Summary
Dead by Daylighthas staked its claim as one of the staple horror games of the current generation, but that couldn’t stop its planned spin-off from ending up on the cutting room floor. AlthoughDead by Daylightremains a popular title among many horror fans, the attempted departure from its asymmetrical formula will never be seen.
Back in May, during the game’s anniversary stream, a spin-off titled Project T was announced to the community. The game was teased as a PvE game that would be a bold step away from what madeDead by Daylightsuch a success. It can be exciting for franchises to forego their usual approach, but Project T was apparently an unsatisfactory attempt. After receiving feedback from playtesters and performing an internal risk assessment, Behaviour Interactive ultimately came tothe difficult decision to cancel Project T. Now that the masses will never see what Project T had in store, theDead by Daylightfranchise has a gaping hole that will hopefully be filled sooner than later.
Branching Out From Asymmetrical Multiplayer
Eight years after its launch,Dead by Daylighthas been the top dog of asymmetrical horror titles.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,Friday the 13th: The Game, andEvil Dead: The Gamehave all tried to recapture the success thatDead by Daylighthas had, but none have been able to properly compete. With its blend of original lore and crossovers with pop culture heavy-hitters,Dead by Daylighthas carved out a special place for itself in horror gaming.
However, there is plenty of potential forDead by Daylightto branch out into other types of games. A recent spin-off,The Casting of Frank Stone, is a perfect example of this. As a collaboration with Supermassive Games,The Casting of Frank Stoneshowcases theDead by Daylightuniversein a completely new light, something Project T could have done. The biggest loss of this cancelation is that there is now no PvE in sight forDead By Daylight. Much of the game was kept under wraps, but Project T was a compelling concept. The co-op shooter aimed to pit characters against monsters known as The Thrall. They were teased to come in many shapes and forms, leaving any potential character designs and horrors now forever a mystery.
Project T was set in the Entity’s realm in a place called the Backwater.
When it comes toDead by Daylight, the game can really excel at horrifying character design.The Unknown is one of the game’s most recent original killers, and it’s a disturbing, contorted sight. Placing players in a PvE co-op game where each unique form of The Thrall is more terrifying than the next is a missed opportunity. Asymmetrical can be scary enough, but the beauty of PvE gameplay is that it’s not as easy to predict the moves of an enemy. Over time, players can figure out what the player taking on the role of Killer might do next, but PvE makes everything more tense, and that would only benefitDead by Daylight.
It’s clear that Behaviour Interactive is wanting to expand the lore ofDead by Daylightin fresh ways.The Casting of Frank Stonemay have received mixed reception, but it was an interesting attempt at telling a new story within the canon, even if Behaviour Interactive didn’t outright handle its development.Dead by Daylightcommands the co-op horror space, but being able to do so with PvE gameplay is likely to be even more appealing.
With each new update andcrossover featured inDead by Daylight, the game will continue to grow, but getting to see Behaviour interactive do something non-asymmetrical would be great. Until an official PvE mode hopefully comes toDead by Daylight, Project T will sadly live on as an example of what could have been.
