Horror fans are likely aware of the popularity of Dead By Daylight. Behavior Interactive's asymmetric multiplayer horror game tasks four players as ordinary survivors with trying to escape an elaborate maze, all while a fifth player takes on the role of a ruthless killer trying to find and kill them one by one. It's an experience that has been getting steady support for years, including officially licensed crossover DLC with characters from iconic horror franchises like Scream, Saw, Nightmare on Elm Street, Silent Hill, and The Ring. There might even be a dating sim in the works based on the property. Now, Behavior Interactive that a Dead By Daylight board game will be coming soon to Kickstarter.
According to the official press release, the Dead By Daylight board game will be handled by tabletop publisher Level 99. Level 99 has a reputation of getting various video game licenses adapted into board games, including Mega Man, Dead Cells, and Shovel Knight. Overall, the central appeal of the board game is unchanged from the source material. It is still all about hide and seek horror experience that Behavior Interactive popularized with their game. Two to four players play as survivors attempting to repair a number of generators in order to open a door and escape the map while another player play as the killer trying to stop them.
The Dead By Daylight board game will be coming to Kickstarter March 29, 2022 and will have two different backer tiers. The first is the standard edition for $49.99. This version will include 6 Killers, 7 Survivors, and 2 Maps. This version will include the original cast of characters from the game such as the Trapper and Nurse killers. Next is the collector's edition, which will go for $99.99. This will contain 16 Killers, 17 Survivors, and 4 Maps. As the press release states, this edition of the game will inclu
de "he complete roster of characters up through the All-Kill DLC, which was released in March of 2021." That is a very broad definition and raises several questions regarding licensing and rights. In addition to the roster including horror icons like Pinhead and Freddy Kruegar, what about characters whom Behavior have allowed the rights to lapse? Will the Demogorgon from Stranger Things be represented for instance? Considering the thorny legal and rights issues surrounding these properties, it is likely they will be omitted.
Either way, the Dead By Daylight board game will include highly detailed game board pieces. These will include miniatures of the survivors and killers. The collector's edition will even include miniature hooks as well as miniature generators. As for how well the core experience has been translated, Dead By Daylight's director Mathieu Côté said the following. "Level 99 have managed to perfectly adapt the Dead by Daylight experience to a board game: the Killers VS Survivors asymmetrical gameplay, the unexpected surprises, the game loops, everything is there. And with almost all original characters present, all the different perks there’s a lot to discover and love in this. I’m definitely ordering my copy, and I recommend our fans do too!”
The Dead By Daylight board game's planned release date is Halloween 2022.