Game Review – Dead by Daylight

In the realm of competitive online games, a fair playing field between one team and the other is the difference between a successful game and an unsuccessful one. When it comes to Dead by Daylight, a game where 4 people try to escape a space while 1 killer on the other side tries to stop them, it takes a very unique style to having a playing field where both sides feel equal even though they are very different in team size and abilities.

The Playing Field

Each game in Dead by Daylight starts on a different map, each typically inspired by a different horror movie. On the field you need to have about 5-7 generators for the survivors to fix in order to power the 2 exit gates. Survivors need to fix 5 of the generators, but the killer will be patrolling them and can see them through the walls, so typically more generators are provided to disable the ability to camp. Along with the generators, there are hooks scattered all over the map where the killer can hook their downed victim to attempt to eliminate them from the game. Other POIs, points of interests, are also spread through the map. Some of these include chests, which survivors can find some items in to help them survive, doors that are inaccessible to survivors, but the killer can break them open to allow themselves and anyone else through, wooden pallets survivors can knock down to delay the killer or stun him while he is carrying another survivor after downing them, lockers for survivors to hide in and for some killers to restock their supplies in, and the killer shack, with more hooks and a safer space to protect for the killer, but also plenty of lockers to hide in and chests and loot for survivors to grab. All of this is fit into a relatively small map, taking maybe 30 seconds to a minute to walk across fully.

Variety

The variety of maps is also quite enjoyable, ranging from a cornfield to an old western town to the street from Halloween. Each of these is very different yet contains the same traits and items as the others. The game also has you choose between a large cast of killers and survivors, some made specifically for the game, while others come from partnerships with other horror studios like Michael Myres, Jason, and even the Demogorgon from Stranger Things. The developers did a good job of trying to balance the teams, even though it is 1v4 for a killer. Between the killer’s abilities and faster movement speed, as well as being able to see the generators that have not been powered, it creates a very difficult atmosphere for the survivors and a difficult hunt for the Killer.

In Conclusion

Between the balancing done for the killer and the survivors, however unbalanced the game remains to be due to that difficulty in balancing something like that, to the complex setup of the maps and the unique diversity between different spaces across the map and between each map, the developers did a good job using a little space to create something big and having it not feel boring and monotonous around the scene. With the semi-randomized placements of the generators, hooks, doors, and other POIs, it is difficult to get bored or feel like you have all the knowledge on how each map works each time you load in, which keeps the game fair for old players as well as new players.