Dead by Daylight Mobile Review – Slasher Film Tropes Can Make for a Great Game

A couple of years ago, I watched popular YouTubers DashieXP and Markiplier play Dead by Daylight, an asymmetrical survival horror game developed by Behaviour Interactive, and it looked pretty fun. It had an awesome premise of playing a psychopathic killer (some being well-known ones you’ve seen in horror films or shows), chasing around four survivors (some again being from various horror media) in an enclosed spooky area. I tried it on my PC when it released, and, sadly, it wasn’t the best experience due to choppy animations, sluggish movement, and a ton of other issues. Now that it’s on mobile devices, you can bring the slasher experience on the go with all the jankiness that comes with it.

Dead By Daylight‘s plot isn’t too deep, but it does at least give a good reason as to why you see Bill from Left 4 Dead and Ghostface from Scream running around on the same field. A supernatural being known as “The Entity” has awakened by actions of massive violence and evil. It pulled different serial killers and monsters out of their reality and forced them to do what it wants. The Entity brings unlucky survivors from all over to be repeatedly sacrificed and feed off their broken hope and despair while they do all they can to escape. It’s basically a horror Super Smash Bros.

Going from a big screen to a small screen was quite a change for me. Luckily, the experience felt oddly familiar and new at the same time. Each survivor and killer each have varying play styles that will definitely come into play throughout the game. They also have their own perks that can assist them during any given run, whether it’s running faster when hit by a killer once or remaining undetectable to the survivors. The more you level up from each game, the more perks you can get.

As a survivor, you have to locate generators throughout the map you’re on and repair them to unlock gates so you can escape. There are also quick time events to help keep things interesting while you’re repairing a generator, healing a teammate, or even trying to unhook yourself if captured. Meanwhile, the killer has to do everything they can to stop the survivors literally in their tracks so they can attach them to a hook for The Entity to have their dinner.

The actual gameplay is still a jittering mess, but I think that’s the endearing part of Dead by Daylight. At times, the camera would be a bit unresponsive, adding just another layer of fear as technology fought against you. There would also be situations where I couldn’t jump over a wall, or I would try to turn a corner, and you can clearly see my joystick is turning left, but it doesn’t accurately register. These cases didn’t happen too often, but enough for it to be noticeable.

The funny thing is, those same issues made the game more exhilarating. It was almost like playing the old school Resident Evil games but in a competitive format. I’ve had equal amounts of fun playing the killer with the same number of issues. It’s fun to stalk the survivors, especially when they’re trying to repair a generator and creep up on them, ready to kill. Then the hitbox issues come into play, just like it did in the original PC version.

I think this again might be part of the charm. In slasher movies, there are so many opportunities that the killer could stab their victim, yet for whatever reason, they’re way off the mark. I think they captured that feeling every time I miss a swing on my prey, whether it be intentional or unintentional. Either way, I ironically love the feeling of how much like a slasher/horror movie Dead by Daylight is.

You can also earn in-game currency as you play. It can go toward new perks for each character or even buying a new survivor or killer. You do have the option to use actual money to buy new characters. People can argue that certain killers or survivors are more overpowered than others, but that’s not really something I encountered.

As this is another mobile game, I can safely say there shouldn’t be any significant pay to win issues. After all, I haven’t won a game as a killer yet, and I own what the community has called some of “the best killers” in the game. That could be a mixture of inexperience and just being really bad. You can’t pay to win if you’re not good at what you’re paying for.

Dead by Daylight on mobile is plagued with random bugs and lengthy load times, which can all be overlooked with the excuse that this is just the “Dead by Daylight” experience. Still, I found enjoyment during each match as I fought for my life against some of the most terrifying creatures known to exist. It’s like something you know is terrible, but you can’t put it down, and that’s precisely what keeps me playing.