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Is this not a horror game?

I've only been playing for a couple of months, and I feel like the survival horror aspect of this game wears off too quickly. 
When survivors run around tea bagging and body blocking, timing hook rescues by managing who can take a hit, etc. it really takes the feeling of the horror genre away. It's just like any other PvP game, but with a reliance on atmosphere that fails when survivors aren't afraid of being hit.
And I've mostly been playing as survivor, so this isn't just a killer main whining about trolls. Though, when I do play killer, there are plenty of them...
I'd like to see the killer gain power over time. When the last generator is powered, I want staying to be a very bad idea. Running back to chain rescue a hooked survivor shouldn't be a reliable plan.
It's frustrating as a killer, because it's a cheese tactic that denies them points. And as a survivor, it takes away from the intensity.
I'm sure that there will be responses like "lol git gud" or "go play another game." Yeah, I'm a casual player, so I am less interested in strategy and mind games. I have tried SwF, and I prefer playing by myself because I feel more present in the setting. Until, of course, the gates open, and it becomes a silly game of trying to bait the killer and drag the game out. And before anyone brings up that I can leave if I want, I often do.
I dunno. Maybe this game isn't for me. When I first started playing, there was a real sense of "oh, this is actually intense and a little scary, even." Then I ranked up a little and everyone is just playing the meta game. And there are so many games that do PvP better. Why stick around for clunky mechanics and trolls?
Maybe I'm just musing out loud and no one cares. But I'm betting someone else is also a little disappointed when the veneer wears off.

Comments

  • feffrey
    feffrey Member Posts: 886
    how can the game be scary when killers refuse to do their job
  • ShrimpTwiggs
    ShrimpTwiggs Member Posts: 1,181

    The feeling of horror never sticks around long in video games. Once you see the same stuff for a while, the suspense wears off. It's true that the meta has been stale for a while and a lot of that has to do with many perks being overshadowed by a few. Why run Pharmacy when Self-Care is so much better? Why run Balanced Landing when both Lithe and Sprint Burst are less situational? Territorial Imperative is weak and I forget that Monstrous Shrine exists. I agree that the endgame is lackluster and the devs have mentioned that they're working on it. The game's been on a better track, so here's to hoping things keep improving.

  • Eight
    Eight Member Posts: 513

    It's not a horror game, no. It's a horror-themed game, which doesn't have the depth or mechanics (lack of variety in gameplay, for example*) to actually scare you past the first couple of matches.

    *And this is fine - it's a somewhat casual arcade game, and we like it that way.

  • Eight
    Eight Member Posts: 513
    edited October 2018

    @DeadByFlashlight said:
    I think you misunderstood the concept. Usually the victims would be scared of the slasher, but in Dbd it's the other way around and the killet is actually the pressured one

    That would make a great film... sort of. Poor Anna is orphaned as a young girl, forced to survive alone in the woods. Then one day, the famous Motown quartet, The Claudettes break down nearby and take refuge in Anna's house. Unwilling to put aside their prejudices, the evil Clauds hunt our bunny-faced hero and torture her with flashlights.

  • Milkymalk
    Milkymalk Member Posts: 221

    For it to be survival horror, it would neet two things: a) The odds have to be against you, and b) you can't know the exact game mechanics and have to face an unknown factor X.

    a) can't be done because the killer is also a player. The whole game balance would have to be reworked in order to make 4-kills the norm and surviving an outstanding accomplishment, while still rewarding good plays even if the survivor dies and rewarding the killer for something else than kills. This is not going to happen for a game with a 2-years-old community and so much DLC content.

    b) does wear off in any game if you play for long enough. The only unknown factor in DbD is which killer you face and which perks he plays. Freddy, Michael and Pig games feel a little more horror-ish because you can be in great danger without hearing a heartbeat, having to look around all the time. But other than that, not really.

    So, DbD is not more "Horror" than League of Legends is "Fantasy".

  • chococri
    chococri Member Posts: 355

    After 100h this game is not scary anymore. Still, Michael and the hag spooks me as much as they want xD

  • jiminie
    jiminie Member Posts: 200

    It's somewhat scary if you are new to the game, after a couple of hours the scare factor wears off, that's because you learn what you're supposed to do, learn how to get away from the killer and after couple more matches, you get what you have today

  • Seanzu
    Seanzu Member Posts: 7,526

    @chococri said:
    After 100h this game is not scary anymore. Still, Michael and the hag spooks me as much as they want xD

    There's time that you get jump scared - but it really annoys me when killers are like "Survivors should be scared". Well - after 2300 hours I've seen it all, from face camping to nurses hidden behind doors with insidious, nothing really worries me anymore.

