Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Developed by Behavior Digital Inc.
Available on PC through Steam
Rated M for Mature
I think we have all had that moment where we fantasized about being a horror movie villain. That was a tremendously difficult sentence to write given the recent trend towards crazy fucks opening fire into crowds of hapless bystanders. There was a time before all the mass killings where we could watch something like Friday the 13th and take open pleasure in wanton teen-slaying. But no, now I can’t fantasize about machete rampages without being reminded that in certain parts of the world, those are a daily occurrence. For all our sakes, can someone please bring the the fun back to masked nightmare killers?
Never fear, Dead by Daylight is here, harkening back to the glory gory days when a mutant psychopath sacrificing helpless campers to eldritch gods was fun. Despite crisp modern graphics, there’s something distinctly retro about Dead by Daylight. From the screaming chainsaw charges to the way the victims look around in exaggerated terror, the game feels like it could have been pulled directly off of the shelf of a Blockbuster in the 80’s. But you know, one of the later films in a series, where they went batshit crazy with it. Don’t take that as an insult. Some of my favorite Hellraisers are the fourth one. Going over the top can be fun. Dead by Daylight goes so over the top with such genuine gusto that you can’t help but like it.
You remember when Halloween 6 tried to make Michael Myers a magic druid cult zombie? It’s like that level of silly, but not shit.
An asymmetric multiplayer hardcore hide-and-seek simulator, Dead by Daylight pits four Survivors against a single Killer. The Survivors play in third person, and must sneak around the map avoiding the Killer while fixing a number of generators. Once a sufficient number have been repaired, Survivors must then activate a door and escape. Teamwork is encouraged, but not mandatory. All you need to do to “win” is escape. Surviving teammates give you more points, but the most important thing is to save your own hide.
The Killer plays from a first person perspective, and has a much more complicated job. Hunting down each of the Survivors, he must then carry them one by one to meat hooks to sacrifice them. After hanging them like a slab of beef, he must then wait patiently while the dark gods take their sweet ass time to claim their tribute. During this, other survivors can attempt to free their suspended compatriot. As the Killer, you have to weigh the option of pursuing other targets and securing your kill.
Fundamentally, the game is simple. There are a few extra elements like consumable equipment items and cabinets to hide in, but they don’t significantly alter the game. The survivors can defend themselves with brief flashlight bursts and some deployable obstacles, but mostly must rely on their cunning wit to survive. The armed and dangerous Killer plays a game of zone control, figuring out where best to hunt or stalk with his limited time and reach. There’s some variation in the different Killers and what powers they have, but regardless of if you are playing the more strategic Trapper, or the more explosive Hillbilly, the fundamental playstyle remains the same.
I promise that this is significantly more entertaining than it looks.
There have been plenty of takes on the asymmetric multiplayer versus game, ranging from the classic Left 4 Dead to the not-so-classic Evolve. Some games like Giants: Citizen Kabuto get a pass for creativity, but overall these games are very hard to balance. Owing largely to its simplicity, Dead by Daylight is a game that feels fair. Most players will of course want to play the more action heavy Killer right off the bat, but will soon find that the tense cat and mouse game played by the Survivors is equally compelling. There are enough tools at the Survivors’ disposal to not feel totally helpless, and the reward of catching someone as the Killer makes up for how frustrating it is when you lose a target.
If all of this sounds like your jam, then consider this a hearty recommendation. Go forth and play hide-and-murder till the daylight comes. I hope you never grow tired of it. Unfortunately, I did. And this is coming from someone who watches various spirits and monsters commit simulated homicide for a living. As much as I love the concept of Dead by Daylight, actually playing it is much different.
My main problem is that matches are just too grueling. As a scrub playing solo, actually getting through a round and surviving took around twenty minutes. As exciting and tense as it was, keeping up that level of intensity was good for a round. I was certainly never bored, but after each match ended I found it increasingly difficult to will myself into the next one. This is the first time in a while I’ve actually gotten fatigued playing a game.
Switching from Survivor to Killer doesn’t help matters much, as the thrill of the hunt is quickly dispelled by how frustratingly difficult it is to actually score a kill. If you are like me and playing alone, good luck going against a coordinated team. It was altogether too easy for lone survivors to eat my time jumping through windows and dropping barriers, so when a communicating team was taking turns outplaying me I couldn’t do much more than enjoy the spooky level design.
In one particularly frustrating 20 minute round, the final survivor played a game of “hide in a corner and don’t play the game.” So I decided to do some chainsaw sprint laps. Yippie.
Now pay attention, because I’m not saying that the game is imbalanced, nor that it is bad because I suck at it. What I am saying is that the process of playing the game to get better at it is a tiresome one. This is the kind of game that is perfect for people that love streamers. Play at any level is entertaining, and the game gets very tactical and interesting with more experience. Just watching it is very fun. Actually putting yourself through that grinder is a chore.
It’s always hard to score a review like this, since it’s not like the game is bad. At just $20, it’s worth it to see if Dead by Daylight is your kind of thing. I appreciate the team at Behavior Digital trying something new, even if it didn’t really tickle my fancy. With the gruesome aesthetic and creative design, there’s plenty to like here. I want to support it for all of the things it is, but just can’t pretend like I enjoyed playing it. Maybe over time I’ll feel the urge to revisit it and change my opinion, but I doubt it.
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Game
Categorized:Horror Gaming Reviews
