- Forms
- Human by day, vampire at night; weapons stay available in both.
- Trees
- Three: Swordmastery, Vampirism, Witchcraft.
- Stamina
- Spent by attacking, sprinting and Omniblock; at zero Coen is fatigued.
- Charges
- Activation Charges power active abilities, restored by landing attacks and blocking.
- Unblockables
- Red skull icon — dodge, never block, whichever mode you use.
- Cost of power
- Hexes drain Coen's own health; drinking blood raises Corruption.
The two halves of the day
| Day · human | Night · vampire | |
|---|---|---|
| Main tools | Equipped weapons, Swordmastery skills and Witchcraft hexes | Vampiric claws and Vampirism abilities, with weapons still switchable |
| Specialty | Swords, with axes and other melee weapons at different attack speeds | Claws, swapped to and from conventional weapons mid-fight |
| Named abilities | Ravenous Flock hits several enemies; Burning Blood is damage over time | Death from Above for surprise attacks, Piercing Shriek to stun, Voracious Bite to damage and heal |
| The price | Casting a hex "will directly deplete his health bar" | Voracious Bite restores health but increases Corruption |
| Recommended | Control the field at range with hexes, over universal swordmastery | Transform and use claws, fangs and vampiric abilities |
Defence: pick your block before you pick your fights
🛡️ Omniblock
Selects the correct direction for you, and spends stamina every time. Paired with Omniattack, it is the recommended setting for newcomers, so you can focus on spacing instead of directions.
🎯 Directional Blocks
You match the direction yourself, and a correct block costs no stamina. This is the mode where Perfect Blocks live — and a Perfect Block leaves the enemy open to a counterattack. Untouchable, a bronze trophy, wants five in a row.
💀 Unblockable attacks
Marked by a red skull icon, and they must always be dodged manually, regardless of which combat mode you are in. No block setting covers them.
⚡ Activation Charges
The resource behind active abilities. They come back from landing attacks and from blocking, with "Precisely timed defensive actions providing more efficient restoration" — so good defence is also what pays for your offence.
What the critics thought of it
The day/night split is the part nearly everyone liked; Eurogamer singled out night-time rooftop traversal. The consistent complaint is variety rather than feel: reviewers noted that while the game unlocks plenty of fun abilities, you may only use a couple of them for long stretches, which weighs on a game with as much fighting in it as this one. Scores: IGN 9/10, GameSpot 8/10, Eurogamer 4/5, Destructoid 9.5/10, PC Gamer 83/100 (aggregate: Metacritic 84 PC, 83 PS5, 84 Xbox; OpenCritic 94% recommend).
Cross-checked
Cross-checked on 22 September 2026 against the guides of Game8 and PowerPyx, Wikipedia and the launch reviews. Not from a playthrough: nobody here has played it, and what the sources do not describe is not on this page.