Dead by Daylight is an indie horror game developed and published by Behaviour Digital Inc.. Dead by Daylight is both an action and survival horror multiplayer game in which one crazed, unstoppable Killer hunts down four Survivors through a terrifying nightmarish world in a deadly game of Cat & Mouse. It was released on 14 June 2016 for PC, 20 June 2017 for Xbox One and PS4, 24 September 2019 for Switch and 16 April 2020 for Mobile.
Overview
- As a Survivor, go in alone or team up with friends to face an unknown threat. Use Items at hand, Unlocked Abilities and Environmental Objects to outwit the monster and escape from its killing ground.
- Set in a procedurally generated World, you'll never know what to expect, what you're facing and how to get away. You will have to make stressful choices under desperate circumstances. Every decision impacts your chances of survival.
- Killers come from all horror genres, from brutal slashers to terrifying paranormal entities. Master these monsters' unique powers and exploit the knowledge of your “home” to track, hunt down, break and sacrifice your victims before they get a chance to escape to safety.
- The asymmetry, procedural factors and unique thinking of human individuals make each Dead by Daylight match an unexpected scenario where the combined behaviour of each player creates a truly terrifying and thrilling narrative.
- Dead by Daylight Characters each have a deep progression and Unlockables which can be customized into your own personal strategy. Use your experience, Skills and load-out to climb up the competitive ladder and you might eventually discover the truth beyond the fog.
Trailers
Old Tutorial Videos
Before the implementation of the playable Tutorial Maps, Dead by Daylight featured short Tutorial videos to give new Players an idea of how to play the Game. There were 6 videos: 3 for the Killer and 3 for the Survivors:
Killer 1: How To Win | Killer 2: How To Hunt | Killer 3: How To Find Them |
---|---|---|
Survivor 1: How To Win | Survivor 2: How To Stay Alive | Survivor 3: Help Others |
Steam Trading Cards
- Main article: Steam Trading Cards
Dead by Daylight contains a number of Steam Trading Cards, which are virtual cards earned by playing the game on Steam. After collecting all trading cards, a badge can then be crafted and the player will receive: the next badge level, Steam XP, potential profile backgrounds, and emoticons. Steam Trading Cards can be obtained through playing the game, in which the player will receive free card-drops over a period of time, as well as buying them from the Steam Marketplace, or by trading with other players.
Official Links
Channels
Forums
Social Media
Websites
Trivia & Tidbits
Dead by Daylight BETA
This paragraph lists some trivial facts about the Dead by Daylight BETA build that was available to some Content creators and lucky few prior to the Game's original release in June 2016:
Characters
- While all four original Survivors were available to play as, Killers could only play as The Template:IconLink.
- The Template:IconLink and The Template:IconLink were hidden from Players as they were not quite finished yet.
The Wraith had sound issues when cloaked and The Hillbilly had missing animations and sounds.
- The Template:IconLink and The Template:IconLink were hidden from Players as they were not quite finished yet.
Cosmetics
- Some of the Killer's Cosmetic options did not yet have dedicated icons and used the icon of the Template:IconLink as a placeholder instead.
Items
- Several Items that would not become available until Patch 1.1.2 were already implemented and functional, but remained locked and hidden.
Levelling
- It was impossible to level past Level 5.
- However, a bug allowed some Players to circumvent this restriction and even prestige.
Locomotion
- When walking on stairs, BETA Survivors would realistically place their feet on the individual steps.
However, this system was scrapped.
Map Offerings
- All Map Offerings with a tremendous modifier were of Very Rare Rarity, compared to the Rare they were changed to after a few Patches.
Maps & Realms
- Despite only having the original The MacMillan Estate Maps available to play on, the BETA already contained the other two Release-Realms, Autohaven Wreckers and Coldwind Farm, as well as several early version of future Maps for other Realms.
- Unreleased Sawmill Map:
- Loading into the Sawmill Map reveals that it uses assets of The Thompson House on a different lay-out.
This Map never made it past early development.
- Loading into the Sawmill Map reveals that it uses assets of The Thompson House on a different lay-out.
