Dbd isn't scary anymore :(
I'm not gonna ######### on the devs and tell them that their game is terrible, but the game itself just doesn't feel like a horror game anymore. The maps are too bright, and they care more about competitiveness instead of actual scare factor. Make the maps darker, add some fog, add creepy sfx, add more blood/gore, anything to make the game scarier and not just sweaty and competitive.
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It's not possible that a game which repeats itself over and over again stays scary. You get used to it, even its really gruesome. Thats why it's not that realistic. It would dull you and I don't think thats good for mental health.
Devs said something similar in a stream.
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And the sad part is, it hasn't been for quite some time.
Like, it is obvious that after some time the game won't be scary as it was when you started playing, but there is a difference between having a creepy and eerie aesthetic and not having it at all.
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exactly, like sure killers such as ghostface and hag still give you a jump from time to time. But that's not my point, if you watch any old dbd gameplay video you can tell that the devs actually put effort into making the environment of the game sinister. But now we have bright maps with little to no fog, as well as no creepy sound effects (which can make a game 50x scarier).
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I get what you mean, but like GeneralV said, the old eerie aesthetic from 2016-2018 is pretty much gone. If you compare the maps from back then, they have made them so much brighter and took away a lot of the realistic sound effects that made the game the least bit of creepy. Adding realistic lighting, or even making it harder to see, can go a long way.
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Sometimes I get those occasional jump scares from stealth killers but you’re right. The game isn’t horror anymore but that’s ok.
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I can agree when it comes to some map reworks.
But like others pointed out, scary factor wears off after some time especially in a game like this that is not that rich in atmosphere and "content" to begin with.
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The players make it sweaty and competitive more so than the devs do. It's a consequence of stale hyper optimized gameplay with a pretty low skill floor and ceiling.
Also the game is been out for 5 years. Anything that was scary has been seen a million times over by now. Myers used to be terrifying for me till about year 3 and then I'd played so much of him and against him that it just turned into a flowchart of breaking line of sight, sneaking to gens, ????, profit.
You also have to consider that alot of the sinister atmosphere you miss was more a product of the previous game engine and graphics being in general worse. The new engine and graphical overhauls to maps have made them even better at conveying dark intense spooky areas, but it's also made things have better lighting. Except RPD which needs to pay it's electric bill. Some of that map is so dark you can't see yourself, the survivors, scratch marks, the hook, a blendette having a smoke next to the hook. So the more progress made combined with the gameplay loop not changing means scary's off the table most of the time.
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I agree completely. It is something that, if I am not mistaken, I've mentioned on other threads.
Current maps are very bad when it comes to this department, especially Coldwind Farm. Honestly, 2016/2017 maps were the best ones ever and it is sad to see their current state.
As for creepy sound effects, there used to be one which I really enjoyed. I don't know its name, but you used to hear it when inside of an Exit Gate and randomly during the trial.
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The occasional jumpscares are the only scary thing in Dbd. The game used to be scary when you started playing but there really isn't anything to fear or be afraid of anymore.
Seems like the horror parts became less important.
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Idk my adrenaline spikes Everytime I get caught by an invisible edge
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It can't be, fear comes from the unknown and once you know something it doesn't scare you. That's not to say that "horror" isn't a great theme, though.
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At first we were scared of killers
Then we troll them
Later we love them
Who doesnt love this?
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Yeah I'd have to agree. This stopped being a horror game a long time ago. 😕
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One of the countless reasons why I absolutely despise this killer.
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Right?! What about this screams horror? 🤨
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My immersion screams in horror every time it sees this poor excuse of a character.
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Playing any horror game it loses all is fear factor after playing it enough. My first several DBD games I remember playing it was really scary then after a month just wasn't scary at all any more.
Not just DBD many other horror franchise have the same problem Dead Space probably best example first game was terrifying cause it was new. Second game also great, but a little predictable. Third game really notice it being more action than horror since since everyone knows what to expect so can't get that same fear factor first 2 had.
