“Dead by Daylight” has found a lot of success in its recent slew of crossover content. The asymmetric horror multiplayer game has already enjoyed its recent additions of Ash Williams (“Ash vs Evil Dead”) and Ghost Face (“Scream”), to the hint of a future chapter on Stephen King’s “IT.” But the developers over at Behaviour Studios have grabbed something that most people did not suspect, a crossover with the Netflix hit show, “Stranger Things.”
For the uninitiated, “Dead by Daylight” works like this. There are four survivors in every game and there is one killer. Survivors escape by powering generators on the map and running out of the gate and killers have to stop them by beating them into submission and hanging them on a meathook until the spider-god comes down to whisk the unlucky soul away.
Entertaining in its own right but “Dead By Daylight” has taken inspiration from other multiplayer games by adding a new “chapter” every three months. Previous chapters have usually included a new map, one new playable survivor and a new killer. This newest chapter has already stood itself out by adding two survivor characters from the hit show Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler, alongside the new Killer “The Demogorgon” and the underground laboratory in Hawkins as a new map.
The new survivor characters each come with three passive “perks,” which can be later equipped onto other survivors after enough time. Steve’s abilities focus on his desire to help others at the risk of himself. He can rescue people from the aforementioned meathooks but at the consequence of revealing himself to The Killer, alongside his increased resilience and ability to regenerate his health after being saved himself.
Nancy is more geared towards gathering information while allowing herself time to recuperate. Whenever Nancy is fixing a generator, her friends will be given her location allowing for easier teamwork. She can also see the tracks that she leaves in the environment, allowing her to stay one step ahead of anyone trying to hunt her down. Finally, under the right conditions, she can hide in a locker to heal herself after being attacked.
Each new killer is characterized by the fact that each one is given its own unique ability alongside the passive ones. The Demogorgon is no different, players can use his power “Of The Abyss” to leave portals to the Upside Down, once two of them have been placed, the creature can burrow into the ground and quickly transport between the two. This allows it to have a terrifying presence on the map as survivors would not be able to tell where he is at any given time. This can be countered by survivor players by sealing these portals but this both takes time and leaves them vulnerable. The Demogorgon also has a secondary “shred” attack that allows it to leap at targets. While unwieldy at first, learning the ropes will make players unpredictable and terrifying.
With all of this in mind, the “Stranger Things” identity seems paramount in this crossover. There is a boatload of minor details that really sell the atmosphere, from the synthesizer 80s music survivors hear as the creature gets closer, to the loud vicious roar that can be heard in the distance, to the fact that players can put Steve in his beloved “Scoops Ahoy!” outfit, this is an update that will be sure to please “Dead By Daylight” and “Stranger Things” fans alike.
Image from Dead by Daylight via YouTube
