Looking back on the realm beyond and DBD's new aesthetic
I am going to just say it. The realm beyond was... beyond disappointing and completely unnecessary. This is just going to be me rambling a bit. I just wanted to share my thoughts on the current aesthetic of dbd.
Yes, it is pretty cool to see old maps update and given fresh graphics. Yes, it was cool to hear that we would be receiving a full on visual rework of older maps. What was promised to come into the game sounded great.
However,
looking at what we have gotten so far it has been pretty disappointing. All we have gotten are performance issues (especially for our non-pc folks), even worse maps (rip old father's chapel), and on top of it all the game has somehow LOST aesthetic. And I think this also partly has to do with the fact that we no longer have the ability to customize maps via offerings.
Remember back in the old days of dbd? Remember when fog offerings could be stacked and were actually pretty cool to use? Remember back when you could use those moonlight offerings to change up the way the maps looked? That was cool, that was great. I saw offerings as a way to modify the maps' aesthetic. I already thought the game was cool, but it became even better when I realized I could modify the map to make it spookier. Now it is just... plain. Lifeless.
At first the map reworks weren't really a requested change, but seemed to be acceptable. When we first saw what new badham was going to look like, it was exciting. Seeing macmillian all decked out in cooler lighting was also cool. But I honestly feel like BHVR downgraded the graphics when they pushed out these updates.
I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like old DBD had better graphics; that they were more fitting to the environment and the characters. The new animations are also kind of lame as well. Before the survivors would look around timidly and actually you know... look scared. Now they look like meercats and silly. Pretty disappointing.
The real kicker is that I don't remember a single person ever asking for graphics to be updated. Maybe a few textures here and there, but a whole rework for maps and new redesigns? Pft. We got slightly better looking maps at the cost of frame rates and skewed map balance.
I honestly am starting to see why many people miss old DBD. New DBD is... eh. With old DBD it actually felt like dead by daylight, the horror game. I know that BHVR has sort of moved away from the total "horror game where killer brutalizes their prey" kind of vibe, but that does not mean it should be almost completely abandoned. It should still be more focused on.
Everything about old DBD FELT like a horror game. The movements of the survivors, chases, the killers, the maps, the lighting, the fog even. Chases now are just holding W. Holding W doesn't even allow you to interact with the killer all that much. You might as well be playing a different game entirely. Chases back in the day were hardcore; a little survivor sided but still. Playing against billy was fun and risky. It was constant thinking of reading the other players, not constantly putting things between each other.
This is why I have sort of drifted away from Oni to Blight. He gives me back that old feeling. Hell I don't even play him with addons, but that is enough for me. Blight is constantly in the survivors' faces, which I find to be very interactable and amazingly fun as both killer and survivor.
I miss running for my LIFE in this game. For the first time ever I am actually slightly bored of the game. I will still be playing it, but it is just not as fun as it was. The portrait of a murder is the first chapter I have felt zero excitement for, and that honestly makes me a little sad.
And BHVR's misguided and frankly terrible actions lately have also not been helping. They nerfed Wraith, MY BOY DUDE, MY BOY. And why did they nerf him? Because he was a wee bit op.
Anyways I am tired. Sorry for the poor messy writing, I had a long day and am very tired. I miss old dbd's aesthetic, the game will continue to not be fun until bhvr does something right, we can no longer modify maps through offerings, and the new graphics don't fit. That is all.
Comments
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I completely understand what you mean about the graphical updates. I'm usually on my switch playing the game and it's literally just a freezing mess over there. (Hey devs remember when you pushed back a patch for performance on switch? Well that was 1 step forward 40 steps back now)
When I joined, back in 2019, dbd had already started it's drift away from horror slasher survivor run for your life. I have to say I am disappointed with many things that have happened since then including the graphical update. Great it looks pretty, but it's unplayable on console and balanced towards 1 side.
The game still has it's moments and that's what keeps me coming back (that and the rift), but other than that, dbd has lost it's edge and what really made it fun. I wish I was a new player again thinking dbd was so cool and omg look at this game I can't believe it.
