Dead by Daylight: A multiplayer game that refuses to die
Best answer: Yes! More than four years since its launch, Dead by Daylight won’t die as developer Behaviour Interactive continues to update and modernize the title consistently. There’s no better time to jump into Dead by Daylight if you’re looking for a solid survival horror multiplayer game. It’s incredibly affordable and boasts a myriad of content to delve into, including characters from some of your favorite movies, TV shows, and videogames.
Get started: Dead by Daylight (From $29 on the Microsoft Store)
Staying alive years later
At its best, the game excels at offering some genuine scares, not unlike the horror movies it seeks to emulate. It’s a game built around the simple concept of cat and mouse that players either find thrilling and unique, or unbalanced and unfair. I mean that as no slight to the game or its developer, Behaviour Interactive. The game doesn’t have the budget of a Triple-A title, as it had a dated look when it released in 2016. Plus, the Metacritic scores for this game were as mixed to average. So, does it hold up to titles today? The short answer: Yes.
What is Dead by Daylight?
Source: Behaviour Interactive
As one of the survivors, you are almost totally defenseless against the killer. Players have the option to bring in items like toolboxes, medkits, and flashlights to stay a step ahead, but mostly, the survivors should avoid contact with the killer entirely if they hope to escape alive. On the flip side, playing as a killer is almost like playing an entirely different game. Played from a first-person perspective, killers are lumbering, with a limited field of vision, and they control like newborn deer with a desire for murder. So, it is a very refreshing and interesting concept.
Do you want to play a game?
Source: Behaviour Interactive
However, the real heart of the game revolves around the community and the developer’s willingness to respond to and implement feedback. In addition to constantly tweaking the gameplay balance and matchmaking, the developers have added additional content in the form of a meta-feature called The Archive that offers challenges for large amounts of blood points and bits lore for those invested in their original characters.
The developer’s live design approach has reanimated and maintained a game that started as nothing more than a shambling corpse.
The last few years have also seen the launch of dedicated servers that improved connectivity between players. It has also improved game performance on consoles, cross-play and cross-progression implementation, and even a Battle Pass called The Rift, which allows players to earn cosmetics and currency at a steadier rate. The developer’s live design approach has reanimated and maintained a game that started as nothing more than a shambling corpse.
The company is also planning a huge graphical patch that has already started to release in parts. The update promises to improve lighting, animations, and remodel levels and other assets of the game to make Dead by Daylight look like something that launched last year instead of almost five years ago. It’s a testament to the developer’s commitment to the game, especially with the newer consoles looming on the horizon.
Everyone’s entitled to one good scare
Source: Behaviour Interactive
In addition to an original repertoire of characters, the game includes characters from videogames, TV shows, and movies, including Halloween, SAW, Nightmare on Elm Street, Left 4 Dead, Stranger Things, Silent Hill, Evil Dead, Scream, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. As someone who is a fan of horror movies and crossovers of any kind, this blew me away. It’s so surreal to watch Steve Harrington try and outwit Michael Myers while running through Midwich Elementary, a popular Silent Hill locale.
Unfortunately, it’s a game all about grinding. While I appreciate having to put in work to craft a killer or survivor to my playstyle, I don’t like having to grind for hours on end to unlock another character or a cosmetic. A vast majority of Dead by Daylight is behind a paywall. It’s not a game where you can pay to win (though some of the killers are better than others), but it’s not unlike most free to play mobile games.
It’s alive! Dead by Daylight is alive!
Source: Behaviour Interactive
Keep coming back for more
Dead by Daylight
Still worth the scares
Few games are as unique as Dead by Daylight. Despite some balancing issues and an enormous grind, Dead by Daylight’s frustrations can be forgiven by its gameplay, which at its core, mimics all the parts we love from our favorite horror movies.
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