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Dead By Daylight first burst onto the video game scene in all the way back in 2016, with a relatively low-key launch on PC that garnered mixed reviews, largely down to its reliance on peer-to-peer connections and poor skill-based matchmaking.
Even in spite of this, the game sold very well and just a year later it was ported to Xbox and PlayStation, going from strength to strength from then on.
In 2022, Level 99 Games picked up the license and successfully Kickstarted a board game version which eclipsed its $250,000 budget by raising over $1m. The people had spoken, and they wanted a tabletop version of Dead By Daylight!
But how does it translate?
How Does ‘Dead by Daylight’ Play?
Level 99 Games have done an admirable job of transferring what makes the video game so appealing to players, replicating the ‘One Vs. Many’ mechanic and the asymmetric character/killer traits that are a calling card of the franchise.
The majority of players take on the role of a Survivor (or multiple Survivors in smaller player counts) while one assumes the identity of one of six iconic Killers in the base game, or 16 in the Collectors Edition.
Each player has Vault, Sneak, Sprint and Crouch movement cards, which they can use once per turn to navigate around the gameboard, providing the rooms they are moving through have a corresponding movement path. In addition, the Killer can move not once but twice, and also has a ‘Wait’ action which allows them to stay where they are in anticipation of one of the Survivors stumbling into their path.
The Survivors ultimate goal is to escape, and to do that they have to repair a number of generators that are scattered around the board. Once a Survivor discovers a generator they can roll a die to decide how successful they are in their repairing endeavours. Each generator needs 3 ‘progress’ tokens to be considered fixed and move up to the victory tracker, and at any point the Killer can make a beeline for them and remove all the progress accrued until they are fully fixed.
Once enough generators are fixed, the Survivors work together to open an exit gate (again based on successful die rolls) with victory achieved as soon as they do.
The Killer’s goal is much more succinct… sacrifice Survivors 8 times. This isn’t as easy as it sounds though, with each Survivor needing to be weakened in a previous turn before they can be sacrificed.
If a sacrifice attempt takes place in the same room as a ‘Hook’ the Killer is immediately successful, but if they have to carry the victim to another room a skill check takes place to see if they wriggle free.
Of course, there are a plethora of items and unique abilities that both Survivors and Killers can use to tip the odds in their favour, meaning it’s never quite clear who is about to get the upper hand.
What’s in the Box?
The Standard Edition of Dead by Daylight comes with the Game Board, 7 Survivor Minis and Identity Boards, 6 Killer Minis and Identity Boards, 44 prop tiles, 98 various tokens, 5 dice, 4 wound rings (to mark injured survivors), 28 Survivor Perk Cards, 24 Killer Perk Cards, 16 Item Cards, 1 Wait Card and 5 sets of Movement Cards.
That’s a lot of stuff to get and it comes in a nice UV spotted box that looks fantastic when front-facing on a shelf.
The minis are superb, and the quality of the cards and boards are also pretty good (with the board being double-sided to increase replayability.)
However, the tokens are susceptible to a bit of edge whitening/scuffing, which is likely down to the fact there are so many and they are easily shaken out of their respective segments when in the box.
Overall, you get a lot for your money here, and the Minis are a must-have for anyone who is a fan of the video games.
Numbers Game
Due to the very nature of Dead by Daylight, four Survivors and a killer are required for each game.
So… what do you do if you don’t have five players? Easy, one or two players (depending if there are three or four of you) take on the role of two Survivors.
This would be fine, but then for some reason it is very clearly stipulated that both survivors have to share ONE set of movement cards. I.E if Survivor 1 uses their ‘Sprint’ movement, then Survivor 2 isn’t permitted to use it too and must settle for one of the other 3 options.
This seems like a strange and unnecessary penalty for not having an extra friend available, and if there was no discussion of tactics between Survivors then it would make sense, but there isn’t.
The game also lacks any Solo or 2 player options which is a shame, although due to the complexity of the Survivor and Killers movement and objectives, it may have been more admin than playing to run a game at those numbers.
Stick With It
Dead by Daylight is definitely one of those games where it becomes more enjoyable the more times you play it.
In fact, I’d go as far as to say a lot of players won’t necessarily enjoy their first game, as there is a LOT to take in and it will likely take a few turns before it is even apparent what the best plan of action is.
Once the mechanics become a bit more familiar though, there is a lot of fun to be had, especially if you are playing in a group where everyone is already familiar with each other. Survivors are able to discuss their strategy although the Killer can also hear any plans being made and react accordingly, leading to an element of bluffing too.
While Dead by Daylight does a great job of replicating its source material thematically, the gameplay itself is obviously quite a lot slower and more calculated, and that may be something players have to become accustomed to if they are transitioning from the fast-paced action of the video game.
The rulebook can be slightly disjointed, and the game definitely plays better at a higher count, but overall there is a lot to like here, especially if you can gather 4 other people and check out the provided Tutorial Video before you start.
The Bottom Line
Dead by Daylight might seem like it is somewhat of an acquired taste at first, being based on a video game, coming with miniatures and having a level of complexity not always associated with licensed games. As a contrast, The Binding of Issac: The Four Souls, another video game license, is much more
straight forward by comparison, yet doesn’t do nearly as much to perform similarly to its source material.
But it only takes one game to become well acquainted with how things work, and then the real fun begins as Survivors do their best to outwit the Killer, fire up those generators and try to escape before they end up quite literally on the hook.