Dead by Daylight (2016)

I genuinely enjoy this game. People say the community is toxic - maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never had a bad experience in the in-game chat so far. Honestly, people barely even use the chat minus a rare "GG" thrown out afterwards (but it's more likely that people just quietly leave once the game's over); my one interaction that I can remember beyond that was a time all four of us in-game loaded in as Claudette, I typed "squadette", and one of the others said "holy fuck a squadette of claudettes", so that was all I needed. You will probably run into a bunch of campers, which can ruin the fun a bit when it's four games in a row of the killer hooking you and then just standing there until you die so no one can rescue you and you can't play, but in my personal experience it hasn't been toxic in the sense that anyone's saying anything to you.

The gameplay loop is lowkey addicting - repairing generators is an absolute pain in the ass while you're doing it because of how slooooooowly that bar goes up (though Killers say they repair too fast, so what do I know), but then I'll find myself sitting around thinking Man, I wish I was on DBD doing generators right now.

I personally don't find the game scary at all, including back when I was a massive wimp about horror, so I wouldn't recommend it if that's your main draw to it. It's tense in the way any sort of violent hide and seek would be, with you sneaking around and trying to avoid being seen by a killer, and there might be some yelling if you're playing with friends over mic, but I wouldn't call it scary per se.

The variety of characters is fun and keeps things relatively interesting - I have my favourites, as do most people, but I'll find myself playing most of them at least sometimes. They all come with unique personal perks, but you can always re-spec them once they're levelled enough for their perks to be in the general bloodweb and assign them to other characters if you'd prefer.

My only complaints are the rework they did to the wriggle mechanic when you're picked up by a killer (it used to be the same as normal skill checks, which was still challenging to meet the threshold to escape but doable, whereas now it's its own thing that means you're absolutely not going to ever be able to wriggle out of the killer's hold unless a) the hook is all the way across the map and b) you hit every single one of the checks without fail, and often not even then), and the fact that the cosmetics are so expensive. Loading times also tend to be pretty slow, it's not uncommon at all to be waiting 5 minutes for a lobby.

I'd definitely recommend to play it with friends - even just going into a public lobby with one or two friends can turn it from meh into a fun game with a lot of laughs and scares going on. I'll play it every so often by myself, and it's the only way I've played Killer, but all of the fun is in the group play for me.

I've found while teaching friends new to the game that it can be a little hard to pick up and learn at first - there's no tutorial, so unless you want to jump into a public game and learn as you go, I'd advise getting a friend who plays to get into a custom game with you as a killer and teach you the ropes that way instead.

It has great lore if that's something you're interested in - it's not gone into in much detail in-game beyond the TL;DR backstory pages and the tidbits you can glean from item/cosmetic descriptions, but if you dig into it out-of-game it's pretty interesting to learn about.

Also, Nicolas Cage is in the game as himself, which I have to reluctantly admit is quite funny.

(Disclaimer: I am only reviewing one aspect of the game, if you want a full review, this is not the review for you)

Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical multiplayer horror game where players either try to survive as survivors or hunt others as a killer on various multiplayer maps.

The asymmetry is what makes Dead by Daylight so special. Four survivors face a killer with unique abilities. It’s unfair by design, so that the survivors need strategy and teamwork to survive.

Dead by Daylight seems easy to learn at first due to its simple tasks like killing 4 survivors or repairing 5 generators, but it is hard to master. This is especially true because you can learn to play as over 30 killers with individual playstyles, and there are also over 240 perks that can influence the gameplay.

Asymmetrical games are not easy to balance from a developer's perspective, especially Dead by Daylight due to its many characters and perks. This makes the gameplay even more unpredictable than a multiplayer game normally is.

Thank you for reading my review. 🖤

Ricci

This game is the main reason why I just have all the games I own under Backlog. When in doubt about what to play, DBD is always there waiting for me and I just feel so welcomed.

I have never stopped enjoying it. You can jump back in at any time and it always gets updated with new missions and content. Love this game. I play the PS5 version which frees me from the toxic PC chat and the trolls, not even the once-in-a-while annoying player takes me out of the experience. The only full complain I have is that the queue time has not been figured out yet and at times it's so long but it's fully worth it in the end.

Playtime: 15 minutes (one game)

Intro

This is the video game version of your typical slasher horror movie. One player is Michael Myers/Freddie Krueger, the other four are his potential victims. The killer tries to hurt people and hang them on hooks to bleed out, the survivors have to prevent that and do QTEs to repair generators to escape.