- Early Backwater Swamp Maps (CHAPTER III: Of Flesh and Mud):
- Loading into the Backwater Swamp Maps reveals many missing assets, but also some that never made it to release, such as a large tree with tunnels in-between its massive roots.
- The Pale Rose was nearly finished already.
- Grim Pantry's main-building featured some slightly altered lay-out.
- A Map was intended to feature the cannibal-village from The Hag's Lore and was even modelled and textured by 1.3.1, but never released.
- Early Crotus Prenn Asylum version (CHAPTER I: The Last Breath Chapter):
- The BETA version was located in Coldwind Farm, which, judging by other unreleased Maps, appears to have been used as a Template-Realm by the Developers.
- The Asylum building featured essentially the same lay-out as it did at release.
- Unreleased Coldwind Farm Map:
- The BETA featured an unreleased Map called "Farm Cross", which was in the shape of large '+', as well as fully modelled and textured.
Curiously, it featured the main Landmarks of several Coldwind Farm Maps, almost as if the Map itself was a compilation.
It featured the Silo (Torment Creek), the Slaughterhouse (Rancid Abattoir), and the Farmhouse (The Thompson House).
- The BETA featured an unreleased Map called "Farm Cross", which was in the shape of large '+', as well as fully modelled and textured.
- Unreleased Sawmill Map:
Prestige
- Prestige Cosmetics were of Ultra Rare Rarity, compared to the Rare they were changed to after the first Template:IconLink Rework.
Teachable Perks
- While Template:IconLink already existed, hovering above them in the inventory would only mention its Rarity and omit the Character they belong to.
Phobias
Due to the very nature of horror games, Dead by Daylight encompasses and/or portrays a large variety of phobias and fears for atmospheric purposes.
The following table details several phobias:
Phobia | Translation | Manifestations |
---|---|---|
Acrophobia | Fear of Heights | Drops from two-story buildings/structures on various Maps. |
Apotemnophobia | Fear of Dismemberment | The Template:IconLink, Clown's Memento Mori. |
Anthropophagososphobia | Fear of Cannibalism | The Template:IconLink, Hag's Memento Mori. |
Arachnophobia | Fear of Spiders | Entity-spider-legs on Hooks and Visceral Cankers. |
Automatonophobia | Fear of Mannequins/Puppets | Mannequin props on The Game. |
Basiphobia | Fear of Falling | Drops from two-story buildings/structures on various Maps. |
Blennophobia | Fear of Ooze/Slime | The Template:IconLink, Visceral Cankers, Blighted Cosmetics. |
Coulrophobia | Fear of Clowns | The Template:IconLink, Template:IconLink. |
Claustrophobia | Fear of Tight Spaces | Template:IconLink. |
Electrophobia | Fear of Electricity | The Template:IconLink. |
Emetophobia | Fear of Vomit | The Template:IconLink. |
Ergophobia | Fear of Work | Repairing Generators. |
Haemophobia | Fear of Blood | Various visual effects, Template:IconLink. |
Lupophobia | Fear of Werewolves | The Template:IconLink (see Lore Trivia). |
Masklophobia | Fear of Masks/Costumes | Various Cosmetic options. |
Murophobia | Fear of Mice/Rats | Rats in various Maps. |
Necrophobia | Fear of Dead Things | Various slaughtered animals in Coldwind Farm. |
Nyctophobia | Fear of Darkness/Night | Maps are usually dark and not very bright. |
Oneirophobia | Fear of Dreams | The Template:IconLink |
Ornitophobia | Fear of Birds | The Template:IconLink, Vultures on Dead Dawg Saloon, The Template:IconLink's Dire Crow ability |
Photophobia | Fear of Light | The Template:IconLink, Killers. |
Scopophobia | Fear of Being Watched | Stalking Killers. |
Swinophobia | Fear of Pigs | The Template:IconLink, props on Coldwind Farm. |
Teraphobia | Fear of Monsters | The Template:IconLink, The Template:IconLink. |
Thanatophobia | Fear of Death | General theme, the Killers, the Sacrifice Ritual, Template:IconLink. |
Trypanophobia | Fear of Needles | Template:IconLink Cosmetics. |
Trypophobia | Fear of Holes | The Template:IconLink: Charlotte's chest cavity when Victor is on the prowl. |
Tetraphobia | Fear of the Number 4 | Template:IconLink, after its rework, has a default capacity of 44 Blades. In several Asian languages, the number 'four' is a homophone to the word for 'death' and therefore associated with similar levels of superstition as the number 'thirteen' in Western cultures. |
Theme Music
- The Dead by Daylight Theme is centred around a four-note sequence of E-flat, D, E-flat, and C.
