Dead by Daylight (DbD) has an amazing premise. Built on a concept that deals with 1970-90 slasher horror, DbD pits 4 late teen/20-something survivors against one of four classic killer archtypes (chainsaw hillbilly, the facemasked trapper, the invisible voodooesque wraith or the phantasmal nurse). I observed the game for over 2 years, waiting eagerly for its release. I was rewarded with an inexpensive, creative, well-conceptualized title that is broken beyond repair. The game is almost too flawed to enjoy in its current state.

Borne by BeHavior, a fast food pack-in video game development house, DbD represents one of their first attempts at a AAA title and the first real attempt at their very own IP. The game is built by a small team atop the new Unreal 4 engine, which they butcher at every corner. The game's premise revolves around a team of survivors that work together to start several generators in a map that allow automatic doors to be engaged. Once the automatic doors are engaged, the survivors escape, score experience points, which they can promptly use to level and improve their specific character. Killers must hunt and stop them by either incapacitating them or hanging them from a hook, thereby feeding their essences to a dark, hungering entity that impels the murderer towards his/her unending task.

The concept is neat and the fact that the game utilizes a first person camera view for the killer, while framing survivors in a third person view, is an important distinction that adds depth to the title. Killers are focused and unceasing and use their hearing, as well as sight to locate their prey. Survivors by contrast can better manipulate their bodies and possess a better awareness of their surroundings. However, their primary mode of detection (apart from a heartbeat) is sight. The concept of starting generators is an interesting one, albeit simplistic and that's where the issues with DbD first begin.

The game would be infinitely better if survivors could repair a solitary car in one map, or build a boat in another. Perhaps the survivors could call the police or set up a trap for the killer. Adding various objectives rather than the same, tired, rote "generator hustle" would have added a massive dose of life to this game. As it stands, this game is a generator mini-game with a killer mechanic tacked on. As survivors are captured by the killer and impaled on hooks, as offerings to their dark god, the murderer-player will often camp the captured survivor, making it very difficult for that individual to escape. This makes it possible for some gamers to be out of the game very quickly (I was never very good at it and this happened to me often). Unable to finish the level, I often failed to obtain rewards that stunted my progression.

Other players didn't have the same issues and were soon able to rack up 3-4 perks that could drastically improve their survival abilities, further aggravating the issue. I don't recommend that players that use other gammas other than default Windows play this game. As a part-time graphic designer that runs Mac/Photoshop gammas...the game is unforgivingly dark and that compounds an inability to see the killer. However, despite my bad performance in the game, I would have stuck around if I felt that the game had compelling game play to offer.

That, however, is not the case. Not only is the game lacking various objectives, as I mentioned earlier, but every map looks fairly similar. Despite having various locations like a car yard or a farm or an asylum, etc...the maps are really just identical game sandboxes populated "dynamically" by rocks, trees and the occasional unique buildings/structures. If you're jonesing for a romp INSIDE an asylum, look elsewhere. If you think that a burnt car yard should have more atmosphere than a few crushed vehicles scattered throughout an identical forest environment, you WILL be disappointed.

The samey feel of all the maps augments the lack of objective variety and when compounded by the game's complete dearth of community, and singleplayer, can make DbD a bit of a slog after a few hours. With no method to communicate in game, teams of survivors often have no reason to work together other than "fixing" a generator together. The creation of a community is non-existent as players hardly make new friends when they can't even type into a chat box within the game, much less communicate via VOIP.

Many players suggested a "whisper" system that would allow the killer to hear players collaborating if he/she is close enough. That would be an excellent balance system as it would encourage cooperation, promote community and would serve as a foil for survivors that are not careful when a killer is near. Alas, the game is absolutely silent. The game also lacks a singleplayer mode where weaker players can practice their skills without getting dominated over and over, as matchmaking is very poor.

And matchmaking itself is extremely poor. Games are an augean feat to secure. And I've waited over 45 minutes on three separate occasions to find a game. On two of such occasions, I gave up when a game couldn't be secured. On the third occasion, I was promptly spawned in front of the killer and was killed, having waited 45 minutes for literally 4 minutes of gameplay. The game is a running joke about "finding servers" only to end up back at the Ready phase. Players that have dedicated time to this game have repeated stated this in other Steam reviews. Listen carefully to that refrain.

