Rebel Wolves, the studio behind The Blood of Dawnwalker, has released hotfix 1.0.4 for the vampire RPG. According to both PC Gamer and GamesRadar+, the update focuses on improving overall game stability and fixing several issues that were blocking quest progression, including problems that prevented players from saving.
The patch also addresses a bug affecting controllers running outdated GameInput software, which had been causing frame rate drops, and fixes an issue that allowed torches to "grow uncontrollably." Several quest-specific fixes are included as well, such as resolving a soft-lock after following a character named Sara and fixing an issue that caused a quest called "Hive and Seek" to end prematurely.
Among the more unusual fixes highlighted by both outlets is a change preventing dead NPCs from starting dialogues, a bug that had allowed deceased characters to speak. PC Gamer noted that talking corpses are an unusual concept, while GamesRadar+ said the idea of a dead guard or nun speaking to the game's protagonist, Coen, was "truly wonderful," though the outlet said it had not personally encountered the bug.
The hotfix also removes a placeholder art asset that had gone viral after being discovered last week. As both sources report, the asset was a bright red pipe clearly labeled "Do not use this asset!" that had nonetheless been used in the game, reportedly in the prologue's silver mines according to GamesRadar+. Rebel Wolves addressed the mistake directly in its patch notes, stating, "We are no longer using that one red pipe asset we weren't supposed to use."
Both outlets describe hotfix 1.0.4 as a smaller update rather than a major overhaul, following the game's launch a few days earlier. GamesRadar+ noted that Rebel Wolves, led by CD Projekt Red veterans with credits on The Witcher 3, has so far released only smaller patches, and speculated that larger changes, such as a possible combat rework, could come in the future, though no such plans were confirmed by the developer.