168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dead by Daylight is the Fortnite of horror games. It’s an IP sandbox that allows the Xenomorph to fiꦬght Nicolas Cage, and for Albert Wesker to chase down James Sunderland. It’s all about mashing together horror IPs, like recreating your own Freddy vs. Jason movies in real time. However, that diluted focus has served to strip away its atmosphere and leave behind a box of shiny but lifeless toys.
Dead by Daylight has an incredible foundation that lends itself well to this format, but as the years go by, it’s hard to pinpoint its unique character. Original killers and survivors have taken a backseat as news cycles are dominated by the likes of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Silent Hill 2’s Maria finally joining the battlefield, roping in James’ dead girlfriend for a match-up against 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ghostface.
This lack of identity spurred on by an obsession with IP is a risky gambit given the fate of games like Friday the 13th and the precarious nature of horror rights. The list of slashers that have been doomed to development hell by behind-the-scenes arguments is far ꧙too long, and hinging your game on that rickety wooden bridge is like splitting up in the woods after hearing a strange noise coming from an old cabin.
We’ve already seen crossovers pulled, like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Stranger Thౠings when Netflix revoked the rig🍸hts, and any IP holder can reasonably do the same. It’s why Friday the 13th stopped getting updates and is ultimately getting delisted later this year. Dead by Daylight’s hook now is in its sandbox of horror icons, but they’re not just cosmetics like Fortnite’s many skins, they’re entire killers with fleshed-out maps and mechanics. Your favourites might then be dependent on the whims of third parties🅠. For the🔥 most part, this has worked out, but in ten years, who knows?
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was born from the ashes of Friday the 13th, so it has learned aཧ thing or two about the risk🔜s of hinging on horror IP, even if it’s basไed around just one. The team has worked much closer with the creator of the series both legally and artistically to avoid any fallout, resulting in a game so authentic to the 1974 film that you may as well be stepping foot into the silver screen. That achieves two things—it has a strong identity out of the gate that will not be buried as the years go by, and it’s highly unlikely to lose entire chunks of itself as other parties rip pieces back.
The issue with Dead by Daylight is that, even﷽ if you get to play your favourite killer, the loop is the same. Hook, hook, and hook. Wesker never struck me as the kind to slowly chase his victims so he could ensnare them a few times, but that’s Dead by Daylight’s entire shtick. As much as the abilities and visuals might help to bring these characters to life in its world, its gameplay loop is doomed to dilute them.
Texas focusing on the family as its killers completely circumvents that, as killing your victims is dependent on your abilities and toolset, not arbitrary game mechanics piled onto every map. Leatherface uses his iconic chainsaw to rip and tear through escaped victims, while Sissy slices at runaways until they bleed out and are left exhausted, ready for their throats to be⛄ slit. There’s no one way for every character to complete objectives, as each truly feels unique.
That will likely extend to DLC and updates, as new killers will always fall under the ‘family’ tab and, by nature of Texas’ foundations, not be doomed to a repetitive structure wꦏoven into the game’s identity. Dead by Daylight, over the years, will continue to bloat with IP until all of it ultimately feels the same when you strip it bare. I’m already exhausted, and seeing Nic Cage get announced was more bewildering than exciting.
We’ve hit bedrock on crossovers and now it’s a free-for-all on who can get in, rather t🍌han trying to craft a meaningful horror experience.
Texas is𓆉n’t built in a way that would allow for it to suffer that fate and hopefully proves successful enough to carve out a competitor and prove that more narrow focuse🧜s are better for these franchises than piling on top of a mountain of stale-growing content.