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Remember when DBD was a horror game?

I remember when this game was a horror game, not saying it was scary but it had atmosphere. The maps were darker and had a grittier look and feel to them. The idea that the killer was Michael at the beginning of the match put the fear of the entity into you. You could bring the moon bouquets to make it even darker (plz bring those back bhvr). Nowadays the maps are super bright, on account of the sun being out ( In a game called dead boy daylight... questionable) at least make a nighttime variant. Plus when did the rain become so quiet in the red forest? I suppose my point isn't solely that it isn't a horror game anymore but also that they took out some nice small details. (However on a side note the load in noise for the coldwind farm is really cool.

Comments

  • ThiccBudhha
    ThiccBudhha Member Posts: 6,987

    That was all before my time, but I am still quite scared from time to time in game. Maybe I am just a sweet innocent flower who takes it too seriously. Because when I am in challenge mode, let's be real, ain't nobody got time to be scared.

  • Trex_Crazy
    Trex_Crazy Member Posts: 209

    Different people experience horror games differently, I'm not saying it isn't scary at times I just find it lacking in oomph when it comes to atmosphere.

  • Man_of_triangles
    Man_of_triangles Member Posts: 302

    I vaguely remember it trying to be a horror game in its first year. Emphasis on trying, as the game's balance decided otherwise.

  • Akumakaji
    Akumakaji Member Posts: 5,449

    Yes indeed. You are special and you are precious. Happy Valentinesday <3

  • UntilValhalla13
    UntilValhalla13 Member Posts: 184

    I've always wondered why they never removed the terror radius and red stain. That seems counterintuitive to have those. It kinda kills off any horror vibe if you can hear the killer coming, as opposed to them just popping out from around a corner.

  • Heartbound
    Heartbound Member Posts: 3,255

    I rember.

  • ShinobuSK
    ShinobuSK Member Posts: 5,279

    I dont remember that, but I also only play for 2 years

  • WesCravenFan
    WesCravenFan Member Posts: 2,638

    I miss the fog. A lot.

  • Pulsar
    Pulsar Member Posts: 20,783

    I first played right before Clown.

    It was spookier for sure, but not something I'd call horror.


    I do miss the old atmosphere though. Maybe it's nostalgia but, idk, it feels meh today.

  • GoodBoyKaru
    GoodBoyKaru Member Posts: 22,801

    I was playing for Old Freddy/Pig release and it was either a lot more horror feeling or it's because I was brand new to the game.

    But looking back, the atmosphere was absolutely better. It looked and felt like a horror game even if I wasn't being actively spooked. Now it feels... Like it's got horror aesthetics, but it doesn't feel like an actual horror game.

  • Pulsar
    Pulsar Member Posts: 20,783

    Yeah, I agree with that.

    It feels like it has the skin of a horror game, but the framework has shifted.

  • Midori_21
    Midori_21 Member Posts: 724

    I wouldn't call a DBD horror game in the sense that it's supposed to scare you. It's a multiplayer action survival game, the horror aspects are just a skin.

  • Superyoshiegg
    Superyoshiegg Member Posts: 1,489

    I feel like that's to an extent simply because of nostalgia. We don't feel the same feelings of unease and spookiness because we've been with the game for years and know about everything it has to offer.

    A new player today would probably feel very similarly to how we first felt years ago, in terms of the game feeling like a horror title.

  • Smoe
    Smoe Member Posts: 2,903

    As someone who has pre ordered the game but only got into it right before huntress was released, I will grant that the moon offerings did give the matches a variant of different type of atmosphere. With that said however, i sometimes thought it could get too dark sometimes to see anything on the maps plus darkest moon offering helped hiding darken bear traps, so that could be annoying when that happened.

    Also I never found the old base atmosphere of the maps to be that great, mainly I found the tint to be unappealing to look at, especially on autohaven, Springwood and macmillan. So I'm perfectly fine with a shift away from the old atmosphere and look in exchanged for what we have now.

