Dead by Daylight is an online game with a cult following, but rarely ever explores the lore surrounding what turn of events that caused these endless cycles of Survivor Vs. Killer. It’s these aspects of online games many of us don’t think about when playing with our friends. What happened in this universe to cause these scenarios? The Casting of Frank Stone by Supermassive Games and Behaviour Interactive opens up that untold story and expands the Dead by Daylight universe in such a special way.
This game is not really a prequel to Dead by Daylight, but an origin story of sorts, and explores how The Entity came to take over the world and how serial killer Frank Stone ties into it. If you aren’t fully across the basics of Dead by Daylight or need a refresher on what The Entity is, I got you. The Entity is an almighty being that travels through the cosmos, consuming worlds in its path. It creates Realms of the Trial Grounds where it traps Survivors and Killers in an endless cycle of Trials. During the trials, it feeds on its victims’ strongest emotions, which allows it to grow in power. If you’ve played Dead by Daylight, it’s the thing that hooks you and absorbs you into the sky once you die.
MINOR SPOILER ALERT: This review will go into the events that occur in Chapter 1 but will not contain any spoilers past that. (Skip the next paragraph if you’d rather not know the premise of the game)
Chapter 1, which acts as a Prologue, begins in 1963. A police officer by the name of Sam investigates a Steel Mill in in search of a missing child. He eventually runs into Frank Stone, and he, of course, has the small child Sam’s been searching for. After an altercation, Sam kills Frank Stone, who falls into a pit of coal, and that’s that. Or so you think.
I’m not going to go deeper into the story, as, like all Supermassive cinematic games, the blinder you go in, the better. The rest of the game follows two groups across two timelines – four teenagers in 1980 and three adults in 2024. These two stories 44 years apart do end up interconnecting pretty quickly, so it doesn’t feel jarring bouncing from the past and the present in each chapter. Some plot points were lost on me at times, but I found to gain more knowledge after trying out different scenarios.
Every character in The Casting of Frank Stone is brand new to the Dead by Daylight series, and this really allowed Supermassive and Behaviour to go in any direction creatively, as there’s never really been any lore exploration outside of the Dead by Daylight maps. Even the titular character, Frank Stone, has never been mentioned in the Dead by Daylight universe until this game.
Dead by Daylight has a cult player base that sink hours and hours into their game, so I’m really excited for these fans to deep dive into the lore, which is told throughout the narrative and via collectibles. There are plenty of Easter Eggs on the way, too, that even I, a player with basic DBD knowledge found, but I can appreciate many probably went over my head, too.
The decisions you make for your characters can influence future events quite significantly. I killed one of my teenagers early on in the game and looking back, I wonder how differently the story could have played out or what additional sequence of events I could have had if I had kept him alive. This game really does make you want to go back and replay it as soon as the credits rolled. In fact, I did. I went back to the beginning chapters and replayed them, which is made easy by a feature called The Cutting Room Floor, which is basically a scary term for scene selection. You can replay scenes within each chapter to influence the outcome or collect any collectibles you missed along the way. The Cutting Room Floor branches out similarly to the timeline of events you could see in Detroit Become Human. Using this tool really amplifies just how many endings that are obtainable.
In terms of Dead by Daylight references or nuances, the game has generators you need to fix, skill checks, and a type of collectible called a Rellik, which are dolls of Killers found in the Dead By Daylight game. The menus and sounds are shared between the games, too. If you had played an hour or two of Dead by Daylight, and then were blindly told to play this game without any context, you would know the two titles are related. It still feels like a Supermassive Game, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel exactly like the others do.
Accessibility options return, with the option to remove button mash QTEs, timeouts for the skill checks, and combat timers. The Casting of Frank Stone also comes with Twitch Integration, which allows live audiences to vote on the choices made within the game. If that’s not enough, couch co-op returns as a Supermassive Games game feature. Experiencing this over a movie night or two will never not be a good time.
Supermassive Games and Behaviour Interactive are a perfect pair. The synergy between these two horror developers is evident within the final product of this game. This is Dead by Daylight like you’ve never seen it before. But there’s one question I know needs to be answered before I wrap up this review: do I need to have played Dead by Daylight to enjoy The Casting of Frank Stone? The answer is no, but it does help. Not knowing anything about DBD will mean you are missing out on some context, but I feel strongly that if you like Supermassive’s previous titles or just admire this genre of games, then you’ll find satisfaction from this experience.
THE CASTING OF FRANK STONE REVIEW
The Casting of Frank Stone embodies the Dead by Daylight universe exceptionally well, providing a revelating taste of lore unexplored within the universe. This is one of Supermassive’s best, an experience that promotes replayability and one that will capture the attention of horror fans across the world.
PROS
- Fantastic and rich lore additions for Dead By Daylight universe
- One of Supermassive’s best games
- Your choices often have a heavy weight to them
- The characters are well-fleshed out and likable
- The Easter Eggs found within the game are great
CONS
- Some plot points can go straight over your head
- While horror is the main genre, the jump scares weren’t as prevalent as previous Supermassive titles
Reviewed on PlayStation 5. A review code was supplied by the publisher for purposes of this review.
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