What is the most disappointing licensed killer for you?

Oh, I know he's got a canon reason to be weak— But why does he have to be lame, too, you know? No necromancy, no cool illusions, no cool shady evil magic? Nothin'?

The killers that have a kind of "skin" for the teleportation between points a to b come across as boring and unimaginative to me but at the same time it's what ideas are able to fit in the game so I can't call it disappointment because what our version of perfection is is often unachievable, which is a bummer but sometimes things by change line up like a masterstroke.

The teleportation skin thing, I mean when demo, xeno and animatronic do when they enter something to them come out across the map. It feels like the ideas that would have been more exciting had to shrink down to something new but the same.

Now with killers like the grudge killer, her video tape and TV teleportation just is something pulled off really well in comparison, it's unique, it fits perfectly and it doesn't come across as creative ideas were made to shrink what the current development can allow.

I was super glad to see Xeno in dbd, the map is bleh, the Ellen Ripley is bleh and the xeno seems more like one from colonial marines where it's not a menacing scheming threat imo granted I haven't played as them but I've watched maybe 20 matches of xeno played so my take might not be 100% accurate, it's the vibe I get and overall Alien is a very flat imo. Still grateful that they're in the game though, some welcome variety.

I think part of the disconnect comes from what you expect Alien to be.
Also, slight correction: Sadako is from The Ring, not The Grudge.

As for the "teleportation skin" argument, I don't really agree. Demo, Xeno and Springtrap all move from point A to point B, but the gameplay surrounding that movement is completely different.

Demo chooses where to place portals. Xeno uses an underground network to gather information and intercept survivors. Springtrap moves through the Backstage while remaining unseen. If we reduce all of them to "they go from A to B", then Sadako also falls into the same category.
The difference is what happens around the movement.

As for Alien, I think BHVR's design makes much more sense when viewed through the lens of Alien: Isolation rather than the movies alone.
Motion Trackers, Flamethrowers, vents, information gathering, survivors setting up defenses, sudden emergence... that's basically the entire chapter.

You can absolutely find it flat or not scary enough, that's subjective. But I don't think BHVR was trying to recreate the movie experience 1:1. I think they were trying to recreate Isolation within the constraints of Dead by Daylight.
Whether they succeeded is up for debate, but personally I think it's one of their most faithful adaptations.

I also think part of Xeno's reputation comes from the turrets.

They ask both sides to engage with a unique system.
Most killers in DbD are ultimately trying to hit you faster, better or from a different angle. Xenomorph asks survivors to set up defenses, manage resources and think about map control. That's a very different dynamic.

Interestingly, some of the most unique killers in the game tend to have lower pick rates despite being perfectly viable. Pinhead, Twins, Hag, Sadako and Dredge have all experienced this at various points.
I don't think that's because they're weak. I think it's because unique mechanics often demand more adaptation from both sides.
Whether someone enjoys that or not is another discussion entirely.

That's fair.

I think the main difference is that I don't really view Xeno's tunnels as a teleport.

When I play Demo, I'm usually thinking about mobility.

When I play Xeno, I'm thinking about information and ambushes.

Checking generator progress, hearing footsteps, identifying weak targets, intercepting rotations and deciding where to emerge is what makes the killer interesting to me.

The pressure doesn't really disappear when I go underground. If anything, that's when I'm making the most decisions.

I do agree that not everyone enjoys that style of gameplay though. Some people prefer killers that keep constant visual pressure on survivors rather than temporarily disappearing from the map.

As for the "safe design" part, that's actually where I'd disagree the most. Love it or hate it, Xeno is one of the most mechanically unique killers in the game.

Motion Trackers, Flamethrowers, Control Stations, tunnels, Crawler Mode and a ranged attack are a lot of moving pieces for a single killer.

Ironically, I think this touches on something the DbD community often struggles with.

People regularly ask for more unique killer designs, yet the most played and most popular killers tend to be ranged killers, dash killers or straightforward chase killers. Meanwhile, killers built around unusual systems often end up much lower in pick rate despite being perfectly viable.

Pinhead, Twins, Hag, Sadako, Knight, Dredge and Xenomorph have all experienced that to some extent.

I don't think that's because they're weak. I think it's because unique mechanics demand adaptation from both sides, and not everyone enjoys that.

So I completely understand not liking Xeno's gameplay loop. I just wouldn't call it a safe design. If anything, I think its uniqueness is part of the reason it's so divisive.

For what it's worth, I actually think many community concepts prove the opposite point. People often come up with very creative ideas, but making them function in an actual DbD match without becoming frustrating, overly complex or simply ineffective is much harder than it looks. Having a cool concept and having a good design aren't always the same thing.

So while Xeno may not be everyone's cup of tea, I think BHVR took more risks with it than people sometimes give them credit for.

Tbh I rarely see Myers in my matches, and honestly bro I don't appreciate how they decided to turn him from a stalking, terrifying killer into a Temu version of Pig who dashes at you from 20m away with a kitchen knife. 😭

At this point every killer should just dash. No walking or teleporting. Just dash. Feels like BHVR woke up one day and thought 'y'know we need more dashing killers'