Summary
TheDead by Daylightfranchise is one of the modern horror genre’s most explosive success stories. Delivering a compelling mix of asymmetrical multiplayer mechanics with the most revered properties in Horror multimedia, the original title has enjoyed a massive following since its launch in 2016. In 2024, the series' first single-player entry,The Casting of Frank Stone,is set to release, which looks to combine developer Behaviour Interactive’sDead by Daylightuniversewith co-developer Supermassive Games’ interactive story formula. To successfully do so,The Casting of Frank Stoneneeds to nail one of Supermassive’s most popular mechanics.
The Casting of Frank Stonewill adaptDead By Daylight’s lore and characters for an experience akin to theDark Pictures AnthologyandThe Quarry. The title sees a group of teenagers attempting to make a movie about Frank Stone, a legendary serial killer from their hometown of Cedar Hills’ past. However, the threat is very much alive and well, and the teens soon find themselves crossing paths with a host of threats both corporeal and supernatural. Like Supermassive’s past interactive stories, the title will feature branching paths, and not every teen is guaranteed to survive.
The Casting of Frank Stone Must Carefully Adapt Supermassive’s QTE Mechanics
During May 2024’sDead by DaylightYear 8 Anniversary Broadcast, fans got their first extended glimpse atThe Casting of Frank Stone’s gameplay. Environmental puzzles, branching choices, and high stakes-QTEs were all on display, but it’s the latter that can make or break the title’s overall experience. As the title hopes to please fans of bothDead by Daylightand Supermassive Games, it needs to carefully implement its QTE elements. One way to accomplish this goal is to mix and match the best mechanics from each property.
QTE mechanics are no doubt familiar to fans ofDead by Daylight, as the title’s Skill Checks see a brief QTE accompany specific interactions at random. However, those found inSupermassive Game’s narrative adventuresare usually far more complex and take the form of extended interactive sequences.The Casting of Frank Stoneshould meet in the middle of these two formats, injecting Skill Checks into minor interactions and featuring less extensive action sequences. What’s more Skill Checks could play a major role in a potential branch of the story wherein a character who was caught due to a previously failed QTE can be unhooked or freed, given a set of prerequisite events.
The Casting of Frank Stone Needs to Nail Its QTE Difficulty
Since 2015’sUntil Dawnplaced Supermassive Games' at the forefront of interactive horror, QTEs have played a massive role in its titles. However, recent years have seen the quality of this central mechanic prove inconsistent. Many fans have criticized the difficulty, or lack thereof, in recent years, withThe Dark Pictures: The Devil in Medelivering one ofSupermassive’s hardest titles, afterThe Quarry, released five months earlier, delivered one of its easiest. ForThe Casting of Frank Stoneto succeed, Supermassive needs to balance the title’s difficulty. This process starts with ensuring that its QTEs are accessible, fair, and challenging while maintaining high stakes and dire repercussions.
Much is still unknown aboutThe Casting of Frank Stone, including how the title plans to implement the mechanics and lore ofDead By Daylight. However, the title’s recent gameplay trailer and previously released story teasers allude to Frank Stone’s larger connection to the source material, and the appearance of some familiar faces. Though a 2024 debut is seemingly still confirmed,The Casting of Frank Stonedoes not yet have an official release date. Fans hoping to learn more about the next entry in theDead By Daylightfranchise should stay tuned toJune 2024’s Summer Game Fest, as Supermassive Games has a history of making surprise appearances at the year’s major presentations.
Dead by Daylight
WHERE TO PLAY
Ever wished to play as one of the characters from your favorite horror movies? Dead by Daylight is a 1v4 multiplayer game that draws from all corners of the horror world from a powerful slasher to a terrifying paranormal entity.Choose between playing an unstoppable Killer and one of 4 Survivors trying to evade a gruesome death. Each character has their own deep progression system and plenty of unlockables that can be customized to fit your personal strategy. Work together to escape, or stalk and sacrifice every Survivor.This Edition of Dead by Daylight gives you access to a roster of 7 Killers (The Trapper, The Hillbilly, The Wraith, The Nurse, The Hag, The Huntress and The Doctor) and 9 Survivors (Meg Thomas, Claudette Morel, Jake Park, Dwight Fairfield, Ace Visconti, Nea Karlsson, Bill Overbeck, Feng Min and David King). It also includes two cosmetic add-ons packed with outfits for various characters.
