This Dead by Daylight spin-off fits into the successful Supermassive formula
You might not realize it, thanks to all the crossovers with pop culture icons like Lara Croft, Nicolas Cage, Dracula, Simon Belmont, and even Five Nights at Freddy’s, but asymmetrical 4v1 horror game Dead in daylight has a lot of original lore. Developer Behaviour Interactive tried to expand on these stories, but the spin-off game The casting of Frank Stone from renowned horror studio Supermassive is probably their most ambitious attempt yet. I was able to play a preview chapter for the game, which gave me a glimpse into how Frank Steen will take place upon release.
The casting of Frank Stone is familiar territory for Supermassive, the developer of Until the dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology and The quarry. These titles focus on narrative experiences told through cinematics punctuated by player choices. A successful run might result in everyone surviving and a relatively happy ending, but certain choices — or failed quick-time events — can lead to murder and mayhem.
Interestingly enough, the quick-time events in Frank Steen have two sweet spots — a base success, and then a smaller window for a better outcome. I’m curious to see how this plays out in the full game; maybe all Dead in daylight Players who have experience in repairing generators will achieve better results.
The controls of The casting of Frank Stone differ from the Dark Pictures Anthology; instead of watching from locked camera angles that maneuver characters through each scene, the viewpoint is third-person, with the player controlling the camera. This makes exploring relatively easy. As with other Supermassive titles, I took my time digging into each scene, trying to find juicy secrets or hidden trinkets.
In the preview, I play as Sam, a police officer investigating the disappearance of a child in the small town of Cedar Hills. I enter a creepy steel mill and discover the stench of death. As expected, chaos ensues when Sam encounters Frank Stone. With a few quick decisions, I’m able to save the missing child and stop Frank—which seems like a happy ending, but then a mysterious woman named Augustine Lieber delivers a suspicious monologue about the Entity that made me think it wasn’t quite over yet.
According to the marketing materials, the rest of the game will focus on a few brave kids in the modern day. These kids decide to delve into the Frank Stone story and they discover a number of supernatural scares. I have faith that Supermassive can create a great understated story, but I’m curious to see how it fits into the larger lore of Dead in daylight.
We’ve seen many of the seeds that Behaviour has planted before about the Entity, its multiversal nature, and the way it can claim both Survivors and Killers in moments of great emotional intensity. The Entity can pull both predator and prey into a strange realm called the Fog, where they face endless trials. Addicted to youthe Dead in daylight dating sim, played with this concept but didn’t want to take any serious steps in the lore.
Will the Dead in daylight canon support a longer horror story? I hope Supermassive can get weird and push hard into the absurd and ambitious parts of the setting. I want the Fog and the Entity to enjoy their time in the spotlight; if the Dead in daylight If the lore is just a simple set-up for a more typical horror story, I’ll be disappointed.
The casting of Frank Stone will be released on September 3 for PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X.