This is one of those games that rewards knowledge. If you've played and enjoyed games like The Binding of Isaac, Enter the Gungeon, or the father to this game, Risk of Rain, I highly recommend you pick this up as the addition of height only adds to the levels of game-play. I haven't hit a god-run yet, but I've managed to get an hour into Monsoon before I get popped by something instant. This title sucks you in and the multiplayer runs smoothly (assuming you have a decent ISP). As the game is still early access, it's surprisingly polished but will undergo more changes to both balance and replayability in the coming months. Hopoo is expecting a full release next Spring (2020) and I fully expect this game to stay in my recently played for the foreseeable future.

First and foremost, this game is addictive. From my first games as Wraith, frustrated that my friends could see me while I was "invisible" and crouch walking thinking Nea's Streetwise was the best perk in the game, I laugh at how far I've come. I admire how far this game and it's development team have progressed in the last 3 years. There is an astounding sense of progression and growth in Dead by Daylight and while there is noticeable repetition game to game (gens>downs>saves>kills>possible-escapes) there is something to be said for the system BHVR has in place to keep people coming back. New perks, the promise of new builds, new killers, changes to existing mechanics, balance updates that change and alter the possible outcomes tremendously (lookin' at you Bloodwarden/Endgame) touch just briefly on the care they have for their game. The fact of the Fog is that this game is built to never end.


There are some notable downsides that are currently on the proposed roadmap that BHVR is looking to address in the coming months. These points will again change things up and hopefully cover all of these bases.

• The game is currently hosted by the killer side. The person hosting has a noticeable advantage when their internet is slower. It feels "cheatsy" because it is. The way the current system is designed as of July 2019 worked when the game first released. The dev team didn't have the money to build servers for their game. Now that they've got a steady source of income (praise be to the cosmetic store) they've declared they're looking to move their game more towards a professional lens and away from the inconsistency that belongs to terrible ISP's.
  
  
• Hitboxes feel excessive and often delayed. This causes many occasions where you feel like you're away from the killer's grasp and then they hit you a half second later. The same goes for the killer's side. Animations stay active well after they feel like they should. The Wraith, the Huntress and the Pig are the worst culprits in my opinion with their animations finishing quickly but the hits happening a good half second after the swing finishes.
  
  
• Rank feels like a challenge... for some people too challenging. I haven't tried to max out my rank on the new system but after grinding out for a week (which on the old system would've had me in red ranks 4-5 days in, I'm only just looking into ranks 7-5 now 10 days later. The adjustments that were made help to assert the challenge to get to rank 1 but a good portion of the community feels that level of achievement is too restrictive. Regardless, BVHR is looking at the rank system and seeks to address the issue in the beginning of 2020.
  
  
• Own your game. I did mention the game has superb replayability and that's absolutely true. However, a lot of that replay value comes from setting your own goals as a player. If you want to get the most out of this game you have to take after the majority of the player-base and seek out max levels on all killers and/or survivors, getting all the perks for your favorite character, utilizing the prestige system to get all of the cosmetics for your favorite survivor or killer or even to come up with the strangest builds, hunt for every achievement or try to kill your friends by throwing a pebble at them from afar. The game is purely what you make of it and taking the time to unlock everything is one of the choices you'll have to make...
  
  
• Sell your soul to the Entity... But for some people with several thousand hours, there are only so many goals to be set and completed. BHVR is looking to fix this too starting with the mid-chapter update this fall. The Rift is a new mechanic that offers new cosmetics and rewards for repeat players. It bares a striking resemblance to a battlepass system so it remains to be seen if Iridescent Shards will allow you to buy entry to the Rift or if it's locked behind the Auric Cell paywall. With the game increasing in player base every update, like most battle passes, this system rewards players for coming back to the game. So if the game's normal replay value wasn't already exceptionally high, hopefully this will incentivize players to return.

The base price of this game is relatively low sitting at only 20$ to be able to play the game. After that, nearly everything is unlockable by simply playing. You miss out on a couple cosmetics but technically speaking, you can access everything by playing and leveling up your account. That's not to say it's an quick and easy venture, however. Playing for an hour or two will level up your account. You get a number of Iridescent Shards for each level up that increases as the required amount of experience increases (pretty much until you no longer notice how slow it is). It's a slow burn to get a new killer or survivor requiring 9000 shards to get to something new. By contrast, a level up will give you between 50-200 Shards or so depending on your level. For some people, that much time is worth 7 dollars on release or the inevitable 4 dollars, six months later.


This game has a great deal of depth to it, however. The lore for each killer and each survivor speaks volumes to the temperament of each character and offers yet another layer of intrigue to this horror title. The music is fantastic for anyone interested in tone via instrumental creativity. The sense of nervousness I've achieved getting wrapped into the notion of survival has left me screaming in the middle of the night. Dead by Daylight, with all of it's quirks and indie-level spaghetti coding, is the single best experience I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy. I am more than happy to walk new people through this game and I hope this opinion piece convinces someone to invest in Behavior Interactive's phenomenal work of art.