Shouldn't this game be scary for survivors?
Let me begin by saying that I'm super new at this game (about a week), but so far, not only this game is not scary at all for me as a survivor, it seems that 90% of the time it isn't scary for the survivors when I am the killer.
I would love that the game felt like a horror survival rather than a chase and run game.
The killer part of the game is fine, kinda. Could improve, but it's fine. The survivor part, however, needs some kind of change. As I said, I'm pretty new to the game, so I'm not sure if I came with the wrong set of impressions and expectations for this game, or if it's really a problem other players experience. I just don't see it normal at all that survivors can just swarm around the killer, or teabagging in front of the killer, and so on. Thematically it makes 0 sense.
If I'm playing as a survivor, I want to feel scared that the killer is an actual threat, and that I have to run and hide well to survive. I've seen several videos on youtube of the game, and in most of them, if the youtubes is the survivor, they are just basically trolling the killer, and if they are the killer (and it's not a "cool" killing montage) the survivors are just moving around as if the killer wasn't even a danger. When I'm playing as the survivor things aren't too different. I have so much information about where the killer is most of the times that hiding becomes really easy, and even doing tasks like repairing a generator is just a matter of hitting the skill check in time while i keep my eye on the killer, which is not only not boring but also easy. Actually, in all my games as survivor, I've escaped unless I get hooked once, where I keep trying to escape from the hook to know if it's actually possible hhahaha (and even then there's a high chsnce of winning after that)
With this I don't want to try to make the game super easy for the killer and impossible for the survivor, since that would be very boring too, but I really would love a challenge and some tension when playing as a survivor. And I really would like that survivors felt scared when I play as a killer.
My sugestions for some changes:
First, and most important to me, is: Why does the killer have a 1st person POV and the survivors a 3rd person POV? That gives the survivors WAY too much information and it makes no sense. Either make both have 1stPOV or 3rdPOV, but having the mix to me makes no sense. Tbh I'd stick to 1stPOV for everyone. As a survivor, if I'm fixing a generator, I should have my camera locked on it, not all around me to try to spot the killer. That definitely undermines the tension and makes the game super easy as a survivor.
On that note, the view when you're in a locker should be partially covered, as you would see if you were in a locker. The Evil Within does this very well, you could check that out.
Disabling/Overcoming/Confronting the killers' abilities shouldn't be so easy for the survivors. I haven't played against a trapper, and I have only played with him twice (and just for a challenge). Both times I played it, the survivors had it so easy to disarm my traps. I wonder, is there a skill check to disarm or get your arm trapped if failing it? If not, it's just too easy. When playing as/against Pyramid Head, it makes absolutely no sense that walking over a trail gets you tormented, but crouching over it doesn't do it? It's just absurd and feels almost as an exploit. Dodging an axe from the huntress shouldn't be that easy (especially because the survivor shouldn't be able to see the killer if they are running away from them), and so on... I haven't played with/against them all, but if every killer's kit can so easily be countered, that erases any kind of tension...
Also, thematically, getting fully recovered after being hooked makes no sense. I mean, it's already almost impossible for a human being not to die with a hook though the chest. Transport that to the game. As the killer can have some of their perks turned off by cleansing totems, I would make that once a survivor gets hooked, one of their perks at random is disabled/turned off permanently for the rest fo the game. This would definitely make people scared of getting hooked. Right now it's like "meh" while you wiggle wiggle on your way to the hook...
With those changes, the survivor experience would be definitely improve for better. At least that's what I think. Leave your opinions in the comments.
Comments
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I mean, is anything scary after long enough exposure to it?
The game was scary for a few hours when I played it, but after you play against every killer, it just becomes not scary at all.
I remember my first time playing against Hag, I almost fell out of my chair while screaming at my friends who was that.
Also just to be clear, I'm just responding to the title and the first paragraph, I don't have time to read it all now, sorry.
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Take the horror movie that scaried you the most. Watch it 10 times? Does it still frighten you?
For the remainder. This is not a realistic game, nor it was ever meant to be.
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now take the scariest game you've played, play it a thousand times, and it's still scary... Maybe not as scary as the first time, but still...
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DBD is more... thrilling with a horror theme attached.
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How?
Unless you somehow missed a jumpscare or you're just scared of ambience, it shouldn't be scary.
You can be scared of ambience in dbd, because Ghost Face and Myers exist.
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It's more like the game's genre tag is off rather than the game being off. Which is, of course, somewhat disappointing if you have expectations based on a game description/category/genre tag.
DBD is a game of hide and seek and/or tag* and for the art/cosmetic design a Noir/Gothic theme was chosen - I wouldn't even call it a Horror-theme art/design/lore wise (with the exception of the horror game/movie franchises that are part of dbd). You got some jumpscares and there is some tension due to a certain level of uncertainty throughout a match - but that's not exclusive to the horror genre either.
*and the survivors usually get to choose if they want to play hide and seek or rather play tag; aka survivors going for stealth or chases
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I love how nobody seemed to read anything besides the title :/
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I have read all of your text.
Everything you suggest or hope for is impossible to implement in the current state of the game.
The easiest way would be to simply create a new similar game.
I see it like this:
All terrains are significantly darkened.
Survivors must seek resources in part to be able to craft items such as health kits, lamps, shields, (Dead Hard) energy drinks (Sprint Burst), a knife (DS) etc....
Repairing generators requires fetching gasoline, screws.
Opening an exit door requires batteries, etc.
The killer is dangerous, if we get hit and hooked it's over for us.
No one can save us.
Obviously, the survivors have several resources to delay or try to avoid their inevitable end.
All cards are halved.
there would be only one killer who can change weapons and appearance.
(Basically imagine having only one killer character, whose weapon you can change to suit what you want to play)
For the survivors it would be the same, we would have a single character whose appearance we could customize.
In fact it would even be nice to be able to choose the face, size and build you want.
That would still give an interest in survival.
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yeah, that'd be a completely different game. Even tho, the option to.have the terrain darkened shpuld also be implemented in DBD. So far the "black mist" does absolutely nothing, and when I can see the killer at the other side of the map, it's too easy.
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Yeah, first time I played I felt quite uneasy when checking the killers available, especially the spirit.
Now, not at all anymore.
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