Not The Meat Hook!

Phil Robinson plays “Dead by Daylight.” Photo by Benjamin Leung.

A review of the online multiplayer horror game “Dead by Daylight.”

Story by Benjamin Leung

As COVID-19 reached the U.S. in January 2020, multiplayer horror game “Dead by Daylight” tripled the average number of people playing online, according to Steam Charts. It also debuted on platforms including Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch, and continued to release updates and chapters — notably collaborating with hit franchise Resident Evil.

In the boredom of quarantine, I turned to video games to occupy my time, redownloading “Dead by Daylight” after three years away from the game. The number of friends I’ve made playing in cooperative survivor mode are a testament to the social power of video games.

Phil Robinson is one of those friends. We’ve played together for countless hours and after getting vaccinated we started hanging out in real life.

In asymmetrical multiplayers like “Dead By Daylight,” “Friday the 13th” and “Evolve,” a team of individually weaker players faces a lone, powerful player. “Dead by Daylight’s” popularity and longevity quickly stood out within the genre, partially due to its expanding lineup of licensed killers and survivors from iconic horror franchises — like Freddy Krueger and Laurie Strode.

The game is designed to attract people who grew up watching the Halloween franchise, or people who enjoy horror movies or horror games, Robinson said.

Moreso, “Dead by Daylight’s” two core gameplay loops, killer or survivor, have surprising mechanical depth despite their simplistic premises.

In survivor mode, players spawn into one of the various semi-procedurally generated maps and form a team of four that is tasked with repairing five generators that power exit gates from which the team can escape.

For the weaponless survivors, escaping usually requires a coordinated team effort as members repair generators, save hooked teammates, and distract the killer. Curiously, “Dead by Daylight” lacks an ingame voice chat system. As with all multiplayer games, playing with a group of friends using an external application to communicate makes the survivor experience infinitely more fun.

If you choose to play as the killer, you’ll attempt to slow down generator repairs and track down survivors to sacrifice everyone on meat hooks scattered around the map.

Since its release in 2016, “Dead by Daylight’s” mechanics have developed into complex and interlocking systems that constantly pressure both survivors and killers with time-sensitive variables.

The dynamic survivor-killer interplay asks players to strategize, play attentively and think fast — a mix of tactical and improvisational gameplay that frequently results in unexpected, unscripted thrills. In a 10 to 20-minute round, individual mistakes, last-second decisions and small victories can quickly change the tides of a match.

In one match I played, a missed skill check on the last generator resulted in my team of survivors all dying at the hands of a very angry Leatherface.

“Dead by Daylight” rewards playtime for goal-oriented players with addicting progression systems. There are approximately 180 perks providing gameplay advantages to suit any playstyle, a variety of unique killers and survivors to unlock, and more.

Various ingame currencies and optional challenges provide a mix of instant and delayed gratification, and Behaviour’s gamified progression menus make queue times engaging and integral to the “Dead by Daylight” experience.

The learning curve to “Dead by Daylight” is steep, and the process of accumulating game knowledge and skills such as what to do while being chased by a killer is a slow and often arduous process.

Robinson compared gaining skills to watching a plant grow. “If you check on your plant every five minutes, you’re not going to tell the difference,” Robinson said. “[Eventually you] remember how bad [you were] six months ago.”

Three players playing survivor mode stand by a bonfire in the game “Dead by Daylight,” which allows players to play as survivors or killers from iconic horror franchises. Screen capture by Benjamin Leung.

“Dead by Daylight” explores the aesthetics of horror, through sound and character design, though I wasn’t ever outright scared in my 1700 hours of playtime.

Robinson’s experience was a different story.

“When I first started playing,” Robinson said, “[For] two weeks or so I had … nightmares of getting chased by killers like every single night.”

As expected of a mid-budget title, “Dead by Daylight” never really impresses graphically, with subpar animation work and average art direction. Map design in particular lacks life, excluding a handful of ambient atmospherics. Character design stands as a notable exception, with distinctive and colorful survivors and killers to choose and customize.

Five years after its launch, “Dead by Daylight” continues to reign as the king of asymmetrical multiplayers. In its current state, “Dead by Daylight” provides an unrivaled asymmetrical gameplay experience with a massive active community and tons of new content planned for the future.

As with all esports, expect to rage-quit more than once when starting out.

“It’s my favorite game, and my least favorite game,” Robinson said. “I hate it. But I still stick around.”

“Dead by Daylight” is currently available for digital download on PC platforms, Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch. Physical copies are also available for purchase.