    The only thing I do miss is the old father campbell's church map, I liked the brightly colored light from clown's area and the color tone inside the church itself.

  • Fobbo
    Fobbo Member Posts: 452

    Yeah i was always terrified when it was a billy

  • Aven_Fallen
    Aven_Fallen Member Posts: 16,257

    Yes, the really old maps had a way better feeling. They looked better and had more atmosphäre.

    However, I dont think that Moon Offerings should make a comeback. Moon Offerings meant that Developers had to keep different lightnings in mind all the time. E.g. they were not able to make a really dark map, because an Offering for darkest moonlight might make it too dark. Same the other way around.

    However, the current maps are more bright than Maps back in the day with brightest Moonlight:

    Looking at the picture with the Full Moon Bouquet, this is way darker than current Maps. And this was brightest moonlight back then...

    A few years ago I was already joking that it feels more like "Dead in Daylight" and not like "Dead by Daylight", because the Maps are so bright. Then they released Dead Dawg Saloon, which is really bright. Coldwind, which is in Daylight... And the newest Map is also super-bright.

    I would really enjoy having more dark Maps, however, the Devs are against it for some reason.

  • Aurelle
    Aurelle Member Posts: 3,611

    I remember the fog used to be really thick and spooky. That combined with the dark maps made the game creepy.

    Now the fog is literally non-existent and the maps are super bright. This game is just a shell of it's former self.

  • Trex_Crazy
    Trex_Crazy Member Posts: 209

    I loved the tinted color palettes they were my favorite thing about the maps, rip blue macmillan.

  • AngyKiller
    AngyKiller Member Posts: 1,838

    It was a horror game before Survivors got 500 second-chance perks to delay the sting of death & Killers were nerfed to make Survivor players happy (And thus spending more on cosmetics).

  • Trex_Crazy
    Trex_Crazy Member Posts: 209

    It's kind of why I miss blendettes, I liked the hide and seek of it. (Plus it made matches easier because they never did gens)

  • Trex_Crazy
    Trex_Crazy Member Posts: 209

    I hate how bright it is. I actually have a few bouquets on some characters still, they arey most prized possession.

  • Smoe
    Smoe Member Posts: 2,903

    I never liked it, althou it wasn't as bad as springwood's tint.

  • Hermit
    Hermit Member Posts: 396

    Remember when the old Dev team said: We will never make a clown killer!

    Remember when the old Dev team rejected OhTofu's streamer cosmetic because it was "too funny" - look at the cosmetics we have today.

  • Mr_K
    Mr_K Member Posts: 9,222

    Dec 2016, I don't remember it being a horror game. I thought this was a loop sim.

  • Science_Guy
    Science_Guy Member Posts: 2,029

    This is true. The game absolutely had a better horror atmosphere in its earlier days, but it was never really a horror game in the same sense.

  • Marc_123
    Marc_123 Member Posts: 3,615

    Also before my time, sadly.

    I hope the next maps are a bit darker/moodier again.

    The only thing left that brings real fear into survivors eyes are a T3 Myers behind you or a bubba carrying you to the basement :-)

  • Trex_Crazy
    Trex_Crazy Member Posts: 209

    Hag or trapper taking you to the basement, there is no escape.

  • LiunUK
    LiunUK Member Posts: 944

    I have been playing the game since beta and have seen it all,

    you have to understand that everyone has a different sense for what is horror and repeated exposure will desensitise you to it when I first started playing dbd I would literally crouch walk to the edge of the map whenever I herd the terror radius but as I played more and more I realised that the killers weren't that scary and the maps where super survivor sided with all the infinite windows making it even harder to take the killers seriously.

    that being said even to this day anytime I'm on a gen and I look around only to see Myers standing behind me scares the ######### out of me.

    though I agree that some of the map reworks have taken out the flavour they once had but that's nostalgia talking because I like the Coldwind farm reworks because I have nostalgia for the Texas chainsaw mascara but I'm also not to keen on the rework at the same time because I am nostalgic for the pre-reworked maps.

    getting old sucks the fun out of everything.

