Hello, People of the Fog.
Today, we’re inviting the ghost of past Halloweens in Dead by Daylight, bringing back a mysterious character introduced in the Hallowed Blight and Withering Bligh events. The Entity has its own twisted way to play with the souls imprisoned in its realm and the players will get to meet again the Alchemist under a terrific new form: the Blight. I talked with Dead by Daylight Creative Director Dave Richard to tell you more about the creation of the Descend Beyond chapter.
Global Brand Director Olivier Latanicki: It’s the first time you’re bringing back an existing character in Dead by Daylight to transform it into someone else. Why did you take this decision? How different was it compared to working on a new character?
Creative Director Dave Richard: The Alchemist’s creation process was a delightful experience. We created this character for a support role for the Hallowed Blight Halloween event in 2018. Immediately, we fell in love with him and the fantasy he encompassed. We decided at his inception that he was too cool not to become a killer eventually. Thus, we made sure every step of the way that content and lore around him would serve this goal. Making the jump when the time was ripe (now) was not too hard. The most challenging part was keeping it a secret all this time!
Latanicki: Can you tell us more about his unique power?
Richard: The Blights power is incredibly fun and gives you the feeling of being fast and powerful like a hellish beast. It allows you to rush at great speed and bounce off collision to gain even more speed and the opportunity to damage the survivors. All that power comes at a cost though as it is not the most plug-and-play power of dead by daylight, it requires some training and map knowledge. Once you start mastering the power, you can pull off some impressive trick shots.
Latanicki: Felix is the new Survivor in this chapter. Can you tell us more about his story and what makes him unique?
Richard: Felix is not only handsome, smart, and creative; he also brings new perks thematized around architecture, innovation, and the resolve of finding solutions no matter what. Felix is a brilliant architect who suffered from his parent’s loss at a young age, making him doubt each of his achievements. His life is a constant tug of war between brilliance and insecurities. Felix’s life events are caused by his closeness to The Entity, which is unprecedented.
Furthermore, we introduce new offerings thematized on architecture which controls the hatch and basement spawning points. These are inspired by Felix and are available to all survivors and killers.
Latanicki: This update includes more than this chapter. It’s also the beginning of a major graphic overhaul. Can you tell us more about it?
Richard: The team is putting a lot of effort into updating all environments’ visuals! This first update has two Realms as part of this overhaul. Props, textures, vegetation, and materials are of higher quality. More importantly, lighting work has been added to these maps making them more immersive and creepy. The overall changes are incredible. The look and mood are sure to impress veterans of the game and bring freshness to these locations.
Latanicki: The Blight was a character of the past two Halloween in-game events of Dead by Daylight. Come October, can we assume he’ll have a role to play this year again?
Richard: Now that The Blight is unchained, I expect he’ll want to go out for a bit of trick or treating, don’t you?
You can download Dead by Daylight: Descend Beyond Chapter from the Microsoft Store today for $7.99. The Descend Beyond DLC will unlock its new Killer, new Survivor and exclusive items for the new survivor. See you in the Fog!
Dead by Daylight: DESCEND BEYOND Chapter
Behaviour Interactive Inc.