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God Dead Space really takes me back. I remember I was doing impossible mode, being super careful about everything. Then you notice that the necromorphs ONLY travel through vents... and uh.. you just run in and out of the room and shoot them in the back.
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Don't even remind me of its existence.
Like I said after some time the game won't be scary as it was when you started playing, but there is a very clear difference between having a creepy and eerie aesthetic and not having it at all.
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Was it ever scary tho?
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Its still scary when grinding for perks in bloodweb and being ######### by RNG hard. Scariest ######### ever imo
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First run of Dead Space? Literally screaming running to the elevator and needing to catch my breath irl, somehow.
Second play through? Treat the Necromorph like a DBD killer and bag in front of it.
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You can make maps for atmospheric. But it's a pvp game, the scare factor wears off inevitably.
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Damn I wanted to bring the same example XD
I for example am a big scaredy cat and normally don't like horror but i loved the atmosphere from the first two dead space games (never played the third after seeing part of a let's play and it seems like having devolved into a pure third person shooter).
But after playing it for the umpteenth time even that lost its thrill. I still enjoy the atmosphere but damn if it isn't really scary anymore (maybe the return to the ship in the second game still XD).
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Yeah... With cosmetics like bunnies and killers like Trickster lol its hard to feel the horror element consistently but thats alright.
Im content with the occasional jumpscares from stealth killers and stuff like a Bubba with tinkerer, theyre always fun haha
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DBD was never scary to begin with as it is not a horror game. It has always been a horror themed party game.
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Was never scary. Honestly the only people who thought it was a true HORROR game were the people at low ranks starting out in the game.
Its not like Outlast or Visage, etc. Its a multiplayer game and although you can be caught off guard (like a Myers seeing you through walls and surprising you), its not the same.
It fits the genre of horror in a way, but it is not a truly scary game like others. But I don't expect that from multiplayer games either. The 'scare' factor goes down big time in them. To be honest, I got more of those vibes playing Friday the 13th than I do Dbd. Everyone's different but yea, this game is ...just not scary.
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It's kinda funny cause people told BHVR that horror games weren't a good market
So BHVR did a big brain play and made a horror game that isn't really a horror game
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I think this is not true at a general level.
Horror comes from your immersion into the game. You can play Outlast as a running game or Silent Hill as a speed run and it will loose all of its feeling. Same for DbD: If you play it to bully a Killer or something like that, it will loose its horror feeling.
Bright maps are not the problem. Bright places can be scary too as they appeal to a different kind of horror. For me those maps, especialy Tompson House and Raccoon City are a huge step up in the horror aspect. Just using darkness and fog is lazy horror the same kind they do in movies where everything is a jump scare.
Darkness has its place but just because it is bright does not mean it is less scary. Most of it comes from immersion.
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its def scary when you play as killer in red ranks. I get very anxious and scared when im waiting in the lobby as killer.
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The true horror comes from picking open handed, bond and kindred as a solo survivor and observing the behavior of your "team"
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That's because you figured out the mechanics.
That's how almost every horror game works. RE2make is a perfect example. Once you figure out the ins and outs of optimising ammo use and dodging zombies it becomes less of a horror game and more of an obstacle course.
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If it comes from your immersion, the game could at least provide you the resources. And currently, it doesn't do that anymore.
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If your not really tryna survive than its not scary but if you actually care about the games your in you'll certain feel tension if not full out scariedness. I played this game for 3 years and still get jumpscared by Myers, Ghostface, Pig and in rarer cases Tinkerer, Trail Of Torment and Insidious users
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you can’t be scary if you know the killer is probably under the hooked surv. And that’s happens too often
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It's not going to stay scary forever. You will eventually get used to any "scary" element they could put in the game.
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I think that is a very personal matter.
For me and my friends the game does retain its horror feeling. However we do not play it "to win". Sure we play to escape but we also play it for the immersion.
And yet people complain about Huntress, Deathslinger and Trickster who do just that. Its kinda funny.
