Alright it has been a couple years and several hundred hours later and I still cannot recommend this game. So much has changed and honestly the game is better than it ever has been, but sadly it still needs a lot of work. Even after 4 years this game feels like a beta, it doesn't feel finished. Loads of new content and even some overhauls, but there is still so much more to do. I will list some points about why I still cannot recommend this game, but the main reason is that it isn't at a point where i can recommend it yet. I got the game for free, and I even got a bunch of the DLC for free from friends, I have also gifted my fair share of DLC and bought stuff for myself. Although, I do not have any plans to stop playing myself I cannot in good faith recommend anyone get into it just yet.

First off you have the new player experience which is abysmal. You have 2 tutorials one for killer and one for survivor and they are bare bones at best. They teach only the very basic mechanics of the game which will instantly be obsolete in your first game. They don't teach you how to deal with actual gameplay scenarios like looping, sabotage squads, flashlights, camping, tunneling, sandbagging, mori's, keys, etc. On top of all of that you have over 200 perks for both sides which most have to be earned in teachables and even then you have to buy the characters to get the perks. Then you have to deal with the community which can be very toxic and not welcoming at all to new players. Overall if you are completely new to the game get ready for a steep learning curve, and some angry internet nerds.

Second you have the whole marketing system as a whole. The game is 20 bucks up front and that only covers 5 killers, and 7 survivors which barely scratches the surface. Getting all the other characters costs money or if they are original Shards. Each character costs 9k shards if you decide to go that way which can take up to 70 in game hours to grind and that is per character. Licensed characters have to be bought and they tend to have the best perks. BBQ and Chili for Leatherface for example, and Decisive Strike for Laurie Strode. Chapters if bought with real money cost around 7 dollars each which grant both the killer and survivor so long as they came out in pairs. Leatherface, Ghostface, and Ash came out solo so you only get the one character for their chapters. You can end up paying over $100 in DLC alone just to have all the characters. Then you have cosmetic DLC which they tend to charge $10 for sets and some you can unlock for around 21k shards per set. Early on the marketing strategy didn't seem so bad but it has become increasingly insidious over time.

Finally one of my biggest gripes is how many bugs the game has still. Sure when the game works it feels great and fun, but 9 games out of 10 you will find a glitch or a bug or something that isn't supposed to be there. These bugs can be minor like a totem being in a impossible to reach spot, to major like teleporting out of the map or being stuck in the ground. I have an ongoing joke when my friends mention Dead By Daylight bugs where I say they fix one thing and break 20 other things. The Current Chapter, which released The Twins, alone had so many bugs that came with it. Immersion isn't something you should expect with this game, and it just overall feels like it should still be in beta half the time. Some bugs are humorous and can be good for a chuckle, but there are a great majority that greatly effect the experience you will have playing the game.


If you are still reading this essay of a review congrats we are at the end. Thank you for reading.

For the rest of you:

TLDR; Not great for new players, Too expensive to get everything, Lots of bugs.

Alright it has been a couple years and several hundred hours later and I still cannot recommend this game. So much has changed and honestly the game is better than it ever has been, but sadly it still needs a lot of work. Even after 4 years this game feels like a beta, it doesn't feel finished. Loads of new content and even some overhauls, but there is still so much more to do. I will list some points about why I still cannot recommend this game, but the main reason is that it isn't at a point where i can recommend it yet. I got the game for free, and I even got a bunch of the DLC for free from friends, I have also gifted my fair share of DLC and bought stuff for myself. Although, I do not have any plans to stop playing myself I cannot in good faith recommend anyone get into it just yet. First off you have the new player experience which is abysmal. You have 2 tutorials one for killer and one for survivor and they are bare bones at best. They teach only the very basic mechanics of the game which will instantly be obsolete in your first game. They don't teach you how to deal with actual gameplay scenarios like looping, sabotage squads, flashlights, camping, tunneling, sandbagging, mori's, keys, etc. On top of all of that you have over 200 perks for both sides which most have to be earned in teachables and even then you have to buy the characters to get the perks. Then you have to deal with the community which can be very toxic and not welcoming at all to new players. Overall if you are completely new to the game get ready for a steep learning curve, and some angry internet nerds. Second you have the whole marketing system as a whole. The game is 20 bucks up front and that only covers 5 killers, and 7 survivors which barely scratches the surface. Getting all the other characters costs money or if they are original Shards. Each character costs 9k shards if you decide to go that way which can take up to 70 in game hours to grind and that is per character. Licensed characters have to be bought and they tend to have the best perks. BBQ and Chili for Leatherface for example, and Decisive Strike for Laurie Strode. Chapters if bought with real money cost around 7 dollars each which grant both the killer and survivor so long as they came out in pairs. Leatherface, Ghostface, and Ash came out solo so you only get the one character for their chapters. You can end up paying over $100 in DLC alone just to have all the characters. Then you have cosmetic DLC which they tend to charge $10 for sets and some you can unlock for around 21k shards per set. Early on the marketing strategy didn't seem so bad but it has become increasingly insidious over time. Finally one of my biggest gripes is how many bugs the game has still. Sure when the game works it feels great and fun, but 9 games out of 10 you will find a glitch or a bug or something that isn't supposed to be there. These bugs can be minor like a totem being in a impossible to reach spot, to major like teleporting out of the map or being stuck in the ground. I have an ongoing joke when my friends mention Dead By Daylight bugs where I say they fix one thing and break 20 other things. The Current Chapter, which released The Twins, alone had so many bugs that came with it. Immersion isn't something you should expect with this game, and it just overall feels like it should still be in beta half the time. Some bugs are humorous and can be good for a chuckle, but there are a great majority that greatly effect the experience you will have playing the game. If you are still reading this essay of a review congrats we are at the end. Thank you for reading. For the rest of you: TLDR; Not great for new players, Too expensive to get everything, Lots of bugs.