Review

Before i even started playing i was already put off by all of the systems in this €20 game. There are daily quests and some sort of longer questline. There are a bunch of different currencies and non-cosmetic items have to be bought with the free one - for each of the gazillion characters. Blegh.

The one game i played i got grabbed by the killer right away, put on hook, saved, put on a hook again and died because i failed the constant QTE. If i had lived i would've had to do the repair QTE or some other type of button-holding. It kinda reminded me of Payday 2 in that regard. If i play a multiplayer game i want to kill things, not pointlessly "wiggle" with A and D.

Also, i never enjoy playing the helpless victim. Not in Amnesia, not in Thief, not in this game. Playing a hunter might be more engaging but i don't want to deal with all of those systems.

Hours played at time of review: 220

Completion: Not a story game, but I've done 63/155 achievements on Steam, so we'll call it 41%. Listen, some of these achievements ain't easy!

tldr: Fun to play as survivor or killer, and is equally fun alone or with friends. Some minor bugs and toxic players, but overall super addicting.

Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical multiplayer horror game that came out for PC in 2016. As a player, you can choose to play as a killer or survivor, and each role has its own advantages and helpful buffs known as "perks". As a survivor, you and three other survivors find yourselves abandoned in a strange place with a rabid killer. Your goal is to repair 5 generators found throughout the map in order to open the escape gates and survive. As the killer, your goal is to sacrifice the survivors to your eldritch boss (known as the "Entity") before they escape (obviously.)

Most of my time playing this game has been spent as a survivor trying to climb down the game's ranking system, though I've recently started trying the play killer as well. DbD is a game that requires practice and experience for the player to improve, and combined with the challenging Steam achievements, the game kept me coming back all summer for exactly that. I have found myself spending entire afternoons and evenings solo queing for match after match in order to get better at the game. This is also a great game to play with friends, although you'll probably make a few killers salty at the added coordination.

My five star review is based purely on how much fun I have when playing DbD, but every game has its imperfections. For example, online lag can sometimes create discrepancies between attacks that hit or miss for the survivors and killer. The end game chat also has a tendency to get super toxic and can really be a buzzkill.

The ultimate game of hide and seek is on!

[Pre-Read Info]

System: Xbox One S

Play-Time: Over an Hour

Mode Played: Online Multiplayer

Final Rating: 3.5/5

I saw this game a few years back when it was released but I never picked it up at first. Since then I honestly heard absolutely nothing about it until I got a notification on the Xbox Game Pass app that it was available. I downloaded it, started it up, and I immediately was excited about getting started playing. I took my time playing as both the hunter and the hunted, so I'm going to seperate this review in two parts.

[Playing as the Hunter]

The selection of monsters honestly didn't feel very unique to me, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The entire vibe I get from this game is that its a game form of old teenage horror movies (or R rated Scooby-Doo) so the monsters did fit with the setting. I chose The Trapper because I wanted a character that would be pretty easy to play as, and having traps everywhere sounded like a perfect way to get an advantage over the people I had to hunt down.

It was pretty fun catching people and hooking them on the hooks. My strategy immediately became catch a person, hook a person, use them as bait to trap others. It works most of the time and I kept getting this satisfactory feeling every time I caught someone. At the same time it wasn't easy as there were other matches where people seemed to immediately know what to do and worked together to stay separated as long as possible.

[Playing as the Hunted]

Now this was actually a whole lot more fun. Out of the cast of characters I had I picked Dwight, the nerd character, and went straight into the match. For the first match I spent time working with others until I got a sense of what to do, then I went on my own. The hunter during this first match seemed to never find me, and It started to get pretty boring as it was as if nothing was happening. Next thing I knew, I turned around the corner and the hunter was right in front of me.

I immediately had this rush of adrenaline as I turned my character around and tried to escape, and this is where the rest of the game started to get a lot more lively. Other matches became more interesting as I played as I started to figure out more ways to escape the hunter. A lot of the time, the hunter would find me and I wouldn't be able to escape, leaving me to rely a lot on my teammates who happened to pass by. The whole ordeal just kept me on edge.