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Many of the reworked maps are already really dark. The problem are ppl playing on 'low' settings and/or using filters. When you hit xxx hours, it's not a horror game anymore, it's just about the chase or beeing chased. I think everyone who played it for a long time misses when we played super immersive.
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Dbd is a great horror game for the first week, maybe two and then it loses all horror aspect and becomes a great manhunt game, you just can't interact with a horror element over and over again without it becoming normalized. Alien 1 and Alien 2 were both amazing movies and that's kinda how I view both sides of Dbd.
Ps. Xenomorph killer when
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That's true, new reworked maps ######### sucks, they don't help with the horror atmosphere
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Do you know why this game stopped being scary? Let's turn to the description of the game. "The procedural levels and real human reactions to pure horror makes each game session an unexpected scenario. You will never be able to tell how it’s going to turn out. Ambience, music, and chilling environments combine into a terrifying experience."
Terrifying experience, huh? What is in reality? In every second match, now survivor is a clown with behavior of an idiot-suicide. Who does everything to show "hey, look how much I'm not afraid of you." Hide from killer? What for? If game balance allows you to run in front of his eyes entire match from the very start and remain alive at the same time for at least most of the match. Game does not encourage cautious behavior. A huge number of second chances provoke impudent behavior from very beginning of match. Many of the experienced killers still can punish for this, but very fact that a huge number of survivors behave this way shows that killer is not perceived by them as a threat. This behavior goes unpunished. Otherwise, if players died quickly in such matches, they would not behave like that. This means that many killers cannot even instill in them a sense of fear of in-game death in a match.
When I played this game two years ago, there was much less such behavior. Because the killer could take mori. Because the Ruin could stand for a long time and it was not known how quickly gens would be done. This means that early meeting to killer could mean quick death. As a consequence, many more survivors were cautious at least in the first half of the match.
Remember your feelings when Myers moves towards you with a tombstone. Would you like to show yourself in front of him one more time? And compare when you knock 10 pallets on Pig's head, knowing that your SWF will do all the gens in 5 minutes. And then you will be saved with BT. And if you screw up, you have DS. And DH. And Unbreakable. And Soul Guard. Etc. Are you going to have a sense of danger and fear with all of these things? Not. It will be just an easy walk.
This game is too easy overall for any survivor who has more than 100-300 hours and understands what needs to be done in it to win. And survivor is too difficult to kill in it. Therefore, they do not even feel a sense of gaming danger. And when they rarely finally do meet an experienced killer who does not forgive them a single mistake and kills them, they ... They just go to complain. On his perks, on his playstyle, and on the fact that he's too OP. Long time ago, in this game side that afraid is killers, not survivors.
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The only thing scary about this game is when the "devs" we will call them. Create an update because it about to be hell.
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It's a horror comedy
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I don't think DbD was ever meant to be "scary"? I mean it's just a "hide and seek" game with a horror theme.
The only thing i don't like is the lack of respect or fear for a killer, so most people rather finish that one gen right in the killers face because Gens > Hooks. But honestly i don't think there is a way to fix that without changing the identity of the game.
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i mean, go play any horror game for like 2.000 hours and i guarantee you it wont be able to scare you anymore either.
we are usually scared of the unknown, so once that factor is ruled out there isnt a whole lot left to scare us anymore, which is exactly why DbD cant maintain the scare factor it had on us when we never heard of it before and just played it for the first time.
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*squints while playing on the RPD map because its so damn dark*
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It never was scary past the first 10 games tho.
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A couple of years ago, gens finish in face of killer less often. Genrush not was so simple.
You can be afraid of at least in-game death, that the match will be over for you. This can make at least behave more adequately and realistically in game. It could also have been provided by more amount of visual emotion of fear among survivors. Like rapid and intermittent breathing, thrill, crying, screams of horror. But devs may simply be afraid to give the game a too realistic touch.
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I give it a year before they have to change the rating down to Teen from MA to accompany the campiness of the game.
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I hope you didn't just jinx it...
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