Dead by Daylight

After almost five years, Dead by Daylight has grown into an incredible slasher film simulator, and the best asymmetrical multiplayer game around.

Dead by Daylight has evolved into an unrivalled asymmetrical competitive multiplayer game, and one of the best horror games around.

It's shocking how much depth Dead By Daylight packs into its systems.

The tension is high in every match, with jump scares and thrilling chases peppering each encounter with the killer

Whether you play as the killer or prey there is gruesome fun to be had, but this console transfer cuts too many corners

This just feels like an all around sloppy port that was quickly pushed out to try to score some cash off of Friday the 13th's bungled release. The console version doesn't even include all the download content released for PC, including the Halloween DLC with Michael Myers. The mouse-like controls in the menus, coupled with the fact that most all the actions are mapped to the triggers and shoulder buttons, makes it feel like whoever ported this doesn't play consoles to begin with (thankfully you can remap the controls). The bugs and ugly graphics might be excusable if the game were fun to play, but to me, it just isn't due to a lack of balance and the need to work with your team in an era where no one talks to strangers in online games anymore.

The asymmetrical multiplayer genre seems to be a real tough nut to crack with each heavy hitter coming out swinging, only to be plagued by nuances that trip up the experience and expose debilitating cracks in the mechanics. Unfortunately, it seems that Dead by Daylight suffers much the same fate. It's honestly really good fun, but the more you play the more its issues rear their head and become points of ire.

Dead By Daylight has been around for quite while now and has remained a pretty popular game on both PC and console over the years. It’s a straightforward and repetitive online affair that, if you're lucky enough to be matched with the right bunch of randoms or happen to be playing a custom match with friends, can deliver the goods in terms of frights and tension from time to time. However, it has also always been a pretty clunky affair, a fact which is amplified further here by the noticeable graphical downgrade, laggy menus and the exclusion of a bunch of DLC that we really feel should have been included for the steep asking price.

Overall, Dead By Daylight Special Edition is a fun and challenging asymmetrical horror game pitting a killer and four survivors in an enclosed area. There's plenty of customization players can undertake in terms of powers, perks and attire, so break out your fashion ideas. Included in this special edition are several DLCs that were released on the PC version. Given the already low price of the game and how it compares to similar games within the genre, Dead by Daylight is a hands down win.

The end result is that Dead by Daylight is an incredibly graceful and strategic game of cat and mouse that is largely best played with randoms. The scoring system has degrees of success and failure and greatly incentivizes killers to play their roles and survivors to work together. I can see why it’s still going strong after 9 years. It certainly has a few live service hang-ups, but Dead by Daylight is definitely a game worth playing anyway and one of the best asymmetrical multiplayer experiences I’ve ever had.