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Survivor is a fun chill game with friends. Killer is a super sweaty solo game. I think thats how its meant to be
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I miss old DBD and it’s not like I was around for as long as most people on here.
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I feel you but dbd needs updates to keep being interesting. I personally am very excited for the new haddonfield for example.
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Honestly miss it so much too.
At this point I wanna say the devs are wrong in calling the graphics outdated. It was just dbd's art style and now its dwindling.
Not to mention there's been several minor steps back, fog is great example, pallets look awful with the newest skin and not to mention old dbd had THREE different pallet styles. We now have one.
Spirit, had so many graphics removed, such as her sword shattering when hitting an object, or glass following her trail.
Moonlight removal felt lazy to me.
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Okay but have any of the reworked maps actually gotten better?
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,,Little survivor sided" yeah like the actual infinites,or vacuums,or making the map so dark you couldn't see the survivors at all,or no exhaustion.
Very hardcore indeed
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McMillan lost it's uniqueness factor. It now looks like Badham with decayed buildings. I hate it.
Azarov has lighting, contrast and shadows completely ######### up.
Coldwind got a survivor buff lmao.
Crotus Pren lost all its ominous feel and now resembles a bombed out citadel for a WWII shooter game.
Don't even let me start on the character facial reworks.
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I would’ve been okay with the graphical downgrade if the maps played better but they are somehow worse. They literally added more pallets to the map which main complaint was too many pallets
Also I might be alone on this but I prefer most the old faces especially Quentin’s. It had way more personality than his current one and he lost the best prestige headpiece in the game
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DBD peaked in 2018 RIP.
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Can I just say I'm very glad they gave up the idea of making multiple version of the same map for licensed content? Ever since that change Badham has been far and above my least favourite realm, because not only is it just 4 extremely strong buildings joined to each other by pallets, but I never know where anything is on either side because there's 5 maps that all look the same.
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Ngl, the only thing that I think was a net improvement was when they changed Survivor animations. The old animations were laughably bad and I'm so happy the Devs changed them. But yeah the map reworks, by and large, were awful.
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I personally love the updated maps. I'm excited for the Haddonfield and swamp updates!
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I agree, I miss the old foggy look to dbd. It was honestly so unnerving seeing a Michael partially covered by fog stalking you from a distance. Now I feel like mist offerings barley make a difference. I'm pretty sure if everyone brings a mist offering it only covers your feet now.
I always use this video as an example.
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The performance of the game has taken a serious dip for me since the Artist came out. I don't know what they did but I get constant freezes throughout my matches now which last up to 3 seconds which can be absolutely fatal for gameplay. It's truly gamebreaking.
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Since the release of Tech-wear and Neon clothes and Edgy skins, it feels "isolated" from the game.
The whole "we need to have skins for everyone" reminds me of this meme with battlefield or COD where they added the tag-line "most realistic shooter" and then had Fortnite skins.
I know, DBD isn't realistic or isn't even trying to be (just look at the Mori's (and I know they tone the brutality down for reasons)) but a certain "feel" or "aesthetic" to a game are super important.
When I see modded games like Half-Life 2 and they added Bikini models or "sexy", "cool" stuff it just doesn't fit.
I think it was very dominant with the trickster chapter, where it had this whole K-pop neon scenery. And again, I know why they did it... it just feels "wrong".
Graphic wise the game is OK-ish. If you had some neater Textures, maybe more scenic lighting (the old carnival comes to mind) it already would look better.
The best-looking map is the RPD, and that's because it's basically "ripped" from another game that had the whole intention of it being scenic. Most maps have a cool-looking main building and the rest is "eh" at best.
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I'm not a fan of maps in the daylight and some of the crazy bright cosmetics do ruin the immersion.
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its the maps for me, I miss the old "eerie feeling" idk, all of them keep getting brighter and brighter. Call me nostalgic- but I do miss the old movement as well AND what are those character portraits/ changes? And I am experience freezes as well in my games🤔 genuinely makes me sad how many people are retiring the game everyday.
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I’m still hoping BHVR will one day give us rare offerings in the bloodweb that bring us back to the old maps.
