It’s fairly common to see blockbuster hit video games from prominent developers on a yearly basis. A few examples currently would include "Doom," "Total War: Warhammer" and "Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst." However, these video games are from AAA studios, all with a big budget to back them up and ensure an amazing experience for the player. But occasionally you will happen upon a gem of a video game made with so little yet offering so much. A game made by passionate indie developers with the sole purpose of bringing an engaging and joyful experience to the consumer. "Dead by Daylight" just happens to be that very gem of 2016.
"Dead by Daylight," developed by Behavior Interactive and published by Starbreeze Studios, is a multiplayer (4 vs 1) horror game where a single player takes control of a vicious Killer, and the other four players play as Survivors, trying to escape said Killer. Using teamwork, wit and cool-headedness, the four Survivors must turn on five generators in order to escape an entrapped area without being detected and killed by the Killer. Though it borrows elements from other prominent games of a similar style, "Dead by Daylight" brings a unique multiplayer experience unfound in any other game. It takes the classic ‘cat-and-mouse’ formula but dials it to the max.
Playing as a Survivor, I felt a surge of adrenaline and fear that I have never felt in any other game before in my life, at least in the sense of a multiplayer game. Having no way to defend yourself, you constantly feel the rush of being chased. It is perhaps the most extreme game of hide-and-seek that you could possibly play. One wrong move can cost you your character’s life at any moment in the most unforgiving and brutal way possible. This constant feeling of anxiety gives the game a feeling of excitement; the kind of excitement that leaves you wanting more and more, no matter how many times you utterly fail.
These same feelings translate over to when you play as the Killer. Except instead of being the prey, you are now the hunter. Not only does the whole dynamic and play-style of the game change, but even your emotional response changes as well. It becomes a whole different game when you take the role of the Killer as opposed to the Survivor and vice versa. It allows you to change things up a bit if one end of the spectrum starts to bore you. Playing the Killer is just as fun as playing the Survivor, if not more than. The feeling is indescribable, as you find joy in hunting other players down, becoming an archetypal horror movie monster that this game clearly revels in.
As always, however, all games don’t come without their problems. Being the fact that "Dead by Daylight" was made by an indie developer with a low budget, there is still quite a prevalent amount of bugs and glitches in the game. These bugs range from the improper rendering of textures to laggy aesthetic motion cues. Bugs that aren’t necessarily game breaking but do hurt the immersion and overall experience. Another big problem I found was the lack of a proper matchmaking system with online friends. As it currently is, you can either make a private match with all friends or join a random online match completely by yourself. For people with only 1-3 friends to play with; you’ll be out of luck as you won’t be able to join any online matches with your friends.
Although the matchmaking issue does bother me a great deal, it is certainly not a decent enough reason to avoid trying out this game. Especially now with the game sitting at only $20 on Steam ($16 till July 4). For that ridiculously amazing price, you have no reason to not try this game. It is simply one of the best multiplayer experiences I’ve had in a good while. "Dead by Daylight" is an absolute must buy for anyone looking for a fun and unique multiplayer experience.
