The multiplayer horror game Dead By Daylight is fast becoming the home of almost every significant fictional murderer in history. Already we’ve had the likes of Leatherface, Micheal Myers, Pyramid Head, and the lesser version of one Freddy Krueger. Not to mention a host of characters and locales from franchises such as Resident Evil, Saw, Evil Dead, and Stranger Things. No doubt by the time this game reaches its 20th anniversary, we’ll be at the stage where something as relatively niche as a Dr. Giggles or Demon Wind expansion will be announced.
But even with the recent announcement that Sadako from Ringu is crawling into our screens to join the Dead By Daylight killers club, there are still a few notable terrors out there who could yet join the roster. So I’ve come up with six suggestions for future Dead By Daylight additions based on horror franchises, and what killers, locales, and perhaps even survivors, they’d bring along.
Don’t let me have all the fun though, tell us what your dream Dead By Daylight crossover would be in the comments section below!
Child’s Play (Chucky)
Outside of Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees or Psycho’s Norman Bates, Chucky from Don Mancini’s Child’s Play is probably the last great slasher icon not already in Dead By Daylight, and for various reasons, the doll that holds the murderous essence of the criminal Charles Lee Ray feels like the best fit of the three.
For starters, his diminutive stature would bring fresh excitement to the hunt. Sure there are stealthy types already, but Chucky would be able to pounce on unsuspecting survivors from practically inches away before he was spotted. I also like to imagine him using his Good Guy doll voice as a decoy to panic survivors into making deadly mistakes.
Plus, wouldn’t it be awesome to have a stage set in the Good Guy factory? And why not have alternate skins that bring in Tiffany and Glenda as well?
Krampus
Part of me wanted to go for Trick R’ Treat’s Sam, but the more I thought about the Krampus from Mike Dougherty’s 2015 festive delight, the more it seemed like the smarter choice for Dead By Daylight.
Those chains of his would be a great multi-faceted weapon. Not only to help snare survivors himself, but perhaps send out his elves, gingerbread critters, and even that mesmerizingly horrific jack-in-the-box monster to do the dirty work for him.
The other upside of having Krampus? We could have a really wintry map that could end up being a Christmas favorite for DbD players. Perhaps throw in a Toni Collette survivor to sweeten the deal, no?
Candyman
Tony Todd’s hypnotic performance as the vengeful spirit, dripping in bees, is undoubtedly a big part of why this character is such an icon of horror, but so much of what Candyman could bring to the table in Dead By Daylight lies in what that character is capable of and the weapon he wields in that gnarly hook.
Imagine a swarm of bees alerting you to his presence just as you get close to fixing that last generator, hearing the buzz become almost deafening as he stealthily gets closer and closer. Before you know it, you can barely see through the swarm, and that’s when he strikes…
If the game could recreate that unnervingly casual manner Candyman has when it comes to murdering those foolish enough to utter his name five times and have it inform pursuits of survivors, he’d be genuinely terrifying to face.
The Blair Witch Project (The Blair Witch)
Dead By Daylight’s own original killer The Hag kind of does a Blair Witch thing, and I already have qualms about showing too much of the creature to begin with, but part of me entertains the idea of a Dead By Daylight killer that you rarely see, but continuously disorientates you, splitting the group with her power, and only ever being briefly glimpsed at the moment she gets you.
I even think it’d be cool if she made you drag yourself to the hook in a trance-like state. As for the source of her in-game power of influence and potential stopping point? Got to be those creepy little stick men she loves making, right?
As for a survivor to compliment the Blair Witch? Well, let’s give Heather another chance to get out of the woods.
Dracula (Count Dracula)
There’s an argument to be made for any of the classic monsters appearing in the game, but just think of the tricks the most famous vampire around could bring to Dead By Daylight! That mesmerizing stare, that ability to shapeshift into a wolf or a bat, and even the personal catharsis of effectively staking some humans for a change by dumping them onto the sacrificial hooks.
I’m sure The Entity wouldn’t mind if he took a little drink from his victims before hooking them too. Perhaps that might daze them enough to not fight as hard to get out of it?
Mostly though, I just want a Castle Dracula map and a Mina Harker survivor to go with it.
Carnage
Even a horror-laden game like Dead By Daylight can’t escape the hulking presence of a Marvel tie-in forever, and if you absolutely had to do it, then who better than a serial killer like Cletus Kasady and his symbiotic murder buddy Carnage?
Carnage’s ability to shapeshift would be great for toying with survivors, and the fact you would need to avoid its lethal blade and spike projections means it may already be too late to escape by the time you realised the person in front of you wasn’t who you thought they were.
There’d be some really cool alternate skins for Carnage as well, such as the recent movie version (portrayed by Woody Harrelson, and a boatload of CGI) and the pre-King in Black Absolute Carnage comic run.