Dead by Daylight Review (Xbox, PlayStation & PC)

A single mistake in Dead by Daylight can lead to the worst possible consequences—a premature death, a cog in the wrong socket, or, in some cases, a survivor on a meat hook. It’s one of the few asymmetrical IPs in which collaboration isn’t an optional avenue; it’s a mandatory step toward fleeing from the clutches of those who stalk your footsteps and teeter along the blood trails of your friends’ cuts and bruises. It isn’t a game that you can whisk through and rely on dumb luck to beat; it’s a rigorous process that requires careful preparation and patience, teamwork and well-orchestrated world mapping. It is, if anything, an absolute bloodbath that forces you to deal with the cards as they fall, and do all in your power to submit a Royal Flush before curtain call. That wouldn’t be a major issue either, if it weren’t for the perilous circumstances and the skilled serial killers swallowing your shadow.

Asymmetrical horrors are a common as muck, true. But, to recognize the elephant in the room here, it was Dead by Daylight that came up with the idea to forge a central cortex that could essentially foster dozens, if not hundreds of villains and monsters. It wasn’t the first to pioneer the four-versus-one blueprint, but it was one to illuminate the potential of a future where two warring factions could duke it out for themselves in endless themed battles. It started out with a simple setup—a band of survivors, a killer, and two textbook objectives: to either escape from the map, or to kill each and every survivor in an allotted time. But then, the more Dead by Daylight began to garner attention, the more Behaviour Interactive felt the desire to latch onto alternate realities. Dead by Daylight incubated an ark for horror, and suddenly everyone wanted to climb aboard.

Dead by Daylight is one of the few asymmetrical series that continues to defy the test of time with its seemingly infinite number of episodes and collections. At one point, it could have slipped beneath the radar—to fall into the black hole of once-beloved horrors. But then, with the momentum of a universal evolution in the genre in motion, it grasped fresh ways to keep the same energy alive and kicking. The concept remained the same, but, with the aid of new cloak-and-dagger foes and franchises, it found the means to develop an effective tapestry of worlds that could pique even the most skeptical minds. Before long, that same saga became the beating heart for multiplayer. Scream, The Ring, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Saw, Silent Hill, and Stranger Things, to list just a handful of its benchwarmers. Dead by Daylight found the site for a prosperous future, and with the infrastructure of a simple yet effective gameplay system, capitalized on a portal that could remain evergreen for all eternity.

History lesson aside, Dead by Daylight continues to remain an incredibly strong candidate in the realm of asymmetrical horror. The gameplay, while still largely the same as it was during its teething era, continues to improve with each passing episode. Case in point, the latest chapters allow players to embark on 2v8 modes—an option that, while still largely the same in terms of gameplay and objectives, allows both sides to explore different avenues, skills, and challenges. What’s more, the series continues to harness the talents of each of its survivors and killers, offering an enormous skill tree and a unique spectrum of abilities and combinations. Granted, it is still the same game as it was before, but it’s also one that has thousands of options, thus making it a game that feels different with each passing session. More to the point, it’s a multiplayer game at heart, meaning, no two lobbies are ever the same. Not that this is a new thing in the eye of online gaming, mind you.

The core gameplay loop itself is still a lot of fun to play through, despite the fact that it orbits the same tasks—fixing generators and sourcing escape plans, for example—as well as the same maps and challenges. It’s a simple idea, yet one that also feels invigorating to subject yourself to, more so given that the world produces an intense atmosphere and a plethora of tight spaces that act as gateways to the frequent jump scare or impromptu heart attack. That said, it is a game that you have to learn to love, as it does force you to juggle a lot of balls and experiment with a ton of synergies before it feels like an accessible journey. And, with hundreds of expansions and villains, skills and sandboxes to dip your toes into, it can feel all rather daunting during the initial hurdles. If you can breeze through the lulls of the pursuit, however, then you can, in all honesty, find yourself lost in the pits of its underbelly of horror for hours, days, even weeks.

Verdict

Dead by Daylight remains one of the best choices for asymmetrical horrors in the world, with its enormous collection of expansions and villains, skill trees and challenges providing an endless flow of nail-biting encounters and heart-pounding feuds. The gameplay is as simple as they come—to flee or to annihilate—yet the format feels like a comforting reminder that not everything needs to be evolved in order to survive. And in the case of Dead by Daylight, the palpitations remain as rapid as ever, with thanks to its constant adaptation of its surroundings and frequent use of fresh-faced foes and supernatural creatures.

If you’re still on the fence about Dead by Daylight, or have yet to venture into an asymmetrical horror that knows how to tug on your heartstrings and keep you coming back for another season, then you might as well begin your expedition with the eternal void that is Behaviour Interactive’s beastly hub of nocturnal thrill festivities. It’s quick, intense, and above all, a good way to get your heart rate up whilst you mindlessly scour the remnants for an exit from the labyrinth. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you should definitely take a dip into this plunge pool of perpetual nightmares.