Matt Purslow, writing for IGN, has a confession: his first ever RPG character was the son of the god of murder. That background explains why he loves games with an interesting take on the evil within. His latest target is The Blood of Dawnwalker, a vampire RPG where the main character’s hunger takes over his dialogue choices and forces him to eat the people he saves. It is a darkly comic twist on player choice, and Purslow argues it holds a mirror to Baldur’s Gate 3’s Dark Urge origin story.
Coen’s Imperfect Transformation
Coen cuts down the last soldier in a forest clearing, having rescued two innocent men from being marched toward the draining camps. Ambrus, the vampire lord of Vale Sangora, is bottling civilian blood for a stockpile of sustenance. Coen’s task is to stop him. The trouble is the timing. He carries out this mission at night, and that is the error.
As the moon rises, Coen transforms into a vampire, gaining powers such as changing into a wolf and scaling walls, though these gifts bring with them a hunger. Following the killing, Coen is left wanting more. The two men thank him for his heroics, yet their gratitude does not last long. Instead of conversation, they offer him one choice: “Give in to the hunger.”. Coen declines to pick it, but the fangs emerge regardless, and he feeds on them rather than sparing their lives.
The Hunger System
Coen becomes a vampire in The Blood of Dawnwalker, a condition that arrives early in the tale rather than later, and it comes with serious flaws. His body stays human during daylight hours, yet when night falls, the vampirism takes over. Nothing ordinary will mend him then—food and water no longer ease his wounds. Only blood can repair the damage done to him, and it is not a preference but a requirement, a compulsion that rules him.
When Coen’s HP sinks into the lower portion of his health bar, where it flashes like a warning light, the hunger takes hold. In talks, the conversation choices give way to “Give in to the hunger.”. Hold out too long against it, and Coen will feed on whoever stands before him — no matter how vital they are to the story. Purslow remarks that you can accidentally kill anyone and everyone, from ordinary passersby to major characters who hand out quests. Maintaining a full belly matters more than any other stat in the game.
Coen vs. The Dark Urge
Purslow draws a direct comparison between Coen and Baldur’s Gate 3’s Dark Urge origin story. That optional origin casts you as a depraved serial killer, and it offers additional layers of choice that allow you to revel in your grisly nature. The most famous example is the ability to tear off the hand of wizard Gale when you first meet him, killing the potential companion before he can be recruited.
The balance has been bent. Coen’s impulse is widespread — certain circumstances set off his unstoppable craving, which can upset the plans you have laid down. The Dark Urge instead adds extra paths into the central narrative, letting you write your own account of a serial killer moving through the tentacled disaster. These two methods produce very distinct versions of the same concept.
Choices vs. Control
The Dark Urge approach is about crafting your character’s journey. Throughout the story, a Dark Urge player is presented with many dialogue options and scenarios that engage with more sinister ideas than those offered to the more “traditional” Baldur’s Gate player characters. During the first act, for instance, the Dark Urge can mutilate animals, break the legs of a refugee, bite off a goblin’s toe, brutally murder a companion following a steamy nocturnal engagement, and butcher one of the game’s most beloved NPCs.
These are the story branches that shape the Dark Urge’s personality through your choices. Purslow lays out three possible paths for them.
- A code, like the titular serial killer of the AMC show Dexter, where you only murder a particular kind of person.
- An animal lover who refrains from plucking the wings off injured birds.
- A redemption arc where you wrestle with your inner darkness and try to become the hero the Sword Coast needs.
The story depends on urges that lie just outside your command, which makes the arc of redemption feel true. You need to pass a skill check dice roll now and then to keep your murderous intent at bay. Mostly, though, the game lets you shape your own path: your choices are what define your murderer.
The Crossover With Dawnwalker
Purslow notes that there is crossover between Baldur’s Gate 3’s Dark Urge and The Blood of Dawnwalker. As Coen, there are several opportunities to tread a purposefully grisly path, and your dialogue choices will dictate the kind of man he becomes. But controlling Coen’s dark urge is more about mastering Dawnwalker’s systems. It is vital to understand how his hunger works, as that understanding allows you to make informed gameplay decisions that can keep that hunger in check.
Purslow describes a meal that happened by accident. Hunger seized Coen even though he tried to hold back, and he consumed the two men he had just rescued. That irony is the entire point.
A Tale of Two Monsters
Purslow’s piece centers on the comparison between Coen and the Dark Urge, two monster protagonists. Obsidian Entertainment has long shown interest in such characters, letting players kill most NPCs across its The Outer Worlds duology and Fallout: New Vegas, while building an entire campaign around evil in Tyranny. Coen stands as an interesting reflection of the Dark Urge.
“These two approaches to choice create two very different takes on a similar idea.”
Purslow’s assessment checks out. The Dark Urge lets you build your own tale around a serial killer, with choice serving as the central craft. Coen, meanwhile, treats choice as something that can be overruled by forces beyond your control — the hunger operates as a system that can override your decisions. Each game offers a distinct take on how players make choices, and both are compelling for their own reasons.
Why This Matters
This comparison isn’t purely theoretical. It demonstrates how two games address the same narrative challenge — a character with a dark side — through entirely distinct means. In The Dark Urge, the player gets to be the villain. In Coen, the villain happens to the player. Purslow’s point is that both methods are legitimate, yet they deliver vastly different kinds of experiences.
For the Dark Urge’s arc to feel earned, the system needs to check in on it along the way. In The Blood of Dawnwalker, the hunger works through rules — it strikes when specific conditions are met, and fighting it depends on arranging your plans around those triggers. That contrast is the gap between a game that merely allows you to act against others and one that forces you to live with the consequences of doing so.
The Verdict on Dawnwalker
Purslow’s writing is clearly stated as personal opinion, and his stance is unmistakable. He values games that approach the evil inside with something worth considering, and The Blood of Dawnwalker succeeds at doing so with real force. The hunger system gives the player a reason to weigh resources throughout every encounter, not merely during fights but also in every exchange of dialogue.
The accidental feast is a great moment. It is darkly comic, and it shows the game’s willingness to let consequences land. Purslow’s story is a cautionary tale — conduct your mission at night, and the hunger will find you. The fangs come out anyway.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Dark Urge is the reference point here, and it lands well. It demonstrates that the vampire genre can accommodate several distinct approaches, and that Obsidian remains deeply invested in monster protagonists. The studio has returned to this ground repeatedly, from The Outer Worlds through Fallout: New Vegas to Tyranny.
What We Learned
What matters most here is that player choice works differently across different games. The Blood of Dawnwalker treats choice as a matter of staying alive. Baldur’s Gate 3, on the other hand, makes choice central to how stories unfold. Each approach holds its own weight, and both remain deeply engaging.
One match’s hunger, as shown through Purslow’s piece is a reminder that the games we love often have more in common than we think. A vampire’, can tell us much about a serial killer’s choices in another. That parallel between Coen and the Dark Urge stands as a modest yet telling proof of that very point.
In The Blood of Dawnwalker, the hunger is a curse that falls upon Coen at the very beginning. The Dark Urge, by contrast, is a choice made entirely by oneself. Each is its own kind of monster, and both are worth experiencing for themselves.
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