by Marisa Seager
Although playing Dead by Daylight year-round can be pretty spooky at times, the chosen annual Halloween event brings it to another level. Last year players enjoyed the Midnight Grove but this year we are ready to be Haunted by Daylight.
This event introduces tense gameplay challenges, an unsettling new atmosphere, chilling unlockable cosmetics, an event tome, and so much more. From October 13 to November 3 what’s known as the Entity’s Realm is transformed into a “nightmarish Halloween playground.” In select realms, also known as maps, the sky is torn apart to reveal a mysterious looking rift. The generators, hooks, exit gates, and basement also have an eerie aesthetic to set the mood for gameplay. Items like the will o’ wisp flashlight, the all-hallows’ eve lunchbox med-kit, and the blight serum have returned to the bloodweb but this time with a new bloodpoint offering.
With pumpkin season comes the objective of seeking void energy. By destroying pumpkins players will receive one of three outcomes: the haste status effect which makes you move faster, the hindered status effect which makes you move slower, or nothing at all. However, these pumpkins may also grant you void energy that can be deposited for up to 12 free Halloween cosmetics. Survivors typically collect void energy by repairing generators whereas killers collect it by hooking survivors. Yet, it’s possible for both sides to steal energy from one another, either by downing a survivor or stunning the killer so get ready to go back and forth.
Now it wouldn’t be Halloween without a few goodies, would it? By depositing a total of 30 void energy in a trial and completing the match, players will receive a cosmetic item. For survivors there are glow-in-the-dark bone shirts and for killer there is sugary candy weapons, all of which are guaranteed to catch your eye. Additional rewards can be earned in the event tome with challenges to complete individually and as a community. Just by logging in, players will also receive rewards of in-game currencies such as bloodpoints and rift fragments. To keep the treats coming, there are Halloween sales on the base game, select DLC chapters, and expansion packs. In-game the sale continues with deals on cosmetics for all characters except for those from the latest chapter.