Leaving my old review for transparency's sake. And some of those points still stand, so this is just in addition to it.

Pros:
Fun with friends
Private games/lobbies
Tons of fun cosmetics that do not effect gameplay
In-depth perk/level up system, with satisfying rewards
Licensed content, on top of very well written original content

Cons:
Very easy to get frustrating/unfun matches due to the nature of the game
The grind is very, very painful (but is better than it once was)
Still easy to cheat/lagswitch
This game by design, will never achieve true balance
Shrine of Secrets is not a viable option for achieving most content you do not want to buy. (But to be fair, they still need to sell the DLC.)

So, Dead By Daylight has changed over the years. My old review below still holds some water, but I feel obligated to change it to "recommend" solely because of how much I play the game. I started playing Killer a lot more often, which really did increase my enjoyment of the game. But that is also part of the issue with it. The Killer basically decides the pace of the game. And in the old scoring system, as someone eloquently put once, your job was to put on a show. Chase survivors, hit a few of them, make them sweat it out or work together. Kills weren't the main focus since point values mostly revolved around the chase/actions. Now everything is a rank, and a lot of the points are pushed towards the End Game Collapse bonus score events or straight up sacrifices.

And because the Killer decided the pace of the game, if someone decides that on your first match they want to down you, and stare you directly in the face as your team mates crouch around doing nothing, there is nothing that stops them. The new player experience is awful, because a lot of the community (especially at low ranks) mostly just play to ♥♥♥♥ the other side over or make sure they do not enjoy themselves, rather than "play" the game so to speak. You get killers deranking to stomp noobs, and Squadettes swooping in with flashlights to bully new/inexperienced killers.

That being said, it is a learning experience. You learn how to counter these players, take actions around it, maybe even learn to shrug it off. But it is an awful experience to new people, and every person I've gifted this game had this happen or prefer the private lobbies due to the nature of the community.

This does make it a very good party game in that regard. In the private lobbies, you have access to every "perk" for all the content you own. For example, each DLC character/base game character has three unique perks they can unlock for other characters by getting to the level required (30, 35, 40) AND taking it in the node. You then have to level up someone else and there is a CHANCE of getting it. This leads to a lot of frustration and heacache. But in private lobbies, all of the "owned" content is unlocked for everyone, so you have no need to grind and can just have fun with whatever. You just do not have access to the DLC you do not own, for obvious reasons.

And for solo players, you have two options. The first is survivor. The idea is simple, as every description will tell you. So I'll just explain how it feels to play it. The first couple games are VERY atmospheric. Everything from the sound design to the level design is top notch, and even the lower graphics settings get the feeling across.

But you get one perk. One of your unique perks, level one. You probably don't know what perks are, or even what TEACHABLES are. You just wanted to play Bill from Left for Dead or the cute looking girl with the brown shirt, nothing else really clicked when looking through. You then have to unlock perks on that character, and learn you can spend experience anywhere. Great! But you then have to put in those same hours leveling someone else you don't like, maybe because you really want a perk from them. On top of this, you have a roll of the dice whether or not the killer will go easy on you/also be learning.

Then at about 15 hours max of gameplay, it turns from a horror game to a Scooby Doo episode. First you figure out who the killer is, try to remember what "works" against them. And then watch someone else play ring around the rosie while you play M1 simulator. Maybe you are good enough by now to be the person running around, maybe not. And as long as you like the horror aesthetic, this is no big deal. Sometimes you'll get jumpscared by stealth killers, but the game more turns into a collectathon of perks and costumes you can unlock through grinding.

So if you like a game like that, it might be perfect for you. But be ready to have matches where you feel like you were useless from either getting caught/camped right away while everyone did generators, or from sitting there repairing and never seeing the killer due to someone else playing well enough to distract them. This will of course not be every game, but they tend to swing from one end to the other, with not much variance in between. Enjoyment generally goes up when playing with friends, for obvious reasons.

Then there is the killer experience. But a note on this, it can be very stressful. It's never "oh the team/that one guy beat me." It always feels like "they beat me." It isn't a one on one, or a team versus a team, it is you versus them. And sometimes, they will make you look like you left your clown shoes at home, and tell you to hop back into your little car and grab them because you play like one. And honestly, a lot of your first matches will usually feel that way.

The biggest reason for this is how drastically different it is for killer. You have less visual information due to being first person instead of third, and have to rely on your hearing/ability to mind game opponents in order to catch them. You don't just have to play better than the other person, you need to try and play one step ahead of them. This in turn, is increased by the fact that a lot of the "good" perks are teachables. And it is a lot more frustrating to be defeated by four people than just "darn, that killer got me. Onto the next game." Because you have to play it all out. Every time.

But unlike survivor, even bad games net a decent chunk of pocket change. So it never truly feels like time wasted if you look on the bright side. Plus, the skill ceiling is higher but you are able to shut down a game a lot quicker than a survivor would be able to. So if you have the patience, and don't always have someone to play with, the killer side is great. Plus just like survivor, if you enjoy "collecting" perks and outfits, this game has that for you.

Each killer has a great personality so to speak as well. Everything from the breathing, the sounds they make, their footsteps; as mentioned before, the sound design is VERY top notch. The Spirit feels like she is manipulating a dead body. The Legion feels like you are rushing after a kill. You can feel the Huntress exhale as she throws her axe, or Mike's heavy breathing as he watches his prey. And on top of all of that, it is one hell of a power fantasy when you have four people barely able to keep up with your relentless onslaught.



I am sorry to cut this short. I want to write a MUCH longer review. Up top I mentioned I left my old one, but there is a character limit I cannot get around. If you like horror, I recommend the game. It is frustrating. Like any PvP game. But as long as you are just in for a good time, you'll love it. I promise. Even I used to "not recommend" the game, and I've come around to it.

