Behaviour Interactive's Dead By Daylight is an iconic asymmetrical horror game that, since its release in 2016, has carved out a decisive niche for itself in the video game market. As a horror movie simulator, the daunting cat-and-mouse game that occurs in every single match between Survivors and Killers is incredibly addicting, and every victory is to be relished.
New players are still streaming into the game more than seven years after its release, but with so much active development the game can feel daunting to get into. However, it doesn't have to be that way; underneath all the complex mechanics that have been added, Dead By Daylight has an incredibly simple and understandable gameplay loop.
What Are The Basics Of Dead By Daylight?
Dead By Daylight is simple to get into, but difficult to master. The core gameplay loop is fairly basic: four Survivors are spawned into a map along with a Killer, a number of generators, and two gates. While DBD may sometimes look complex due to the overwhelming bevy of content the game has, the core gameplay loop is always the same. Survivors must work together to avoid the Killer, repair five generators, open a gate, and escape. The Killer can attack Survivors, wounding them and downing them after two hits.
When a Survivor is downed, their allies can help them back up but only if the Killer doesn't pick them up first. If picked up, Survivors have a brief chance to try and wrestle free, but if they fail or don't manage it in time, the Killer carries them to a hook and sticks them onto it. From there, other Survivors can save the hooked Survivor, and if they don't manage it in time, the hooked Survivor will die, leaving the rest of the team a player down and still trapped with the Killer.
What To Know Before Your First Game Of Dead By Daylight
While the basic gameplay loop may seem simple, Dead by Daylight is shockingly deep and has a complicated mesh of intertwined mechanics that work together to make it such a satisfying, addictive game. The first such element is the way the game is balanced. Killers have a limited field of vision and are generally slow, lumbering killing machines, with some exceptions. By contrast, the defenseless Survivors are fast-moving, small, and very capable of escaping and hiding from the Killer.
The resulting cat-and-mouse chase is further complicated, as when Survivors sprint, they leave marks the Killer can see and track, and the same goes for blood stains injured Survivors leave. As a result, a chase may seem easy to escape, but a Killer has a surprising amount of resources on hand to extend and end the chase to their advantage. This is further contributed to by the game's complex abilities and perks system. As you level up your characters, they unlock various perks that empower their abilities and capabilities within a match. These can be minute changes, like not triggering ravens to alert the Killer or running faster when injured, or major gameplay impacts, like the ability for Survivors to disable Hooks for a span of time, or the Killer to insta-kill downed Survivors without needing to hook them.
How To Win Your First Game Of Dead By Daylight
The many complex, intertwining mechanics should not distract a player from the simple basics of how to win a game of Dead by Daylight. As a Survivor, your team is your greatest asset, and working together greatly increases your chances of escaping, even with strangers you can't communicate with. Working on generators together increases the speed at which it is repaired. Survivors can also rescue and heal each other and can work together to distract the Killer from allies.
As a Killer, your singular job is to drive the team apart and keep them from escaping. It's an incredibly satisfying experience, reaping through matches of players as a horror movie antagonist, but that does not mean it's easy. Players will always strive to escape and trick the Killer, and the Killer must make sure they can't do that. Generators can be damaged, hooks watched, and Survivors haunted across the map to put them in a bad position. Both Survivor and Killer roles are dependent on using the map for success but in vastly different ways. Survivors can duck and weave through obstacles the Killer can't navigate, but at the same time, the Killer can follow and trap Survivors, using the environment to put them in a corner they cannot escape.