After thirteen years in The Dark Place, author Alan Wake is uniquely suited to terrifying challenges. That makes the inclusion of this Remedy Connected Universe hero in the ever-expanding Dead by Daylight roster a no-brainer.
Alan will be coming to Dead by Daylight as a survivor in the Chapter 30.5 update on January 30. His perks boost the power of flashlights, create more frequent skill checks, and reveal chests and generators. In a recent roundtable attended by The Best War Games, developers from both Alan Wake 2 and Dead by Daylight discussed the crossover and how it felt particularly natural given that both games are, as DBD brand manager Michelle Reade pointed out, celebrations of the horror genre. But the similarities between the titles run even deeper.
The Future Looks Bright for the Remedy Connected Universe
Remedy Entertainment has officially announced Control 2, and together with Alan Wake 2, it should greatly expand the Remedy Connected Universe.
Alan Wake 2 game director Kyle Rowley explained how natural the fit is, given the background Alan has by the time of the most recent title in the Remedy Connected Universe. Alan has, after all, spent more than a decade surviving, and that experience transfers to Dead by Daylight.
He’s been trapped in the Dark Place for thirteen years. He’s been trying to survive for thirteen years, trying to figure out ways to overcome these horrible entities that are coming after him. I think as a survivor for thirteen years, moving into a survivor for DBD is a perfect fit … He’s probably one of the most experienced survivors in your roster after all he’s been through.
Of course, Alan is surviving a familiar experience. Both games share some of the same horror DNA, pulling heavily from cosmic and supernatural horror elements to create their world. Psychological elements and the questioning of what is real and what isn’t permeate into both games as well, though form a foundational role in Alan Wake 2. The themes of light and darkness also are core to both games, making Alan’s flashlight a powerful symbol uniting both games.
Those thematic parallels extend to the horrifying realms of both games, with Remedy’s Dark Place and DBD’s Entity Realm both providing looping nightmares for those trapped within them.
Rowley explained that the Dark Place creates nightmares based on the people present within it, while DBD’s senior creative director Dave Richard explained their game’s Entity Realm works similarly, using artists as conduits to the multiverse to create nightmares for the survivors to endure. In both, art and media are used to create horror. And that parallel, Richard explained, opens up interesting questions.
Seeing that Alan has this conjuration power out of his writing made it a chicken-and-egg problem. It was very handy for us for the integration. What’s happening here? Is it Alan Wake writing the reality of the entity? Is it the entity’s realm that’s poking a hole into the Dark Place and getting Alan Wake? What’s actually happening is out for theory. Fans can decide what’s actually happening.
That, too, suits Alan Wake. Theories from the Remedy fan community abound and are particularly fascinating to Rowley. According to Rowley, Remedy games aren’t exactly narrative-driven, but rather mystery-driven. The entire franchise aims to pose questions and uncertainties to players, who then attempt to stitch together information to seek a deeper understanding of the world. The way the realms of both Dead by Daylight and Alan Wake are open to interpretation is another key synergy between the games. That sentiment is also a key part of Dead by Daylight’s approach to narrative design, Richard explained.
Gameplay-wise, Richard dove into Alan’s Dead by Daylight skillset. His perk, Champion of Light, will give him boosted movement speed while shining his iconic flashlight. The flashlight can also slow down Dead by Daylight’s killers, making his flashlight a beacon that changes tides of speed in the Entity Realm. Tying into Alan’s work as a writer, Deadline will activate when he’s injured to increase the frequency of skill checks while healing or repairing generators.
That’s the cool thing about integrating Alan in DBD. It’s such a perfect fit. Every time we go through the process of creating perks for characters, we identify their core pillars, what type of abilities they usually have in their own media, and how it can translate into gameplay elements in Dead by Daylight. I think Alan has been one of the smoothest experiences in creating the perks because of what Alan’s been living, his skillset, and what happens in DBD.
Alan’s challenges will be somewhat familiar as well. Not only are the Dark Place and Entity Realm similar in nature, but so are the threats they pose to their survivors, with artistic creations being brought into the nightmare world to torment survivors again and again. Of course, Alan fits in well with his other survivors for the same reason. Many of Dead by Daylight's survivors are of an artistic mindset, Richard explained, making sure he fits in perfectly from a gameplay and narrative design standpoint.
Players of Dead By Daylight will be able to test Alan’s flashlight against its horrific killers when Chapter 30.5: Alan Wake releases January 30.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 70 /100 Critics Rec: 47%
- Released
- June 14, 2016
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Behaviour Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Behaviour Interactive
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
WHERE TO PLAY
Ever wished to play as one of the characters from your favorite horror movies? Dead by Daylight is a 1v4 multiplayer game that draws from all corners of the horror world from a powerful slasher to a terrifying paranormal entity.
Choose between playing an unstoppable Killer and one of 4 Survivors trying to evade a gruesome death. Each character has their own deep progression system and plenty of unlockables that can be customized to fit your personal strategy. Work together to escape, or stalk and sacrifice every Survivor.
This Edition of Dead by Daylight gives you access to a roster of 7 Killers (The Trapper, The Hillbilly, The Wraith, The Nurse, The Hag, The Huntress and The Doctor) and 9 Survivors (Meg Thomas, Claudette Morel, Jake Park, Dwight Fairfield, Ace Visconti, Nea Karlsson, Bill Overbeck, Feng Min and David King). It also includes two cosmetic add-ons packed with outfits for various characters.
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia, Switch, Mobile
- Genre(s)
- Horror, Survival