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Im ok with the new realm art, except Auto heaven, the light contrast is too high it hurts eyes.
What I complain about the new realm is they slowly remove every possible places to hide bear traps.
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I definitely like the look of the new maps better than the old maps, they’re much more polished looking. Unless the theme I was after is “blurrier looking” I would never want the old maps back.
For reference, here’s a side by side comparison montage
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Honestly trickster could have worked better than he did. He just didn't get his own map which made him feel very out of place for people. He would be more accepted if he actually had a neon city at night type of map. Some areas being lit up and some areas being dark. It's sad really.
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What does „better“ mean?
If you’re talking about design then yes, they are looking better now imo.
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if they make haddonfield even worse for killer i swear to god....pls PLS no more God loops(breakable walls)😄
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Modern DBD feels stale and lifeless to me. Another reason why i barely play anymore is because i miss the old animations and the atmosphere of the maps. They could have simply updated the models of the old maps a bit but they decided to change their look completely.
BHVR has this annoying habit of changings things that don't really need changing.
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I'm gonna be the voice of dissent and say that the visuals of DBD are much better than they were previously. That said, it was not worth the loss of performance (ESPECIALLY on console), and some maps now are worse to play on than before.
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So you know how I feel, Yords.
You know.
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Miss old character models too.
BHVR could have done some tweaks to make similar to old models but.. hopeless.
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I also used to main old Freddy, so I feel ya. Others may not, but I do.
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Then know you are not alone, my friend :)
I will succeed in getting him back, or die trying.
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Ormond.
Which sounds nice until you realize it's the only one that both changed in any meaningful way and became more balanced. You'd think balance would be a key aspect of updating old maps, but they've all been graphical updates and breakable walls for the most part.
Mainly, with the Realm Beyond, I dislike how the game is getting so bright and clear. We're getting broad daylight visibility in a game that used to be all about darkness and fog. I don't like this shift in aesthetic design and don't think it fits.
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Nostalgia is a strong thing, and it certainly stands to reason that you can enjoy something more because of nostalgia. Hell, I love some pretty objectively terrible N64 platformers because I grew up with them lol. But personal nostalgia doesn't mean that the quality of something was better. The game is objectively
Don't get me wrong, I love the feel of the old graphics as well. And I do sometimes wish they'd implement a "retro" (lol it's only been 5 years) mode so people could alternate. But the nature of life is change, and all we can do is adapt with it or abandon it. And personally, I find it strange for someone to abandon a game they proclaim to love for something surface-level like graphics.
Leaving due to new gameplay mechanics? Sure. Tedious/repetitive matches? Definitely. Graphics? Not my place to judge, of course, but that seems very superficial.
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Yeah, the birghtness kills the spookiness. I hope the next maps are creepy again.
And i would love more fog.
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I like the new upgraded graphics much better.
The old ones were not as polished and you can tell some of the textures look very amateurish in comparison.
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I'm really glad so many people agree that the old maps looked better. While the new maps do look better graphically speaking, they completely lost the horror film aesthetic that the game had in the old days. Maps look so generic and soulless nowadays. DBD's new art style is really boring. I miss the old art style that was inspired by slasher films and actually had an eerie atmosphere to it. I miss being able to see the moon shining through trees in old MacMillan, I miss the sound of the howling winds in Coldwind. Old DBD is what got me interested in slasher films, and it's just so disappointing to see the game stray away from that direction nowadays for this generic "realistic" art style, but at the same time throwing in neon, cartoony cosmetic for characters.
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There were so many great things about old dbd - survivor animations (+being able to nod while crouching and running), old billy, old coldwind, autohaven, crotus prenn asylum, survivor models (although some I see as improvements), no RPD map or trickster..
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true😪
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This topic should get pinned for more insight. Shame.
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I remember the ol' infinite days...
Technically we still got acouple infinites that's still just as bad..
Gotta remember the old Autohavens.. the darkness with the moonlight offerings.. mm...
Miss those days.. they were alot better than what we currently got imho,
That and old billy... I STILL WANT HIM BACK DAMN IT
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