  • The_Fallen_Utopia
    The_Fallen_Utopia Member Posts: 441
    Maybe the game would be scarier if survivors had to (and were able to) rely more on stealth instead of running around a piece of wood for the whole match.. perks that counter stealth would have to be changed though I think. 
  • chococri
    chococri Member Posts: 355

    @SenzuDuck said:

    @chococri said:
    After 100h this game is not scary anymore. Still, Michael and the hag spooks me as much as they want xD

    There's time that you get jump scared - but it really annoys me when killers are like "Survivors should be scared". Well - after 2300 hours I've seen it all, from face camping to nurses hidden behind doors with insidious, nothing really worries me anymore.

    I really regret to know the basics of the game after a week of playing it xD The 1st 50h this game was scary as #########. Now its stressful or annoying :_D

  • The most scary part of this game is when you're picking up a survivor and you hear grass rustling because you're about to get blinded. The rest of the game is eating pallets or running in circles.

  • Usernameforderek
    Usernameforderek Member Posts: 21
    Well, at least it's not just me.
    I feel like, as a survivor, the game shifts from boring to annoying, and as killer, it's pretty much only frustrating. 
    And that might be okay if it weren't for how few and far between the satisfying moments are. 
  • Rebel_Raven
    Rebel_Raven Member Posts: 1,775

    I feel like there might be more horror if the players, especially in an swf were under actual pressure.
    Tension helps create horror.

  • Kilmeran
    Kilmeran Member Posts: 3,142
    edited October 2018

    @Eight said:
    It's not a horror game, no. It's a horror-themed game, which doesn't have the depth or mechanics (lack of variety in gameplay, for example*) to actually scare you past the first couple of matches.

    *And this is fine - it's a somewhat casual arcade game, and we like it that way.

    It's not only that. Any "horror game" fails to maintain the horror aspect over extended times of repeated play. It's just the nature of us as humans and how we get desensitized to things. Horror games work damned well in the single-player format, but not if you play through them repeatedly. It's the same with horror films and horror novels. I say this as a fella who's been an author for over 25 years and writes some horror stuff. You can scare them the first time through, and there might be some scenes that continue to affect them on subsequent viewings or read-through, but over all the horror aspect of that product eventually wears off.

    I've done articles over the years on why people like to be scared, and a lot of it, from all research, comes down to the adrenaline rush that it causes. But after a while, watching the same horror film, reading the same horror book, or playing the same horror game, that rush and sense of fear diminishes.

    So, a horror game in the format of DBD was never going to maintain the horror feel over the long-term. It reaches the point of then becoming a competitive game of us vs them. Is that a bad thing? No. It's just the nature of the beast. You might get an adrenaline rush, but at that stage it's more in-line with the kind you get playing most PvP games.

  • Mister_xD
    Mister_xD Member Posts: 7,669

    oh, you didnt know? this is the looping simulator 2018 edition.
    the horror factor of this game died almost 2 years ago.

    they should just rework the description of the game accordingly...

  • Visionmaker
    Visionmaker Member Posts: 2,051

    @DeadByFlashlight said:
    I think you misunderstood the concept. Usually the victims would be scared of the slasher, but in Dbd it's the other way around and the killet is actually the pressured one

    Use No Mither.

  • Global
    Global Member Posts: 770

    First 20ish hours yes after that nah.

  • yeet
    yeet Member Posts: 1,832
    since survivors in reality hold all the power there's really no fear
    why would you be scared of something that is of no actual threat to you?
  • NMCKE
    NMCKE Member Posts: 8,243
    Call me a chicken, but this game is scary af! The Spirit gives me nightmares and the sound of chainsaw gives me a spine chill. I love Dead By Daylight. 
    Only hearing the Nurse blink is when I begin to get scared lol.
  • ThirdSealOPplzNerf
    ThirdSealOPplzNerf Member Posts: 360

    No it's not scary but if the game was balanced and killers were extremely dangerous to be near around and can destroy you if your alone that would be more tense there's more to lose you don't want to die if he finds you you die. The game would be more tense and scary with balance changes to make the killer powerful. Right now the game for survivors is like OH HEY KILLER COME CHASE ME AND WASTE YOUR TIME dies that sound like a horror game to you? No it doesn't. The game will never be scary if the devs let the survivor be so stupid strong. Exceptions are hillbilly and nurse.

  • George_Soros
    George_Soros Member Posts: 2,270

    The most scared I've ever been in this game was when three bald Dwights, wearing the same red T-shirt started to follow me, surrounded me, squatted next to me doing those spooky slow head movements, like some forbidden, evil ritual from ancient times.... I swear I heard them murmuring something that sounded like a wretched and perverse hymn from the depths: "ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn".
    Oh, you meant scared by killers? Nah, that's just not happening.