- This sequence marks the beginning of the Dies Irae (Latin for "The Day of Wrath"), a sequence originating in Gregorian plainchant.
- In history, the Dies Irae motif is most commonly found in Requiems, a Mass for the Dead or for Funerals.
- In contemporary times, it is often used as a theme or musical quotation in conjunction with settings and symbols of death and mortality.
- The motif is present in all Chapter themes (except Ghost Face), though transposed to suit different instruments.
- After the release of the Curtain Call DLC, all Chapters received a unique new Theme Music that would play in the Main Menu
- The Theme usually remains as the default until the release of the following Mid-Chapter Patch, which would revert the music back to the original theme.
- In addition to new Chapters, certain Events also have theme songs associated with them that would play in the Main Menu for the duration of the Event in question.
Instruments
NOTE: This information is not official and was compiled at the discretion of the editors:
Menu Themes
- A Chapter's Theme music often revolves around a particular trope or general theme present in the Chapter in regards to the selected instruments.
- An Event's Theme follows this same principle, reflecting the mood and feel of said Event.
- The following list attempts to highlight the main instruments used in a Theme, with the instrument playing the Dies Irae motif highlighted in gold.
Chapter/Event | General Theme | Instruments | Music |
---|---|---|---|
All Hallows' Eve Event | Halloween | Distorted Guitar, Drums, Piano, Strings, Vibraphone | File:All Hallows Eve Theme.mp3 |
Winter Solstice Event | Christmas | Drums, Tambourine, Tubular Bells | File:Winter Solstice Theme Music.mp3 |
Scorching Summer BBQ Event | Summer, Rural | Distorted Guitar, Drums, Synths | |
The Hallowed Blight Event | Ethereal | Bassoons, Brass, Pizzicato Strings, Synths, Percussion Toys (i.e. Shaker) | |
Moonrise Event | China | Drums, Guanzi (Woodwind Instrument), Pipa (String Instrument) | |
Anniversary Event | Birthday/Anniversary | Guitar, Drums, Synths (no Dies Irae motif) | |
Doctor's Theme | Psychedelic | Bass Flute, Distorted Strings, Drums, Synths | File:Doctor Theme Music.ogg |
Hillbilly's Theme | Rural/Country | Distorted Guitar, Drums, Tambourine | |
CHAPTER VIII: Curtain Call | Carnival | Accordion, Bassoon, Clarinet, Drums, Music Box, Synths | |
CHAPTER IX: Shattered Bloodline | Japan | Distorted Guitar, Drums, French Horn (stopped), Shakuhachi (Wooden Flute), String Bass | |
CHAPTER X: Darkness Among Us | Heavy Metal | Distorted Bass, Distorted Guitar, Drum Set | |
CHAPTER XI: Demise of the Faithful | Middle East | Bass Flute, Drums, Flute, Tam-Tam | |
CHAPTER XII: Ghost Face | Psychedelic | Drums, Oboe, Clarinet, Strings, Synths (no Dies Irae motif) | |
CHAPTER XIII: Stranger Things | 80s Synth Music | Synths | |
CHAPTER XIV: Cursed Legacy | Japan | Drums, Koto (String Instrument), Low Brass, Shakuhachi (Wooden Flute), Tubular Bells | |
CHAPTER XV: Chains of Hate | Western | Banjo, Guitar (detuned), Piano | |
