Demogoron Rework idea

I love Stranger Things, and my favorite character from the series is the Demogorgon. I adored it in the show, and when I saw that it was in Dead by Daylight, I was upset that it was no longer available (I started playing around 2021–2022, if I remember correctly). Then it came back, so I bought it right away—but something about this killer has always bothered me: it feels outdated. Its power is interesting and fits the killer’s theme, but it’s not very strong, requires too much setup time, and doesn’t really match the Demogorgon from Stranger Things. Of course, it’s an older killer, so Behaviour didn’t have the resources to build a full Upside Down realm back then. But now that we’ve seen Springtrap’s portals and the Alien’s tunnels, and how much effort went into Dracula or Vecna, the Demogorgon feels a bit old-school—especially its portals, which have too many restrictions and aren’t as usable as they should be, even though they’re supposed to be the Demogorgon’s signature ability. And the Upside Down is just a short black-and-red vignette, whereas the Alien actually gets real tunnel geometry, and Springtrap gets full office portals.

So I thought about how to rework it, and here’s my idea. The goal is to keep its identity intact while making it more lore-accurate to Stranger Things and adding real, impactful mechanics that affect both the killer and survivors (which are my favorite types of changes since they shift the gameplay for both sides).

Here are my ideas:

(PS : I used ChatGPT to translate and reformulate this because I’m not fluent in English and wanted to be as clear and readable as possible.)

First of all, give it a real Upside Down.

• I was thinking of simply applying a sort of “filter” on the entire map, similar to Freddy’s dream world: a greenish-blue, misty tone—basically, the color palette of the Upside Down. I also considered adding a special skybox with red storms and swirling clouds, so it really looks like the Upside Down without creating a brand-new map—just an overlay.
• The match would occur partly in the real world and partly in the Upside Down. In the Upside Down, the Demogorgon could roam freely across the map while remaining “invisible” to survivors (since he’s in another dimension). Similarly, survivors would be invisible to him while they remain in the Upside Down. However, the Demogorgon could still detect survivors working on a generator because a yellow glow would appear around that generator whenever a survivor is interacting with it. That glow is a direct reference to how the Season 4 kids interact across dimensions using the toy from Mike’s little sister. Once he sees that glow, the Demogorgon can open a portal to the real world and chase them (of course, he can open portals at any time as long as he has portal charges or if the spot is valid—this is just an example of how the power works).
• Meanwhile, survivors—so they have at least some warning—can detect the Demogorgon whenever he’s near a generator in the Upside Down, because the generator will start flickering like Joyce’s Christmas lights in Season 1.

So far, the Upside Down and portal bits might not feel like a huge change to some, but that was only the beginning of the rework.

There was a kind of bug on the Demogorgon for a while that let it bring survivors with it into its portals. That bug was absurd and overpowered, but it gave me an idea.
What if the Demogorgon could take downed survivors into the Upside Down and hook them on “nests,” similar to how Will was captured in Season 1? Survivors could then use the Demogorgon’s portals to rescue their ally—just like Will’s mom at the end of Season 1.

• Survivors would be able to enter the Upside Down through any active portal to go save whoever is hooked on a nest. They’d have to attack (i.e., “damage”) the nest entity—just like Joyce smashed that spider creature—to free the hooked survivor. (Chat GPT got a little bit excited here idk why…)
• I also had the idea to add a new, exclusive survivor item for matches against the Demogorgon: the Walkie-Talkie. When activated, the Walkie-Talkie lets survivors detect any teammates also using their Walkie-Talkie via a beep sound and a small on-screen indicator pointing toward their direction. This encourages survivors to play more cohesively—so even in solo queue, players can regroup and save their friend Wil… the hooked survivor… (certainly Nicolas Cage).
• Of course, the Demogorgon in the Upside Down would get a vague notification whenever a Walkie-Talkie is used, because the Upside Down is strangely connected to electricity. The notification and sound he receives would be vague enough that he can’t locate survivors perfectly, but useful enough to make Walkie-Talkies feel meaningful. These cues only apply when he’s in the Upside Down.
• Additionally, if a survivor uses a Walkie-Talkie in the real world while the Demogorgon is waiting in the Upside Down nearby, that survivor’s Walkie-Talkie will start sparking and crackling, warning them of imminent danger.

To keep his detection idea on portals, I thought that when he holds down his special attack button, his detection radius wouldn’t just apply to the attackers in the real world but also to any of his nests in the Upside Down. Survivors in the Upside Down would glow if they step too close to a nest while he’s channeling. However, that might be unbalanced, so it could be dropped if necessary—just like all rework ideas, it’s up for debate.

I also considered drastically reducing the number of pallets or even some windows in the Upside Down so survivors can’t just loop endlessly against the killer in his own domain. The generators in the Upside Down would obviously be irreparable and have a dilapidated skin overgrown with those signature Upside Down vines.

I even thought about pre-spawning 2–3–4 portals on the map (or at least placing them so survivors can enter the Upside Down once a teammate is hooked without relying on the single portal the Demogorgon just opened). The aura of those portals would be revealed to survivors as soon as one of their allies is stuck in a nest, helping them navigate. We could decide whether to reveal all portals or only those within a certain radius of the hooked survivor.

His special attack remains unchanged, as does his undetectable status when exiting a portal. I don’t think he needs extra buffs while in the Upside Down—certainly not any new invisibility or stealth, or else he’d become “Freddy 2.”

Bonus Idea: Blood Tracking

The Demogorgon is a top predator that can smell blood across dimensions. I had the idea of giving him a sort of blood trail, like Warwick in LoL, leading him toward injured survivors. But I’m not sure how best to balance it:

• Should it only trigger on injured survivors in the Upside Down?
• What should the detection radius be—wide or narrow?
• Should he have access to this ability in both dimensions?
• Or maybe once he’s in the Upside Down, he can detect injured survivors anywhere—both in the Upside Down and in the real world?

I personally lean toward that last option, because it really fits the character and adds an element of surprise. But I’m not certain about the balance.

So that’s my Rework idea, which might be a bit complex to grasp but aims to give the true feeling of facing the Demogorgon from Stranger Things while preserving its core identity—so as not to alienate players who already main the killer.

Personally, my biggest concern is preventing camping on the nests, because the point isn’t to create a “Basement Bubba” scenario every game. The goal is for survivors to distract the killer by working together or to face him directly in the Upside Down so they can rescue their ally—not to feel like they’re fighting a stationary monster. I’m also unsure whether he should be allowed to hook multiple survivors on nests at once or only one at a time.

As I write this, I may have found a solution to camp: the entities in the Upside Down are linked, so when survivors damage a nest to free their teammate, we could apply a brief stun or slow on the Demogorgon—enough to let rescuers take risks. That justifies having fewer pallets and obstacles in the Upside Down. Obviously, we’d need to ensure he still can’t face-camp the nest.

So, that’s my rework idea. The goal is also to make the killer stronger, since his current tier rating is sadly low, largely due to his portal system.

I’d love to work in game design, and I’m totally open to any feedback—positive or negative.

Thanks for reading.

(If anyone want me to send them the text i writed to chat gpt i will send it to you. The only issue is that it's in french.)