  • thesuicidefox
    thesuicidefox Member Posts: 8,223

    The novelty of horror wears off quickly. IDK if you've every watched Markiplier play FNAF, but he became immune to the jumpscares after a while and was clearly more frustrated he lost than scared (although I think he still acts scared for entertainment purposes, but it's obvious he's acting).

    Like I am finishing up Hollow Knight now, and there's one area called Deepnest that is basically just a giant spider nest. It's really creepy and freaky at first, but after playing through the area multiple times to get 100% I'm not even phased by it anymore. Though the sounds a few of the enemies makes still creeps me out (not even the spider ones, it's the flukey worm things in the waterway and the half-dead mummy bugs in the graveyard, they make this choking gurgling sound that's really gross).

  • xxaggieboyxx
    xxaggieboyxx Member Posts: 498
    Ebony Mori brings the horror aspect back into the game and makes people not be so cocky or bold
  • Plippy
    Plippy Member Posts: 187
    edited October 2018

    At first I thought this game was terrifying but like all scary things one you've seen it for a while it goes away.

    But the game still gets me sometimes, it depends on my mood.

    Except Huntress, she's just adorable. ^^

  • Boss
    Boss Member Posts: 13,616

    There's certainly some horror in the game that never gets not-scary.
    Like seeing a 4-man SWF group enter with only bloody Claudettes with Flashlights, with all their names saying: "DbD's Balanced".
    Scary stuff man...

  • DeadByFlashlight
    DeadByFlashlight Member Posts: 1,642

    @Nickenzie said:
    Khalednazari said:

    Call me a chicken, but this game is scary af! The Spirit gives me nightmares and the sound of chainsaw gives me a spine chill. I love Dead By Daylight. 

    Only hearing the Nurse blink is when I begin to get scared lol.

    True, the only other killer I am scared of is jumpscare myers :lol:

  • brokedownpalace
    brokedownpalace Member Posts: 8,804
    You watch a horror movie for 80 to 120 minutes. It takes a really good movie to keep you scared through out that time. You put hundreds to thousands of hours into DBD. You're not going to stay scared for long.
  • fcc2014
    fcc2014 Member Posts: 4,388

    You adapt to the game, new killers, and maps provide some jump scares. I kind of wish Tinkerer went back to the bugged version no terror radius after first generator. It makes Premonition and Alert more needed and would provide those moments.

  • Nikkiwhat
    Nikkiwhat Member Posts: 1,378
    I dunno, having a Pig or Michael appear outta nowhere can give ya a heart attack xD
  • Eveline
    Eveline Member Posts: 2,340
    I find the maps and overall atmosphere scary but the way people play the game feels too comedic sometimes.
  • Usernameforderek
    Usernameforderek Member Posts: 21
    I get that "scary" isn't sustainable, but that doesn't rule out tension and risk. Especially at the end, things should ramp up, instead of, say, survivors trolling around the exit gate. As killer, if I see that both exit gates are open and all the survivors are up, I'll go to the middle of the map and put the controller down. You'd be surprised how many will wait around  hoping to tea bag on the way out. 
    I'd like to see the exit gates on a timer. If you're not through in, say, ten seconds  you have to open them again.
    I'd like to see the killer get slightly faster movement and attacks as generators are completed.
    I'd like for survivors to be handicapped when going back for a rescue when the gens are complete  
    I want tension to increase over time, instead of the survivors becoming more comfortable as the game progresses. 
    And this is, again, coming from someone who plays more survivor than killer. 
    We can't maintain proper fear, sure, but we can make certain things bad ideas.
  • Justicar
    Justicar Member Posts: 319

    It's definitely a horror game. I'm always terrified whenever I'm playing Freddy.

  • Visionmaker
    Visionmaker Member Posts: 2,051
    edited October 2018

    @xxaggieboyxx said:
    Ebony Mori brings the horror aspect back into the game and makes people not be so cocky or bold

    Being Mori'd doesn't scare me.

    Hearing a terror radius get closer but not seeing who or where the killer is scares me.

  • xxaggieboyxx
    xxaggieboyxx Member Posts: 498

    @Visionmaker said:

    @xxaggieboyxx said:
    Ebony Mori brings the horror aspect back into the game and makes people not be so cocky or bold

    Being Mori'd doesn't scare me.

    Hearing a terror radius get closer but not seeing who or where the killer is scares me.

    i dont mean being mori'd being scary i mean if you go down its game over kind of scary. no more second or 3rd chances just dead and out of the game.