Playing with friends was a feature that shipped almost 3 months after the game released and, to this day, works rather poorly. In fact if you want to host a match against your friends and you wish to play as the killer, the game confers no experience. Therefore, if you want to play DbD and feel that you're a better killer player, you simply have to go game with strangers if you wish to advance your character progression. This is a draconian and ill-conceived mistake, especially in light of the already prominent hacking occurring within the game. With no real, professional-grade anti-hacking/cheat mechanism in place, I've personally run into killers that can see through walls and that kill with one hit, right at the outset of a game.

Yes, such hacks aren't common and are extremely rare but they do exist and are a far greater threat to player enjoyment than some friends progressing together in a private match. With no real story to speak of and minimal character customizeability, players really only have the adrenaline surge of dodging a killer as the sole element to keep them returning. Unfortunately, the game's population has already begun to decline.

While Unreal 4 engine games scale successfully all the way down to iOS devices, and despite the fact that DbD's visuals are wholly lacking, the game fails to run properly on a variety of systems. Sure, I still got over 80 fps on maximum settings but for a game that is uglier than Left 4 Dead 2, a 7 year predecessor, DbD should run far, far better than that. Textures are muddled and look like they were photographs that were run under a daubs/paintbrush filter in Photoshop. Models range from reasonably good looking (Dwight) all the way to absurdly ill-conceived (Wraith- 10 poly chicken legs, go!). Animation errors abound, and survivors will often be stuck floating in air, as if cinched by their belt, or unable to crouch, or cursed to be perma-prone. Many killer swipes fail to connect or connect through solid walls. Many survivors have been caught by a killer, unfairly, as they completed a vaulting animation out of a window, only to catapult back into the murderer's grasp. The game crashes and will sometimes glitch and become stuck within a menu or within the game itself. Still, for a quick romp with friends, there are worse ways to go than DbD.

Worth a look.

7.5/10.

