'Friday the 13th' Vs. 'Dead by Daylight'

Hello, and welcome back to The Great Debates where Freddy and Jason are getting the long awaited rematch.

Asymmetrical multiplayer games are nothing new. One of the coolest modes in the early Halo games was "Juggernaut" where one player would actively hunt the others. However, it was in this console generation where that one mode would become the focus of entire games. The first major attempt at that was Evolve, which drowned its cool concept under tons of corporate crap. That could be forgiven as two much better examples came to consoles in 2017. Those games are Friday the 13th: The Game and Dead by Daylight.

Judging by the bare concept, both games seem very similar. Both are essentially playable slasher flicks with one player as the slasher and the others as the potential victims. The slasher is out to kill the other players, and the others are out to escape successfully. However, after playing both (Friday on Xbox One & Daylight on PS4, for the record), I found plenty of differences between the two that warrant a careful dissection. So, I'm going to close out Halloween... yes, I know Halloween was last Thursday... by taking out the scalpel and cutting into these two emaciated corpses to find the better online killer.

Friday the 13th feels like a legitimate love letter to the movie series. Locations from throughout the series are present and recreated in impressive detail. While the survivors, some original and some from the films, are basic archetypes (aside from Tommy Jarvis as a playable hero), the fact that almost every depiction of Jason Voorhees is available in the game is pretty cool, especially since the motion capture for Jason was done by the original actor Kane Hodder. It even goes as far as to recreate the look of old VHS tapes from the 80s in some places. The feel is so authentic that it can't work for any other horror franchise, only Friday the 13th.

Dead by Daylight, meanwhile, is a bit more generic. The premise is actually similar to the plot of the movie The Cabin in the Woods. An entity requires blood sacrifices, and the killer is out to provide. While that generic premise may be disappointing, it's made up for by its versatility. The open concept opens the door for lots of different survivors and killers with lots of different skillsets. It even opened the door for famous characters from other horror series. Just last night, I played a match as Laurie Strode from Halloween against Ghost Face from Scream! That's just awesome for any fan of the genre.

The gameplay is where the two games show the biggest differences, and both games have their pros and cons. Where Dead by Daylight is limited to 4-on-1 matches, Friday the 13th can have up to 7-on-1. While stealth is a key factor in both games, it's much more critical in Dead by Daylight. I didn't have to sneak around nearly as much to escape Jason, and it's actually easier to fight Jason off. In Dead by Daylight, while you can escape the killer and the sacrificial meathooks, it is much more difficult. However, teamwork is also more heavily rewarded in Dead by Daylight. Players are actively encouraged to work together to escape. While teamwork is possible in Friday the 13th, it isn't really necessary. While both games provide an array of perks and abilities to the various victims and killers, they seem to have more weight in Dead by Daylight. I didn't really see much reason to pick any character over another in Friday the 13th.

There are also things to weigh with the aesthetics and bonuses. While Friday the 13th has the authentic look of a VHS copy of the movies, its visuals are rather meh. While Jason in all his various iterations looks fantastic, the dead meat counselors all look rather rubbery. There are also plenty of glitches all over the place. Jason actually managed to grab me through a cabin wall, and I don't mean one he could break through. The audio, however, is excellent. The score feels perfect for the franchise, and, while the developers couldn't get Betsy Palmer to provide the voice of Jason's mom, the actress they did get did an amazing job. By contrast, Dead by Daylight's audio package is very generic. Almost every scream sounds the same, and the famous killers like Freddy Krueger and Leatherface don't sound any different from the original ones. However, the visuals are much slicker. The locations are as creepy as the best horror games, and I didn't see any graphical flaws to take me out of the experience. There is one huge advantage Friday has over Daylight. Friday has an offline challenge mode. Let's face it; online games have a limited shelf life. Once the servers get turned off, online games become worthless. However, when that time inevitably comes, Friday can still be played with bots. While Daylight can patch that in at some point later, it's nonexistence now could dissuade people from dropping money on the game.

I had a good time with both games on both sides. They both show how much fun asymmetrical multiplayer can be. However, the time has come to choose the winner of this debate. Even looking over my notes, it was very difficult to choose one over the other. Friday the 13th has the authenticity and the offline providing a longer shelf life. Dead by Daylight has the versatility and tighter gameplay. In the end, it was that last point that clinched it for me. While I can conceivably play Friday the 13th until my Xbox One dies, I'm having more fun with Dead by Daylight now. Fun is one the most important aspects of a slasher flick, and it's the deciding factor here.

The winner of this debate is... Dead by Daylight!

Disagree? Let me know, and game on!