Leaving my old review for transparency's sake. And some of those points still stand, so this is just in addition to it. Pros: Fun with friends Private games/lobbies Tons of fun cosmetics that do not effect gameplay In-depth perk/level up system, with satisfying rewards Licensed content, on top of very well written original content Cons: Very easy to get frustrating/unfun matches due to the nature of the game The grind is very, very painful (but is better than it once was) Still easy to cheat/lagswitch This game by design, will never achieve true balance Shrine of Secrets is not a viable option for achieving most content you do not want to buy. (But to be fair, they still need to sell the DLC.) So, Dead By Daylight has changed over the years. My old review below still holds some water, but I feel obligated to change it to "recommend" solely because of how much I play the game. I started playing Killer a lot more often, which really did increase my enjoyment of the game. But that is also part of the issue with it. The Killer basically decides the pace of the game. And in the old scoring system, as someone eloquently put once, your job was to put on a show. Chase survivors, hit a few of them, make them sweat it out or work together. Kills weren't the main focus since point values mostly revolved around the chase/actions. Now everything is a rank, and a lot of the points are pushed towards the End Game Collapse bonus score events or straight up sacrifices. And because the Killer decided the pace of the game, if someone decides that on your first match they want to down you, and stare you directly in the face as your team mates crouch around doing nothing, there is nothing that stops them. The new player experience is awful, because a lot of the community (especially at low ranks) mostly just play to dick the other side over or make sure they do not enjoy themselves, rather than "play" the game so to speak. You get killers deranking to stomp noobs, and Squadettes swooping in with flashlights to bully new/inexperienced killers. That being said, it is a learning experience. You learn how to counter these players, take actions around it, maybe even learn to shrug it off. But it is an awful experience to new people, and every person I've gifted this game had this happen or prefer the private lobbies due to the nature of the community. This does make it a very good party game in that regard. In the private lobbies, you have access to every "perk" for all the content you own. For example, each DLC character/base game character has three unique perks they can unlock for other characters by getting to the level required (30, 35, 40) AND taking it in the node. You then have to level up someone else and there is a CHANCE of getting it. This leads to a lot of frustration and heacache. But in private lobbies, all of the "owned" content is unlocked for everyone, so you have no need to grind and can just have fun with whatever. You just do not have access to the DLC you do not own, for obvious reasons. And for solo players, you have two options. The first is survivor. The idea is simple, as every description will tell you. So I'll just explain how it feels to play it. The first couple games are VERY atmospheric. Everything from the sound design to the level design is top notch, and even the lower graphics settings get the feeling across. But you get one perk. One of your unique perks, level one. You probably don't know what perks are, or even what TEACHABLES are. You just wanted to play Bill from Left for Dead or the cute looking girl with the brown shirt, nothing else really clicked when looking through. You then have to unlock perks on that character, and learn you can spend experience anywhere. Great! But you then have to put in those same hours leveling someone else you don't like, maybe because you really want a perk from them. On top of this, you have a roll of the dice whether or not the killer will go easy on you/also be learning. Then at about 15 hours max of gameplay, it turns from a horror game to a Scooby Doo episode. First you figure out who the killer is, try to remember what "works" against them. And then watch someone else play ring around the rosie while you play M1 simulator. Maybe you are good enough by now to be the person running around, maybe not. And as long as you like the horror aesthetic, this is no big deal. Sometimes you'll get jumpscared by stealth killers, but the game more turns into a collectathon of perks and costumes you can unlock through grinding. So if you like a game like that, it might be perfect for you. But be ready to have matches where you feel like you were useless from either getting caught/camped right away while everyone did generators, or from sitting there repairing and never seeing the killer due to someone else playing well enough to distract them. This will of course not be every game, but they tend to swing from one end to the other, with not much variance in between. Enjoyment generally goes up when playing with friends, for obvious reasons. Then there is the killer experience. But a note on this, it can be very stressful. It's never "oh the team/that one guy beat me." It always feels like "they beat me." It isn't a one on one, or a team versus a team, it is you versus them. And sometimes, they will make you look like you left your clown shoes at home, and tell you to hop back into your little car and grab them because you play like one. And honestly, a lot of your first matches will usually feel that way. The biggest reason for this is how drastically different it is for killer. You have less visual information due to being first person instead of third, and have to rely on your hearing/ability to mind game opponents in order to catch them. You don't just have to play better than the other person, you need to try and play one step ahead of them. This in turn, is increased by the fact that a lot of the "good" perks are teachables. And it is a lot more frustrating to be defeated by four people than just "darn, that killer got me. Onto the next game." Because you have to play it all out. Every time. But unlike survivor, even bad games net a decent chunk of pocket change. So it never truly feels like time wasted if you look on the bright side. Plus, the skill ceiling is higher but you are able to shut down a game a lot quicker than a survivor would be able to. So if you have the patience, and don't always have someone to play with, the killer side is great. Plus just like survivor, if you enjoy "collecting" perks and outfits, this game has that for you. Each killer has a great personality so to speak as well. Everything from the breathing, the sounds they make, their footsteps; as mentioned before, the sound design is VERY top notch. The Spirit feels like she is manipulating a dead body. The Legion feels like you are rushing after a kill. You can feel the Huntress exhale as she throws her axe, or Mike's heavy breathing as he watches his prey. And on top of all of that, it is one hell of a power fantasy when you have four people barely able to keep up with your relentless onslaught. I am sorry to cut this short. I want to write a MUCH longer review. Up top I mentioned I left my old one, but there is a character limit I cannot get around. If you like horror, I recommend the game. It is frustrating. Like any PvP game. But as long as you are just in for a good time, you'll love it. I promise. Even I used to "not recommend" the game, and I've come around to it.