The Blood of Dawnwalker has 2026's most cursed jump scare, my heebies are jeebied

The Blood of Dawnwalker’s launch is upon us; on September 3, yet another GOTY contender will finally drop into the hands of gamers.

Rebel Wolves’ debut title is a triumph, earning a score of nine from us here at GAMINGbible and averaging a score of 83 on Metacritic for its PlayStation 5 version.

It’s exactly what you’re likely hoping for in a new IP from former CD Projekt RED developers, including the director of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The Blood of Dawnwalker is an open-world action RPG set within Vale Sangora in the Carpathian Mountains ruled by the vampiric Vrakhiri.

The story concerns Coen who’s left for dead at the hands of Vrakhiri leader Brencis following an uprising, but instead of burning in the morning sunlight after being turned, Coen survives, uniquely becoming a daywalker.

Brencis takes Coen’s family in retaliation, giving our protagonist 30 days and 30 days to try and retrieve them.

With the game featuring vampires, and some pretty creepy ones at that, there is an eeriness that runs throughout The Blood of Dawnwalker.

That being said, it’s not a horror - and I can say that as a certified scaredy cat who avoids the genre like the plague.

The Blood of Dawnwalker may, however, feature 2026’s most cursed jump scare and it’s not necessarily the content of the scare that makes it so frightening. It’s when it happens.

This may be considered a minor spoiler to some players.

Think you’re safe within The Blood of Dawnwalker’s menu screens? Think again

It was Twitter/X user AbsoKulikov who shared the scare online, prompting my own memory of it to return.

AbsoKulikov suggested that The Blood of Dawnwalker had one-upped Alan Wake 2’s incessant story episode jump scares.

That’s because The Blood of Dawnwalker throws in a jump scare where you least expect one to happen … during inventory management.

There are places within video games where you feel safe - and within a game’s menu is definitely one of those places.

The Last of Us Part II was one of the first to tear up the rule book, with very few of us now feeling safe at upgrade benches following its own similarly unexpected jump scare.

In the clip shared by AbsoKulikov, the user opens up the Unholy Fervour Manual within The Blood of Dawnwalker which unlocks a new perk.

After clicking on the item though, a brief red-hued sequence pops up with some pretty alarming noises and imagery.

It’s definitely not what you’d expect to see during a menu sequence and quite frankly, scared the living daylights out of me when I experienced it myself.

What I will say is that these types of jumps are pretty recurring within The Blood of Dawnwalker, and that’s not intended to put you off the title.

They feature heavily in the game’s opening and don’t differ all that much, so while they do catch you off guard from time to time, there’s nothing scary about them beyond their unexpectedness.

Again, it’s just the presence of this one within the inventory menu that made it so cursed.

“Don’t tell me it’s a horror game,” replied shayrya_maurya.

“I love it. It’s so atmospheric,” said TheMightyDanos, while geoff_spuhler said, “That’s getting disabled,” echoing the sentiment of many.

READ MORE: 5 gameplay quirks that set RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker apart from The Witcher 3

To put your minds at ease, I completed The Blood of Dawnwalker without issue and I refuse to play horror games.

Sure, the occasional vampiric jump scare flashes make you, well, jump but their contents don't really differ so there’s nothing to be frightened of long term.

Once you get used to vampires occasionally screaming at you from otherworldly visions, The Blood of Dawnwalker is a walk in the park.