Let's Talk Games: Dead By Daylight Mobile
Date Published: 2nd September, 2021
Adilsons is looking beyond the realm of mangas, anime and cosplay culture and we've stumbled upon an unexplored haven of pure adrenaline-pumping goodness: digital gaming! This week, we're shifting the focus of our limelight into the unexplored and convoluted depths of one of the most exciting mobile games to catch our eye: Dead By Daylight Mobile! Join us in our first ever gaming review blog as we guide you into the purge created by a monstrosity known only as... The Entity!
Now- make no mistake- Dead by Daylight is by no means a new entry in the realm of gaming. The original game was released for PC way back in June of 2016 and has continued to recieve positive reception from the gaming community to this day. Unfortunately, exposure remains one of its weak points and the main route by which it's introduced to gamers is the Twitch platform. Fortunately, the release of a mobile counterpart in early 2020 facilitated a greater ease of accessibility to potential players and heightened the prospects of the game as a growing influence in the realm of horror games. Dead by Daylight is the very embodiment of horror made to manifest in a game and it does this by juggling a myriad of techniques in game construction which were either underutilized or simply unexplored by games of the past. However, before we get to the technical aspects of our critique, let's get you up to speed on what the game really is all about.
"The game's simple. The best ones are."
-John Kramer, Jigsaw
The game pits 4 survivors against 1 killer in a randomly generated map. The aim of the survivors is to escape the confines of their realm before the killer hunts them down and offers them as sacrifice to a mysterious force referred to only as "The Entity". The only way to escape is by unlocking one of two exit gates, which first have to be powered up by repairing any 5 of several generators scattered throughout the map. That's all there is to it: a race against time.
Ah, if only that were true. Dead by Daylight is one of the few games out there which truly allow for infinite potential, even within a finite construct. While the game isn't open-world and the individual maps remain the same in terms of layout, where the diversity really shows is through the players' minds. Unlike games such as Granny and Slender Man, Dead by Daylight allows both the Killer and the Survivors to be piloted with equal freedom, making its characters immune to any fixed caricatures or counter-strategies. Every character can be fitted with up to 4 modifiable perks and each killer has a special ability of his own which gives them the much needed edge to tackle 4 other players.
That brings us to one of DBD's most unique features: the assymetrical gameplay. Being one of the few games to pit an uneven distribution of players against each other, Dead by Daylight is tasked with the arduous responsibility of establishing a precarious balance, which is principally mediated by the game design itself. 4 vs 1 is by no means a fair matchup and the killer will have several advantages over survivors to keep the balance in order. For one, the killer moves faster than any player. While this may seem like a death sentence, there are several ways available to survivors to escape a chase without being caught: looping around mazes to lose the killer's sight and dropping pallets on the killer to momentarily stun them are tools available to all survivors. Skill is the deciding factor in a lot of situations and the game design team must be given due credit for their ingenuity in maintaining the fragile balance.
While we could elaborate on the gameplay (and the lore) further, we'll leave the minute details a mystery for interested parties to discover at their own leisure. Our 3 month experience of playing the game has undoubtely been a nerve-wracking and adrenaline-fueled journey, but the intricacies of the game still continue to astound and impress us. Dead by Daylight has no fixed recipe for success to it. You won't find any guaranteed guides or pre-set manuals to success; that's the unpredictable beauty of the game. Whether you enjoy the fearful discomfort of playing as a Survivor or the sadistic glee of hunting as a Killer, DBD is the sort of game that allows you to step into both roles with equal ease.
Now onto the not-so-hot aspects of the game. No critique is complete without its flaws and it's a comfort to know that DBD Mobile has few entries in this regard. First off, note that this game is gonna be heavy on your device. It's a 2 GB download from the Play Store, followed by 1.5GB of more downloads after you install the game, making the final file size around 3.5GB. Updates will only increase this size over time, albeit gradually. Also, don't bother installing the game unless you have a RAM of 4GB or more. While the system requirements state that 2GB are enough, be aware that the gameplay will be terribly choppy and absolutely atrocious, even without network issues. We recommend a device with 6GB of RAM or more, although 4GB will also work just fine. Another factor to keep in mind is that the game will show no mercy on your battery. Low-end phones will quickly heat up and should not be used for long gaming sessions. Great gameplay comes with great system requirements.
A final note may be made on the Dead by Daylight community itself. While this category sees great overlap with the PC game, the Reddit community for DBD is one of the most supportive gaming communities we've come across on the platform. The community rapidly engages questions and freely dispenses advice. The memes aren't too bad either... and neither is the h*****. (but you didn't hear that from us though -.-)
Overall, Dead by Daylight Mobile is a game which we thoroughly enjoyed playing. It's as faithful to the PC version as can be expected on a Mobile platform and is an excellent standalone game which easily takes the top spot among all the mobile horror games we've played. Over time, the experience of playing DBD shifts from one of fear to excitement, and later to a sheer display of wits: the gaming experience evolves with the player. All of these merits make DBD Mobile a highly recommended title from us and we encourage feedback from everyone who tries the game out! It's an experience like no other!
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Graphics: 3.5/5
Design: 5/5
OVERALL: 13/15