CHAPTER XVI: Silent Hill | Mysterious | Choir, Drum Set, Guitar, Piano, Vibraphone | File:Silent Hill Theme Music.mp3 |
CHAPTER XVII: Descend Beyond | Orchestral | Strings | |
CHAPTER XVIII: A Binding of Kin | French | Accordion, Cello, Music Box, Hammered Dulcimer, Vibraphone | |
CHAPTER XIX: All-Kill | Psychedelic/K-Pop | Distorted Guitar, Drums, Synths | |
CHAPTER XX: Resident Evil | Powerful | Synth Strings & Brass, Drums | |
CHAPTER XXI: Hellraiser | Filmic | Flute, Oboe, Trumpet, French Horn, Harps, Trombone, Tuba, Drums, Strings, Choir | |
CHAPTER XXII: Portrait of a Murder | ? | Flute, (?), Crows, (?) |
Chase Music
Killer | Name | General Theme | Instruments | Music |
---|---|---|---|---|
Generic | Closing In | Menacing | Drums, Synths, Distorted Strings | File:All Hallows Eve Theme.mp3 |
Generic | No Place to Hide | Menacing | Strings, Synths, Drums | File:All Hallows Eve Theme.mp3 |
Generic | Blood Trail | Menacing, Terrifying | Strings, Synths, Percussion | File:All Hallows Eve Theme.mp3 |
Hillbilly | - | Rural, Rock, Tense | (Distorted) Guitar, Synths, Drums, Banjo | |
Shape | - | Unsettling, Tense | Piano, Drum Set, Strings | |
Doctor | - | Psychedelic, Unsettling | Bass Flute, Synths, Drums | |
Clown | - | Carnival, Discomforting | Distorted Strings, Synths, Drums, Bassoon, Accordion, Wooden Xylophone | |
Spirit | - | Haunting | Distorted Guitar, Drum Set, Shakuhachi (Wooden Flute), Bass Strings, Tubular Bells, Synths, Drums | |
Demogorgon | - | Supernatural, Unsettling | Synths | |
Oni | - | Overwhelming | Drum Set, Low Brass, Drums, Synths | |
Deathslinger | - | Western, Threatening | Piano, Guitar (Detuned), Percussion, Synths, Drums | |
Executioner | - | Otherworldly | Distorted Guitar, Synths, Xylophone, Drums | |
Blight | - | Orchestral, Old-Fashioned, Victorian | Strings, Synths, Drums | |
Twins | - | Hectic, Tense | Synths, Drums, Cello, Distorted Guitar | |
Trickster | - | Horrifying, Unsettling | Distorted Guitar, Drums, Synths | |
Nemesis | - | Orchestral, Overwhelming | Synth Strings and Brass, Drums | |
Cenobite | - | Filmic, Supernatural, Otherworldly | (Distorted) Strings, Tuba, Trombone, French Horn, Trumpet, Choir | |
Generic (Killer) | Entity Brain | Hectic, Agitating | Guitar, Percussion | File:All Hallows Eve Theme.mp3 |
Generic (Killer) | Kill Hunt | Hectic, Agitating, Energetic | Synths | File:All Hallows Eve Theme.mp3 |
File Cryptonyms
Chapters VI - XVII
- Since CHAPTER VI, all data associated with a specific Chapter or Mid-Chapter update has an internal codename.
For each of these Chapters, the codename was the name of a random country or location, going in alphabetical order.- This most likely started as an internal wordplay joke amongst the Developers, due to Robert Englund's last name being very similar to "England".
- Robert Englund is the actor who originally portrayed Freddy Krueger in the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies.
- This most likely started as an internal wordplay joke amongst the Developers, due to Robert Englund's last name being very similar to "England".
