Recent reviews by Nada the Stoat

Absolutely one of the best games I've ever played. The less you know the better. Just play it. it's worth more than its asking price.

(I have exactly 936 Hours on Xbox + Current Steam hours total)

TLDR
Dead by Daylight is 100% one of those games where you're going to hate it and uninstall it by hour 15, or be religiously attached to it and sink 1000+ hours into it and possibly never be able to put it down again, for better or for worse. At times, this game can feel like an abusive relationship that you just can't seem to get away from. The player base isn't as toxic as people make it out to be and I think you should at least buy Kate Denson and The Artist. That being said; I love this game.

The Starter Time Sink
Dead by Daylight is not an easy game to get into. At all. I genuinely don't think you'll get reasonably good at this game until at least hour 500-800 and I'm not being dramatic. The learning curve for this game is intense and only gets harder for every new killer and map that's released that you'll have to learn to play as or against. Many of the maps have somewhat random tiles that you'll have to learn to identify and play around. You'll have to learn to identify what rocks may be big enough to hold a pallet or where on a wooden wall a window might be. This, as well as learning to play around a killer's power or a survivor's set of perks, will take a very long time to figure out.

Why Should I Try DBD?
I know the above information may seem scary and, to be fair, it is, but I honestly think this game is worth the grind so long as you accept that, as survivor, you're going to lose A LOT... and that's okay! This game rewards you for what you DO manage to accomplish in each game. You get points for every little thing you do, which you can then put into grinding for new perks and items and such. Some games may be terrible but you can simply move on and try again. You'll never be "stuck." There will always be something new to learn and something new to grind for. If you're the kind of player that feels they need to constantly be earning something (like me), this is the game for you. This will also be your game if you hate shooters like me but still want to enjoy PVP.

Suggestions for Beginners
First understand that this is one of those games where you only have a couple characters for free and every other character is a paid DLC. At least $150 worth. If you think you're in it for the long run, definitely buy the larger packs/collections on steam. Otherwise, I suggest you buy at least two characters: (~10 if you just purchase premium currency)
Kate Denson (Survivor) and The Artist (Killer)
(This was written as of Sep. 2024 and the character's perks could have been changed by now)
These characters have perks that I believe are essential for players just starting the game. The Artist's perks help slow down generator times for new players to be able to spend more time learning killer powers and Kate has a perk that allows you to see where pallets and windows are at all times, which really really helps you learn the lay of the land, literally.

Beyond spending money, I strongly suggest you play both sides, Killer and Survivor, as equally as you can. Playing one side really helps you learn how to play the other side more effectively. You will be directly hindering yourself by playing only one side.

The Player Base and Toxicity
Dead by Daylight is unique in the sense that it can feel far more personal than your standard symmetrical 4v4 type game. There is only one killer and four survivors. As survivor, you may often feel like the killer is going out of their way to bully just you. As killer, you may feel like a kicked puppy when you're being bullied by a full squad of highly skilled survivors that brought obnoxious perks specifically aimed at bullying the killer. My best piece of advice I can give you is to learn to not take any of it personally. I know that's a difficult task, one that took me about 900 hours to learn, but it DOES get easier as time goes on. Focus on learning the maps as survivor or enjoying using your power as killer and whatever happens happens. I promise not every game will feel like this and the developers constantly update the game with more ways to combat toxicity in game (even if they're not always on point). The more you focus on learning the game and just enjoying what you can do, the better you'll get at avoiding these situations and not getting mad when they do happen. If a game goes poorly, just move on and try not to type anything that shows them you're mad in the end game chat. Remember: Trolls thrive off of your anger. When you show them your anger, they get exactly what they want. Stay civil, don't waste your time on people who go out of their way to be mean, and move on. Life will be a lot better that way.

You may have heard that Dead by Daylight has one of the most toxic communities on the internet. In my 1k+ hours of playing this, I can safely tell you that this is far from the truth. Yes, what I mentioned in the above paragraph does happen, as is in all PVP games, but I promise it only usually happens in 2/10 games. You may have bad days but they will not be every day. Yes, this game absolutely has toxicity but so does literally every other PVP game on Earth, but there are far worse communities out there. Don't believe me? I played League of Legends for about 12 hours total and was called a racial slur by my own team.

Toxicity in DBD often depends on how you yourself play the game as well.

As killer, I strongly suggest playing as nice as you can. By this, I mean don't camp hooks, tunnel, etc. If you don't know what any of that means, you will, very soon. Don't do those things. Using these tactics to win a game early on directly impedes your learning of the game. If you're going to lose, just accept it with grace and move on. Survivors will T-Bag you at the exit gate 9/10 times you lose. You get used to it. Even survivors that are kind in the end game chat tend to do that, I swear it's more of an instinct than actual toxicity at this point. When you play nice, not only do you spend more time learning how to chase effectively, but you also give people less reason to be upset in the end game chat. When you eventually start winning most of your games without tunnelling or camping at all, people will have a hard time trash talking you even if they want to. If they do, anyway, you've got a lot of material to defend yourself with. Type ""ggwp all <3" in the chat to help alleviate anger. Give the last survivor the hatch if you think they did well. Be friendly from time to time. Using these tactics, most of my end games chats end up being positive and I even make new friends sometimes! Always be kind. You can obviously try to win, but at least be kind and fair in the process. Even when someone is cruel to you, be kind back. It makes a difference and, in this community, I promise it works more often than not.

As survivor, playing fairly is a little more simple. If you simply don't bring perks specifically designed to bully the killer, you'll probably annoy them less. Not saying you can't but I think it's fair for them to be at least a little annoyed if you do. Beyond that, just play as well as you can and move on once you're dead. Don't T-Bag at the gate if you can help it. Also, a fun little trick is something me and my friends call the "Friendship Tech." If you know you're absolutely going to lose and probably not going to find the hatch. Try walking up to the killer and dropping your held item in front of them. You'd be surprised at how often a killer will let you go for doing that. Don't expect it to happen until your matchmaking skill level gets a little higher. The enlightened killer is more likely to understand that getting three kills is already a win so they might as well be kind and let you go. Don't expect it,of course, but it's fun to try every once and a while.

Conclusion
In Conclusion, I ran out of characters lmao