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Defining the Unknown

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VolantConch1719
VolantConch1719 Member Posts: 1,149
in Lore

The newest freak of nature to join the DBD roster is the Unknown. Basically everyone I’ve shown this thing to has asked the same question: WHAT IN THE HELL IS THIS THING? I mean, they’ve also asked where I get these things, why is it on my phone, and if I am okay, but those aren’t important. So, I’m here to do the impossible… I’m going to define the Unknown. Since it really doesn’t show up in its OWN LORE, we have to examine the four theories presented by our POV character, Olivia, as well as the add-ons. But first, there is a pretty popular theory I’ve seen floating around (even among my own group that plays) that, honestly, kind of annoys me.

Theory 1: Alternate universe Dwight/Monster wearing a Dwight skinsuit

Evidence: 

  • It looks like Dwight… vaguely…

Yeah, I don’t see it. Maybe if I squint at its hair, but that’s a stretch. Everyone points to its clothes, but the clothes the Unknown wears are completely different. Dwight wears a formal white shirt and dark brown, nearly black pants. The Unknown, on the other hand, wears an old-fashioned sky blue shirt with dark cyan pants. And based on its brief appearances in the teasers, it seems to have worn those clothes even in the real world, before EVER ENCOUNTERING DWIGHT. And EVEN THE HAIR, the ONE thing that I can actually see a resemblance in, is off. Not only does its silhouette in the Blurry Photo show it with the same hair, Dwight’s hair is black. While the Unknown’s portrait shows it with black hair, it’s actually a very dark brown in game. And it’s not like portrait hair is consistent with how characters actually are anyway, just look at Meg. Her original portrait had her blonde for the longest time, even though she was a redhead and then brunette.

I would love to be wrong on this, since a Killer wearing a Survivor as a skinsuit is cool, but too much evidence goes against it as of the PTB. So for now, this theory is debunked.

Theory 2: Serial killer

Evidence: 

  • It uses an axe, a very serial killer-y weapon
  • The Killer Mask add-on

While the Killer Mask is very weird to see, the fact the Unknown is very clearly NOT human kind of puts a dent in this one as well. Perhaps the mask is a trophy it kept from an actual serial killer it encountered while on the prowl (since, based on the Victim’s Map and Slashed Backpack, it seems to collect trophies), but it doesn’t seem like this theory works either.

Theory 3: Evil entity summoned by an ancient cult

Evidence: 

  • It’s described as an evil so powerful that investigating it and trying to describe it leads to death.
  • The earliest disappearance attributed to it was a séance from the 1800s, long before ANY of the other theories presented were really possible
  • It’s attacks in Greenville always seem linked to fog
  • It seemed to materialize in Olivia’s bathroom as a result of her hubris in drawing it

We’ve got some good substance with this one. The only “evidence” that I can really discount is the fog, since the only disappearances credited to that (namely Mikaela, Sable and the teen brothers Elias and Elan) were actually the Entity, not the Unknown. And the Unknown would be taken by this same fog when it went to kill Olivia. However, there are really no add-ons that reference this theory, and the 1800s séance could be attributed to other things as well. Really, the strongest evidence is the materialization and it being so evil that describing it kills you… so why am I doing this?

Theory 4: An alien that escaped Area 51

Evidence: 

  • It’s appearance and power are clearly alien in nature
  • The Device of Undisclosed Origin questions whether it was made on Earth

While there is admittedly not much evidence to work with here, I do think the evidence is stronger with this one than with Theory 3. It’s hard to call a venomous throat grenade launcher anything other than alien, the strange tentacles are clearly alien, and of course the device. There is one more theory the lore presents, but this one seems fairly solid.

Theory 5: Failed government experiment

Evidence: 

  • Project Apple Pie gets more focus than any other theory
  • The power description calls it Unknown Venom X and there are two quotes from the OSS; the text of its power, and the flavor text of its perk “Undone”
  • Multiple add-ons (Iridescent OSS Report, Obscure Game Cartridge, Serum Vial) all point to government experimentation

Wow. That’s actually a lot to work with. The fact that Apple Pie gets an entire paragraph to itself particularly stands out to me. Every other theory gets maybe two passing mentions (the serial killer only gets ONE mention), but not the one about government experiments. Then the very fact that its power, UVX, directly stands for the codename given to it by the OSS. The evidence for this one seems the strongest out of all of them. And then there’s one more thing. One piece of evidence I kept to myself, because it requires a bit of explaining.

