After years of fan requests, the popular survival horror gameDead by Daylightwill finally crossover with one of horror’s most popular comic and television show franchises:The Walking Dead. Initially teased on July 7th with an image ofThe Walking Dead’s iconic “Don’t Open, Dead Inside” hospital doors,Dead by Daylight’s Behaviour Interactive released an official trailer for theirWalking Deadcrossover a day after. Filmed in the style ofThe Walking Dead’s iconic intros of its early seasons, the trailer teased several aspects of the newDead by Daylight: The Walking Deadcrossover which is currently available in the Player Test Build but won’t officially debut till Tuesday, July 29th.
InDead by Daylight: The Walking Dead’s official trailer, a newspaper clipping of popularWalking Deadprotagonists Rick Grimes and Michonneis shown similar to the newspaper headline detailing Rick’s shooting at the beginning ofThe Walking Deadseason 1. Later on, a punched-out, shattered photo frame of Daryl Dixon is shown akin to the shattered frame of fellow police officer turned rival to Rick, Shane Walsh. These three are the onlyWalking Deadcharacters depicted in the trailer, with Rick and Michonne slated to be two brand-new playable survivors, while Daryl is only going to be portrayed through a Legendary Outfit, not a full-blown survivor himself.
Shortly after the trailer’s debut, Behaviour Interactive released a brief update detailing Rick and Michonne’s new perks and brief character bios for players unfamiliar withthe nearly 15-year-oldWalking Deadshow. Rick features three new perks: Apocalyptic Ingenuity, Come and Get Me!, and Teamwork: Toughen Up. Apocalyptic Ingenuity will allow players to craft a Fragile Pallet from a Broken Pallet after rummaging through chests. Come and Get Me! will cause players to make a loud, distracting scream after unhooking a fellow survivor. This will briefly reveal their Aura to the Killer and allow other injured survivors to make silent escapes. Teamwork: Toughen Up is a cooperative-focused perk that will reduce players’ Grunts of Pain, Scratch Marks, and Pools of Blood after another nearby Survivor stuns the Killer.
WhileDead by Daylight’s Michonnewon’t appear with her iconic katana sword, she will appear in Trials with three new perks similar and supportive to Rick’s, including Conviction, Last Stand, and Teamwork: Throw Down. Conviction will allow players to immediately recover from the Downed State after previously healing a fellow survivor. After spending a brief period of time near the Killer, Michonne could use Last Stand to stun the Killer after performing a fast vault, but this perk can only be used once per match. Finally, Teamwork: Throw Down will cause nearby survivors to briefly gain Endurance after having previously stunned or blinded the Killer.
Dead by Daylight: The Walking Deadis currently playable in the Player Test Build, but only Rick is playable in the PTB.Michonne’s survivor perksare usable in the PTB, but not her full character.
Most ofDead by Daylight: The Walking Dead’s confirmed details only pertain to the gameplay of Rick and Michonne, but the crossover’s marketing suggests thatDead by DaylightandWalking Deadfans may be getting more features in the upcoming update. The crossover’s official trailer, while filmed similarly toThe Walking Dead’s early intros, is seemingly made entirely withDead by Daylight’s assets, as some of the game’s Lockers, Generators, Hooks, Bear Traps, and Pallets can be seen in the trailer. This suggests thatDead by Daylight’sWalking DeadChaptermay debut with aWalking Deadmap based on some of the show’s most iconic locations.
WhileThe Walking Deadshow has featured several locations from all over the United States’ eastern coast,Dead by Daylight’sWalking Deadcrossover appears to be taking influence from the show’s Georgia-based scenery seen in seasons 1-4 rather than the more Virginia-based scenery of later seasons. For example, the trailer features the Greene family farm and the West Georgia Correctional Facility, which were the primary settings ofThe Walking Deadseasons 2-4. Some parts of the trailer even appear to depict season 1’s Harrison Memorial Hospital and parts of the highway seen in season 2. These recreations likely don’t indicate several distinct maps but rather a nightmarish map merging many ofThe Walking Dead’s most iconic settings.
