lifts.
What does exist is a wave of hands-on previews from the summer and August press cycle — and those are a different thing entirely. A preview is written after a limited, guided play session (often a few hours) under separate preview rules; a review is a scored verdict after a full playthrough of the finished game. Do not treat one as the other.
What have the early previews said?
The preview consensus has skewed positive, with a couple of recurring caveats. Across outlet hands-on sessions, the most-praised elements have been the story, cast and dialogue — unsurprising for a studio founded by The Witcher 3 veterans, including that game's director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz. One Australian outlet described its multi-hour session as the most impressive gaming time it had spent all year.
The most common criticism in previews has been facial animation, which several writers flagged as closer to AA than top-tier AAA. There have also been early PC-performance questions (more on that below). These are impressions of pre-release builds, not final verdicts — but they are the best signal available until August 31.
On length, the developers have set expectations directly. Tomaszkiewicz told Shacknews that in internal testing, "it took them between 50–70 hours to finish the game," with Rebel Wolves elsewhere pinning the average nearer 50 hours depending on difficulty and how much you explore. That is a developer estimate, not measured review data — real completion times will only firm up once reviewers finish the game. For the full breakdown, see our guide on how long The Blood of Dawnwalker takes to beat.
What else is happening in launch week?
Two technical stories are worth tracking alongside the reviews, because they will shape how the game is scored — especially on PC and consoles.
Revised (and lower) PC requirements. In late August, as reported by hardware site VideoCardz, Rebel Wolves published a revised set of PC system requirements that are notably lower than the original sheet, with upscaling now openly recommended to reach higher frame rates. In practice that means DLSS (NVIDIA) and FSR (AMD) are expected to be part of the standard PC experience rather than optional extras. If you are checking whether your rig clears the bar, read our up-to-date Blood of Dawnwalker PC system requirements breakdown — and note that two different spec sheets have circulated, so it is worth confirming which one your build is measured against.
A day-one patch and console performance modes. Early launch-week reporting (TechTimes, August 25) indicates a day-one patch will add a 60fps performance mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X — but, per that report, not on Xbox Series S. If accurate, that is the kind of detail reviewers will test directly, so expect performance-mode behaviour to feature in the day-one reviews. Console frame-rate targets have not been formally published by the studio, so treat specific numbers as reported-not-confirmed until the embargo lifts.
Where will the reviews appear?
When the embargo lifts, the fastest places to gauge the verdict will be the two aggregators — Metacritic and OpenCritic — which collect and average scored reviews as they publish. Individual outlets (IGN, Eurogamer, GamesRadar, PC Gamer, PushSquare and others) will post their own scored reviews at the same moment. Rebel Wolves' and Bandai Namco's official channels will typically amplify a "critics are saying" round-up once scores are live. Bookmark the Metacritic page now; it will flip from empty to populated the instant the embargo drops.
Should you wait for reviews or pre-order now?
Here is the practical read. Because the embargo is expected to lift on August 31 — before the September 3 launch — you can simply wait for the scores and still pre-order (or not) with a couple of days to spare. There is little downside to waiting:
The pre-order bonus is not a trap. The pre-order "Sangoran Wayfarer's Armor Set" — the main incentive to commit early — can, per the game's own storefront notes, also be obtained later in the game. In other words, waiting for the August 31 reviews does not cost you a permanently exclusive item.
So the sensible plan is: check the reviews when they go live on August 31, weigh them against the positive-but-not-flawless preview consensus, and decide before the September 3 launch. For the full pricing and edition rundown, see our Blood of Dawnwalker release date, platforms and editions guide, and for exact go-live timing on launch day, our preload and unlock times breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does The Blood of Dawnwalker review embargo lift? The date circulating in the community is Monday, August 31, 2026, at 5:00 PM CEST (11:00 AM ET / 8:00 AM PT / 4:00 PM UK) — about three days before the September 3 launch. As of August 27, 2026 this is community-reported and not officially confirmed by Rebel Wolves or Bandai Namco, so treat the exact time as provisional and verify on Metacritic/OpenCritic on the day.
Are there any reviews of The Blood of Dawnwalker yet? No. As of August 27, 2026 there are no scored critic reviews and no Metacritic or OpenCritic aggregate. Everything published so far is a hands-on preview of a pre-release build, not a scored review.
What is the Blood of Dawnwalker Metacritic score? There is no Metacritic score yet — the page exists but has zero critic reviews until the embargo lifts. Any number you see quoted before then is not a real critic aggregate.
Why is the review embargo before launch instead of on release day? Lifting reviews about three days early, ahead of the September 3 launch, lets buyers read verdicts before the pre-order window closes. It is generally read as a sign of studio confidence, and it lines up with the game having gone gold back in mid-July 2026.
Do I lose pre-order bonuses if I wait for the reviews? No. The pre-order "Sangoran Wayfarer's Armor Set" can also be obtained later in the game, per the storefront listings — so waiting for the August 31 reviews before you buy does not cost you a permanently exclusive item.
| When does The Blood of Dawnwalker release? September 3, 2026, on PS5, Xbox Series X | S and PC (Steam). It is a single-player, buy-once premium RPG with no multiplayer, live service or in-game store. Note that Steam's store may display "September 2" for some regions — that is a timezone artifact of the unlock, not an earlier release. |
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