What do you get when you cross Super Smash Bros. with I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream? The answer is Dead by Daylight, an asymmetrical horror game where 4 survivors attempt to escape a deadly game of cat and mouse against a killer. They do this by repairing generators which are needed to power up some gates that will allow them to leave the lethal playground, and then do it over and over again. For eternity. I think it’s a cool premise for a game, and while DbD is very gameplay-first due to being an online multiplayer game, the set dressing is a big part of why I love it. The dozens of original survivors and killers have interesting and diverse designs and backstories. With each character bringing additional perks and killer abilities to The Fog, there’s always something new to try and spice up your gameplay style. For example, on the killer side you have The Deathslinger, who brings a speargun to the fight, and The Blight, who speeds around the map bouncing himself off obstacles like a pinball. My survivor main, Ace, is a confident gambling addict who is always smiling, no matter the odds. Watch him get eviscerated at the end of a match and notice his smug grin still intact. Little touches like that add a lot of personality to the game. Combine that with licensed chapters spanning the vast history of horror media, and you have tons of cool characters to play around with. You have characters and maps from series such as Resident Evil, Halloween, Saw, Silent Hill, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Hellraiser, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead, Castlevania, Stranger Things, Ringu, Chucky and more all thrown together in one game, with more being added every year. They even have Ghostface’s “Wazzup” mask as a cosmetic. To me, there is nothing better than playing as or against Chucky/Tiffany, as they zoom around the map constantly screaming expletives at the survivors. It’s the perfect amount of humor for what is essentially a horror-themed party game. It’s also nice to see the studio keep their old creation Naughty Bear alive by letting the titular murderer find a home in The Fog as a legendary skin complete with unique voice lines and animations. My brother played those games a ton when they were new and even made it to high ranks on the leaderboards, so it’s neat to see good old Naughty Bear remembered. DbD is also big on community involvement, which I appreciate. Each year, members of the community get to submit and vote on cosmetic designs, with the winners being added to the game. They’re some of the coolest outfits in the game, and always a treat. Limited-time modes keep things fresh, with 2v8 in particular being my absolute favorite way to play the game. It’s a more casual and chaotic mode that never stops being fun. Beyond all that, the player base comes up with their own fun with stuff like friendly killers having the survivors play Red Light, Green Light or race each other to the exit gates. Negotiations between killers and survivors who really want to escape due to challenges or achievements can often be funny to participate in due to the extremely limited communication options in the game; you’ll end up with characters teabagging at each other or putting down their equipped items and just staring blankly. My absolute favorite moments in this game are these friendly interactions, especially when I get one of my favorite survivors asking me for a truce at the end of a game and I let them go.