Rebel Wolves, the development team behind Blood of Dawnwalker, stated that they relaxed the time limits before launch due to player concerns. This mechanic adds pressure to players' mission choices and action decisions, with the early version having stricter limits than the final release.
Game Director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz recalled in a recent interview that the team initially set tighter time limits, making completion more difficult. After the game was revealed, players expressed concern that the mechanic was too harsh, prompting the team to readjust the timing to give players more leeway. He previously worked on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at CD Projekt Red.
The adjustments mainly concern the game content after the prologue. Tomaszkiewicz stated that the team largely kept the opening section intact, but worried that the restrictions in the later parts were too strict and might cause player dissatisfaction, so they modified the main body of the game.
Discussing the early versions, he said players had to consider each step more carefully at that time. After discussions, the team concluded that the time mechanic should serve the feelings evoked by the main story, rather than turning the main storyline into a separate time-based challenge.
This mechanic still sparked discussion in the final release, and mods have already been created to redesign the time limit. Tomaszkiewicz also mentioned that future sequels might remove this mechanic or change how it works.