Data | Codename |
---|---|
Dead by Daylight Mobile | "Atlanta" |
CHAPTER VI: A Nightmare on Elm Street™ | "England" |
CHAPTER VII: The SAW™ Chapter | "Finland" |
CHAPTER VIII: Curtain Call | "Guam" |
CHAPTER IX: Shattered Bloodline | "Haiti" |
Mid-Chapter 2.3.0 | "Japan" |
CHAPTER X: Darkness Among Us | "Kenya" |
Mid-Chapter 2.5.0 | "Laos" |
CHAPTER XI: Demise of the Faithful | "Mali" |
Mid-Chapter 2.7.0 | "Nepal" |
VFX Updates in 4.2.0 | "Niagara" |
CHAPTER XII: Ghost Face | "Oman" |
CHAPTER XIII: Stranger Things | "Qatar" |
Mid-Chapter 3.3.0 | "Rwanda" |
Tome I - Awakening | |
CHAPTER XIV: Cursed Legacy | "Sweden" |
Mid-Chapter 3.5.0 | "Togo" |
Tome II - Reckoning | |
CHAPTER XV: Chains of Hate | "Ukraine" |
Mid-Chapter 3.7.0 | "Vietnam" |
Tome III - Escalation | |
CHAPTER XVI: Silent Hill | "Wales" |
Mid-Chapter 4.1.0 | "Xipre" |
Tome IV - Conviction | |
CHAPTER XVII: Descend Beyond | "Yemen" |
Mid-Chapter 4.3.0 | "Zambia" |
Tome V - Unleashed |
Since Chapter XVIII
- After reaching the final letter of the alphabet with Mid-Chapter 4.3.0, codename "Zambia", the Developers changed to a new naming scheme starting from the letter 'A' again, though this time using astronomical terms instead of location names.
Data | Codename |
---|---|
CHAPTER XVIII: A Binding of Kin | "Aurora" |
Mid-Chapter 4.5.0 | "Big Bang" |
Tome VI - Divergence | |
CHAPTER XIX: All-Kill | "Comet" |
Mid-Chapter 4.7.0 | "Draco" |
Tome VII - Forsaken | |
CHAPTER XX: Resident Evil | "Eclipse" |
Mid-Chapter 5.1.0 | "Flare" |
Tome VIII - Deliverance | |
CHAPTER XXI: Hellraiser | "Gemini" |
CHAPTER 21.5: Hour of the Witch | "Hubble" |
Tome IX - Crescendo | |
CHAPTER XXII: Portrait of a Murder | "Ion" |
Dead by Daylight Mobile
- The Dead by Daylight Mobile port and any data associated with it features a special internal reference: "Atlanta"
- "Atlanta" is the Capital of the State of Georgia in the US and finds its origins in "Atlantic", a reference to the transcontinental Atlantic-Pacific Railroad.
Name Explanations
- "Aurora" is the Latin terminology used to describe the polar lights, also called "Aurora borealis" (Northern Lights) or "Aurora australis" (Southern Lights).
- "Big Bang" refers to the most popular scientific theory about the creation of the Universe.
- "Comet" refers to objects in the solar system that are mainly composed of rocks and ice.
When they approach the sun, its heat causes them to heat up and leave long trails of gas trailing after them, that make them visible in the sky under the right conditions. - "Draco" refers to a star-constellation in the Northern Sky that was first discovered by Ptolemy in the second century AD.
- "Eclipse" refers to an astronomical event in which an astronomical object is temporarily obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another object or by having another body pass in-between it and the observer.
The most common examples of eclipses on Earth are Solar and Lunar eclipses. - "Flare" here likely refers to solar flares, events that suddenly increase the sun's brightness in certain spots on its surface.
- "Gemini" refers to the star-constellation of the same name, as well as the third zodiac sign, for people born between 21 May and 21 June.
- "Guam" is an organised, unincorporated territory of the United States in Micronesia.
- "Hubble" is a reference to the space telescope of the same name, as well as the American astronomer Edwin Hubble, who the space telescope was named after.
- "Ion" refers to either a particle, an atom, or a molecule that carries an electric charge.
- "Niagara" refers to the famous "Niagara Falls", as well as a town of the same name.
Both are located in South Eastern Canada. - "Xipre" is the Catalan name of "Cyprus", an island republic situated in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Unreal Engine Versions
Dead by Daylight runs on Epic's Unreal Engine.
Patch 1.4.0
- Updated Engine to version 4.13
Patch 2.4.0
- Updated Engine to version 4.20
Patch 2.6.0
- Updated Engine to version 4.21
Patch 3.3.1
- Updated Engine to version 4.22
Patch 4.2.0
- Updated Engine to version 4.25
Localization
There are 15 languages currently available in Dead by Daylight:
- German
- English
- Spanish
- Mexican Spanish
- French
- Italian
- Polish
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Turkish
- Russian
- Thai
- Simplified Chinese
- Traditional Chinese
- Japanese
- Korean