Dead by Daylight (DbD) has an amazing premise. Built on a concept that deals with 1970-90 slasher horror, DbD pits 4 late teen/20-something survivors against one of four classic killer archtypes (chainsaw hillbilly, the facemasked trapper, the invisible voodooesque wraith or the phantasmal nurse). I observed the game for over 2 years, waiting eagerly for its release. I was rewarded with an inexpensive, creative, well-conceptualized title that is broken beyond repair. The game is almost too flawed to enjoy in its current state. Borne by BeHavior, a fast food pack-in video game development house, DbD represents one of their first attempts at a AAA title and the first real attempt at their very own IP. The game is built by a small team atop the new Unreal 4 engine, which they butcher at every corner. The game's premise revolves around a team of survivors that work together to start several generators in a map that allow automatic doors to be engaged. Once the automatic doors are engaged, the survivors escape, score experience points, which they can promptly use to level and improve their specific character. Killers must hunt and stop them by either incapacitating them or hanging them from a hook, thereby feeding their essences to a dark, hungering entity that impels the murderer towards his/her unending task. The concept is neat and the fact that the game utilizes a first person camera view for the killer, while framing survivors in a third person view, is an important distinction that adds depth to the title. Killers are focused and unceasing and use their hearing, as well as sight to locate their prey. Survivors by contrast can better manipulate their bodies and possess a better awareness of their surroundings. However, their primary mode of detection (apart from a heartbeat) is sight. The concept of starting generators is an interesting one, albeit simplistic and that's where the issues with DbD first begin. The game would be infinitely better if survivors could repair a solitary car in one map, or build a boat in another. Perhaps the survivors could call the police or set up a trap for the killer. Adding various objectives rather than the same, tired, rote "generator hustle" would have added a massive dose of life to this game. As it stands, this game is a generator mini-game with a killer mechanic tacked on. As survivors are captured by the killer and impaled on hooks, as offerings to their dark god, the murderer-player will often camp the captured survivor, making it very difficult for that individual to escape. This makes it possible for some gamers to be out of the game very quickly (I was never very good at it and this happened to me often). Unable to finish the level, I often failed to obtain rewards that stunted my progression. Other players didn't have the same issues and were soon able to rack up 3-4 perks that could drastically improve their survival abilities, further aggravating the issue. I don't recommend that players that use other gammas other than default Windows play this game. As a part-time graphic designer that runs Mac/Photoshop gammas...the game is unforgivingly dark and that compounds an inability to see the killer. However, despite my bad performance in the game, I would have stuck around if I felt that the game had compelling game play to offer. That, however, is not the case. Not only is the game lacking various objectives, as I mentioned earlier, but every map looks fairly similar. Despite having various locations like a car yard or a farm or an asylum, etc...the maps are really just identical game sandboxes populated "dynamically" by rocks, trees and the occasional unique buildings/structures. If you're jonesing for a romp INSIDE an asylum, look elsewhere. If you think that a burnt car yard should have more atmosphere than a few crushed vehicles scattered throughout an identical forest environment, you WILL be disappointed. The samey feel of all the maps augments the lack of objective variety and when compounded by the game's complete dearth of community, and singleplayer, can make DbD a bit of a slog after a few hours. With no method to communicate in game, teams of survivors often have no reason to work together other than "fixing" a generator together. The creation of a community is non-existent as players hardly make new friends when they can't even type into a chat box within the game, much less communicate via VOIP. Many players suggested a "whisper" system that would allow the killer to hear players collaborating if he/she is close enough. That would be an excellent balance system as it would encourage cooperation, promote community and would serve as a foil for survivors that are not careful when a killer is near. Alas, the game is absolutely silent. The game also lacks a singleplayer mode where weaker players can practice their skills without getting dominated over and over, as matchmaking is very poor. And matchmaking itself is extremely poor. Games are an augean feat to secure. And I've waited over 45 minutes on three separate occasions to find a game. On two of such occasions, I gave up when a game couldn't be secured. On the third occasion, I was promptly spawned in front of the killer and was killed, having waited 45 minutes for literally 4 minutes of gameplay. The game is a running joke about "finding servers" only to end up back at the Ready phase. Players that have dedicated time to this game have repeated stated this in other Steam reviews. Listen carefully to that refrain. Playing with friends was a feature that shipped almost 3 months after the game released and, to this day, works rather poorly. In fact if you want to host a match against your friends and you wish to play as the killer, the game confers no experience. Therefore, if you want to play DbD and feel that you're a better killer player, you simply have to go game with strangers if you wish to advance your character progression. This is a draconian and ill-conceived mistake, especially in light of the already prominent hacking occurring within the game. With no real, professional-grade anti-hacking/cheat mechanism in place, I've personally run into killers that can see through walls and that kill with one hit, right at the outset of a game. Yes, such hacks aren't common and are extremely rare but they do exist and are a far greater threat to player enjoyment than some friends progressing together in a private match. With no real story to speak of and minimal character customizeability, players really only have the adrenaline surge of dodging a killer as the sole element to keep them returning. Unfortunately, the game's population has already begun to decline. While Unreal 4 engine games scale successfully all the way down to iOS devices, and despite the fact that DbD's visuals are wholly lacking, the game fails to run properly on a variety of systems. Sure, I still got over 80 fps on maximum settings but for a game that is uglier than Left 4 Dead 2, a 7 year predecessor, DbD should run far, far better than that. Textures are muddled and look like they were photographs that were run under a daubs/paintbrush filter in Photoshop. Models range from reasonably good looking (Dwight) all the way to absurdly ill-conceived (Wraith- 10 poly chicken legs, go!). Animation errors abound, and survivors will often be stuck floating in air, as if cinched by their belt, or unable to crouch, or cursed to be perma-prone. Many killer swipes fail to connect or connect through solid walls. Many survivors have been caught by a killer, unfairly, as they completed a vaulting animation out of a window, only to catapult back into the murderer's grasp. The game crashes and will sometimes glitch and become stuck within a menu or within the game itself. Still, for a quick romp with friends, there are worse ways to go than DbD. Worth a look. 7.5/10.