When A Nightmare on Elm Street came out, BHVR used the folder name of “England” to hold all of the information for the chapter. Obviously a reference to Robert Englund, but it was a theme they followed with Saw (“Finland”) and Curtain Call (“Guam”). Once they reached to end of the alphabet for countries (Descend Beyond was given “Yemen”, and I believe the following archive was given “Zambia”), they started using space-themed names (starting with “Aurora” for A Binding of Kin and ending with “Zodiac” for Alan Wake).

Since they clearly ran out of the alphabet again, they need to start over at “A” again. And what is the codename given to the folders that contain the Unknown? “Applepie”. While all the other codes are just fun names, this one is simply too intertwined with the lore of its killer to be such a coincidence.

So is that it? Definitive proof that the Unknown is a failed government experiment? Well… no. The government experiment angle doesn’t explain the 1800s séance or the Device of Undisclosed Origin. Everything else fits, except for these two. And that’s when it dawned on me. The chapter’s name is All Things Wicked. At first glance, this seems like a reference to Sable’s radio show, All Things Wicked This Night. But that can’t be it. All of the chapter names relate more to the Killer than the Survivor they came with.

The Last Breath - Nurse uses the dying breath of one of the asylum wardens and important patients.

Of Flesh and Mud - Hag’s Phantasms are made from, well, flesh and mud.

Spark of Madness - Do I need to explain this one?

A Lullaby for the Dark - Huntress’s lullaby (and yes, I’m going through each one to prove a point).

Curtain Call - A very circusy thing to say.

Shattered Bloodline - Referencing the broken bloodline of the Yamaoka clan.

Darkness Among Us - A reference to the evil of the Legion being able to hide in plain sight

Demise of the Faithful - Plague’s faith led to her ultimate downfall.

Cursed Legacy - Dives further into the tainted legacy of the Yamaoka clan.

Chains of Hate - Deathslinger is driven almost entirely by hate and vengeance.

Descend Beyond - References Blight’s descent into madness.

A Binding of Kin - Very clear reference to Charlotte & Victor’s situation.

All-Kill - A play on the term used when a song tops all of the Korean charts.

Portrait of a Murder - Artist being an artist, people being murdered, and a group of crows being called a Murder.

Roots of Dread - The Dredge formed from the dark thoughts rooted in a small community.

Forged in Fog - Knight’s weapon and armor had to be forged.

Tools of Torment - References how Skull Merchant hunts with her tools (like drones).

End Transmission - Just very futuristic in general, fitting to the Killer furthest in the future. And you could even stretch it to how Singularity’s Slipstream transmits from one Survivor to another.

Other than All-Kill and End Transmission (which can work for both), all of the chapters refer to the Killer. So why is this one different? And that’s when it dawned on me. It’s not. This is what the Unknown is. It’s ALL things wicked. The séance from the 1800s? It used the Device of Undisclosed Origin to summon a horrific entity that, from an outsider’s perspective, would clearly look like some type of alien. Somehow, the government got a hold of it and began experimenting on it, possibly in Area 51, before it ultimately broke free and began a serial killer-like rampage throughout the country, especially near Greenville. Even the Survivor skinsuit theory works with this.

Is it a cheap, cop-out answer? Yes. But it seems to be the most correct answer. It’s not ONE thing. It’s EVERYTHING.

Of course, there’s always the chance that the next Tome, with its completely borked numbering system that they’ve decided to follow for the past year (which believe me, I have some… choice words to say about), will prove me wrong, but I don’t expect it to. In fact, I expect the lore to say nothing about it, because saying anything will make the Unknown… the complete opposite of everything it stands for. It is meant to be the unseen monster that’s out there, but we know nothing and can do nothing about it. And honestly… that’s what makes it oddly compelling to me. A creature that, by its very nature, can NEVER be described or else it falls apart. Even HAVING it in the game risks ruining the mystique, but somehow, it mostly worked.

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