  • Marc_123
    Marc_123 Member Posts: 3,615

    Yeah, not bad but not quite on bubba level.

    Hag can have a problem without insta down. Trapper if he trapped all doors and the window.

  • Marc_123
    Marc_123 Member Posts: 3,615

    Myers staring at you is still cool, yes.

    And getting gen grabbed by Ghostface made me still jump sometimes.

  • Advorsus
    Advorsus Member Posts: 1,033

    I have to agree. I think Friday the 13th actually captured the horror aesthetic a lot better, and it looked better to me. Even after hundreds of hours, it still felt like I was playing a horror game and not just an action party game with a horror themed skin.

  • Trex_Crazy
    Trex_Crazy Member Posts: 209

    I think that the worst for me is playing against double speed add on pwyf blight with undetectable to just turn the camera and have not time to react to the bullet train headed your way lol.

  • Pukenplag
    Pukenplag Member Posts: 1,454

    Since I know this game since May 2016 and started playing on 25th of December 2016, I DEFINETLY remember those times and miss them. The graphics where far more... Chalky I guess you could say? The game was darker (they lightened it up on the patch wich first changed DS and added firecrackers and gen breaking) and the fog was thicker and whiter. There also were not so many skins and not so many characters. I really do miss those times man... I remember how fun it was versing nurse since she couldn't blink down to shorten the blink. Every time I played against one I would never be caught because running into her made her always overblink.

    Oh the nostalgia...

  • Vampwire
    Vampwire Member Posts: 709

    The game is more of an action horror game. Depending on how you play it. Those kind of games stop being scary after so long. Play any modern resident evil game and it's the exact same effect. Spooky at first but once you learn to defend yourself you start having more fun doing that and it loses its fear factor.

  • Trex_Crazy
    Trex_Crazy Member Posts: 209

    I have to disagree, not with your overall point I think it holds some weight but with resident evil being scary at all. Those games had a nice atmosphere but I never thought they were scary. The scariest thing was getting poisoned lol.

  • Drawnyell
    Drawnyell Member Posts: 25

    as survivor i'm still kinda scared sometimes

    ooh boy when it's a Myers the game just becomes so scary

    especially when it's a darker map

    with Myers there's nothing you can do if you see him looking at you, you gotta hide!

    with Ghostface you can try to reveal him and stuff

    but Myers? and if he has those crazy addons the game just becomes 10x scarier

    i remember one match i was playing as Dwight and had just found out you can try to counter that one red addon Myers has by going into lockers

    i noticed Myers killed someone and it wasn't a MORI, and btw i had met him earlier but i spotted him and ran away and hid

    when i realised he could kill us as soon as he stalked us it really became a hide and seek game

    i was very scared and when i knew he was about to kill me i would jump into a locker so i wouldn't die

    i was the last one alive and Myers knew i was being able to avoid being instakilled so he let me live :') that was one of the scariest games i've ever had and it was so much fun

    i dunno if it would be fun if that kind of thing just happend all the time but that one time it was pretty fun

    but yeah a lot of the time the game isn't exactly super scary... but it can be scary a lot of the other times too

    oh and when you're new the game is SUPER scary

    VERY VERY scary

    but you know it doesn't help that the first thing people tell you(even killer mains) when you start playing the game is "don't be scared of the killer" :/ people just tell you to not be scared and just play the game, so i think the players themselves also made that happen along with the devs i dunno

  • fulltonon
    fulltonon Member Posts: 5,762
    edited February 2022

    I mean this game is always a horror game for killers, the feeling of gen pops, palette assassins and bright flashers...

  • Sepex
    Sepex Member Posts: 1,451

    I play DBD on high graphics and it still looks somewhat graphically horror themed.

    Considering the vast majority of players play the game on the lowest or stretched settings for a visual advantage while undoubtedly looks terrible...

  • ReikoMori
    ReikoMori Member Posts: 3,333

    2016-Early 2017 DBD it had all this atmosphere along with all the performance issues that came with it.