[Conclusion]

Dead by Daylight has a skill tree system, unlockables, special traits per person/monster, and a bunch of other quirks to make each match more difficult. I spent a bit of time in the skill system to make Dwight and The Trapper a bit more versatile. The atmosphere and look of the game look nice, and I haven't ran into any problems with my controls. The only big problem I had was there were times where I disconnected from the match, but that's all depended on the connections of all who play so I can't really fault the game itself. I'd say you should get this game, especially while it is on Xbox Game Pass at the time of writing, and play some matches with friends.

[Video]

[Writer's Note]

Hi, My name is Hunter. Thank you for reading this review! To see more of my content, be sure to follow me at the links below. Thank you for all the support!

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This game is terrifying. I really can't get used to it, playing survivor. I'm usually not freaked out by horror games, but the fact that the killer is played by an actual human opponent gives this game a level of unpredictability, not generally found in horror games, and it's spooky as hell. Add to that the string instrument 'shower scene from psycho' music and the thumping heartbeats, and you're crouched behind a rock, not sure if the killer has seen you or not, unsure which direction he's coming from.

There are some really intense moments. Like, you've done so well, repaired all the generators, made your escape plan and then you're about to open the door to freedom: but then you see the killer running towards you. With a chainsaw. And it truly is like a scene from a horror movie, like when someone is trying to escape in a car, but the engine won't start.

Each round goes for between 10 or 30 minutes, and has 5 players: the killer, plus the survivors. The survivors work together to try and achieve freedom. Meanwhile the killer is trying to sacrifice every survivor to 'the entity,' which basically means hanging them on meat hooks. It's pretty gross, but awesome. Points are awarded to each player depending on their actions throughout the match.

This is one of the few games that uses QTEs in a good way, at least for the most part. It works because you're under a lot of stress, you're trying to keep a lookout for the killer, but at the same time you have to concentrate on this finicky QTE task. It's like if you really were being pursued by a killer: you've got to keep your cool and focus on the task at hand. There's one QTE where you just mash the spacebar indefinitely: that's a bit dumb but otherwise they work well and aren't just filler like with so many other games.

This game innovates in so many ways, I think it's truly unique. One of the most-clever innovations is the viewpoint. Killers are first-person controlled, with low-FOV. It's like having tunnel vision. Conversely the survivors have third-person view, so you're able to look behind while escaping, or keep a lookout while focused on tasks. The killer is tougher, faster, deadlier, and has special abilities. The survivors are weak and slow, but they can sense when the killer is close. The balancing is really interesting and works well. You can also level your character (killer or survivor) and buy items/perks/etc. to improve your chances.

This game really shines, whether you're play survivor or killer. It's fun either way. The new patch landed today and resolved many of the balance issues, bugs, network issues, hackers and trolls that had been plaguing the game. It is fun to be the killer, to play that role, like the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: running around like a psychopath and tormenting the survivors. Haven't we all dreamed or wondered what it's like to be the murderer, the wretched hunchback in his basement, covered in blood, plotting to take his next torture victim? There's a peculiar delight in being the bad guy.

Another important aspect of this game is teamwork. It's interesting: if the killer catches one of you, the wise thing would be to abandon them. Be selfish: keep trying to figure out an escape while the killer is distracted with his victim. But ultimately it's usually a poor choice. Firstly you lose points if you're too selfish. But, more importantly, the match becomes harder and harder with each person you lose: you're better off at least attempting save your buddies, and if you can pull it off you kind of feel a bit like a hero.

I don't like multiplayer games. I especially don't play multiplayer-only games. But this is entirely different to anything I've seen or played before. If you read reviews on Steam or other places, they will complain about balance issues, bugs, disconnecting players and other problems that have troubled the game, but it seems like the patch has resolved most or all of this. It's a very tough game, and takes a while to learn, but I've had stunning successes playing as both killer & survivor (but also embarrassing defeats). The devs seem really committed to it, and they're adding new maps (to the current 12), new killers/survivors and other stuff. The maps also have elements of random generation. This game is just awesome. If you're a horror fan, and you think this sounds intriguing, I give it my full recommendation, even if you don't generally like multiplayer. It's an experience unlike anything else.

I don't like multiplayer games. At all. The last multiplayer game I played was Quake II, back in the 90's.

But something strange happened. I kind of got talked into giving this game a shot. I was very sceptical... but I've got to admit, this game is amazing. When playing this, my heart races, it's actually terrifying, more terrifying than any normal horror genre game. Also I have an obsession with cheesy old horror/slasher movies from the 80's (I own hundreds of them on VHS) so I guess that gives this more points.

Never thought I'd actually enjoy a multiplayer game. Highly recommended.