Game: Dead By Daylight
Consoles: PlayStation 4 (Reviewed), Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Starbreeze Studios
Developer: Behavior Interactive
A review copy of the game was provided for us.
Dead By Daylight is a game that can really get your heart racing if you’re only moments away from getting that last generator up and running with the killer breathing down your neck. Other times, you’ll find yourself in the shoes of that killer trying to ruin the days of said survivors. When everything is firing on all cylinders, this is truly a fun game.
The game puts you in control of either a survivor or a killer, as you either try to escape or stop others from escaping. The survivors work in teams of four to start up generators to open the escape and get away from the crazed killer.
The survivors to choose from are plentiful as you have a wide variety to choose from, and the same thing is available for killers as you can choose from a wide range of killers will different skills. I grew quite fond of the Nurse, but there are several more to choose from. In total, we’re looking a seven different killers to choose from, including Michael Myers, and nine different survivors. Once you level up and learn perks for the different survivors, you’ll find that they will start to play a whole lot more different from one another.
The game features a progression system that gives you experience for additional perks by doing things like healing teammates, fixing generators or even by being bold. The game is surprisingly deep for what it is and even features a seasons system that resets your characters once the season ends, which last one month. The seasons start players at rank 20 and they can move all the way to rank 1.
The game really shines when you’re playing as the killer. Players have the choice of seven different killers and their goal is to stop the survivors from escaping, which is done by putting them on various meat hooks throughout the level. Once hooked, other survivors have the chance to get you down before you are sacrificed. Once that happens, you will return to the lobby and be out of the game.
Obviously, the game is best played with a group of friends and a mic. Teamwork is vital for success if you’re planning on escaping. Repairing the generators takes a long time, a bit too long for my liking, and even throws in quick-time events called skill checks, which can cause your hard work to be undone if you fail. Personally, I’m not a fan of the QTEs but they do add a level of fear to the game, especially since the generator booms when you fail one. The quick-time events aren’t necessarily the problem, but it’s the overabundance of them that creates an issue for me.
There are many ways to escape from the killers too, so it isn’t game over if he sees you. The killers see things from a first-person perspective, while the survivors are third-person. This means the killer doesn’t have as a complete line of sight like the survivors do, which plays to the advantage of the survivors. Survivors can also throw down wood pallets and vault over other obstacles to escape the killer. Having the ability to sprint forever doesn’t hurt either.
If you’re interested in the performance and visuals of the game, which you probably are if you’re a veteran of the PC version, I’m sorry that I’ll have to disappoint you. In my time with the title, I’ve seen frame drops here and there, but there are some times the game will come to complete standstill, albeit for a split second, but it is still pretty distracting. The graphics leave a lot of be desired, but that can also be said about the PC version as well. The visuals look passable on the night-based maps but once the game is put out into the daylight, the dated and muddy visuals really show. This doesn’t take away from the gameplay but I would have liked to see better graphics for a PS4 title in 2017. The framerate issues could be ironed out in a future patch, but as of now, the issues leave a lot of be desired.
All in all, if you’ve played the PC version and are thinking about picking up the console version, I’d say go for it. The same core experience is here and you’ll find a lot to like. If you’ve never played the game before, it’s a bit harder to recommend in its current state. The PC version is superior, although it is still rather buggy there, but you’ll find a much larger player pool there as well. Since the game hasn’t been out long on consoles, there’s no telling how it will grow on console. If you’re looking for a fun horror-based multiplayer game to play with friends, you can pick this up and you’ll probably have a lot of fun with it. If you’re mostly a solo player, it’s a hard title to recommend. If the bugs are ironed out, such as the framerate issues, I’d have no problem telling you to pick this up. I can tell you that it launched in a much better state than Friday The 13th: The Game did.
In the inevitable comparison between Dead By Daylight and Friday The 13th, I’ll say this: If you liked a more fast-paced match with less downtime, I’d pick this title any day. If this game ends up clicking for you, and it has for many, you will be able to sink countless hours into this game. It sounds cliche, but truly every match is different because you never know how the killer or the survivors play from match to match.
Score: 6.5/10
Pros:
- Does a great job at creating tension and fear
- Playing as the killer and survivors are both fun
- Good variety of killers and survivors
- Surprisingly deep progression system
Cons:
- Dated Visuals
- Severe framerate drops in some areas
- Too many quick-time events
- Pretty much requires friends