Horror fans have very specific tastes. A poorly designed monster can ruin the experience, preventing the genuine scare that horror enthusiasts crave. Perhaps that’s why asymmetric multiplayer games are becoming popular in the horror genre. Predicting the monster becomes a challenge when it’s controlled by a different person each time.
In Dead by Daylight, players can embody a variety of classic horror villains, allowing us to appreciate the fun of playing the villain.
As this subgenre has developed, we’ve seen several impressive titles emerge that explore new and interesting PvP concepts, taking inspiration from Dead by Daylight.
For those who have spent hours playing Dead by Daylight and are seeking similar experiences, here’s a list of 10 games that may satisfy that same thrill of hunting and being hunted. Keep in mind that these games aren’t identical to Dead by Daylight.
Last Year: The Nightmare
Last Year: The Nightmare is a multiplayer game based on classic horror themes.
In the game, a group of five teenagers, including a jock, a nerd, a leader, an animal lover, and a prom queen, must work together to defeat a supernatural evil haunting their high school on Halloween night.
Players familiar with Dead by Daylight will recognize the one-versus-many dynamic present in Last Year. One player takes on the role of the killer, choosing from three different creepy murderers, while the rest play as students trying to complete objectives to escape from the killer.
While it may sound similar to Dead by Daylight, Last Year borrows many of its mechanics from the popular horror game series Left 4 Dead.
A notable difference is that in Last Year, death is not permanent—when a survivor is killed, they are placed in a random closet on the map and can rejoin the fight if rescued by another survivor.
Deceit
Deceit—six people have been kidnapped and placed in an isolated facility, forced to adhere to the whims of the jigsaw-like psychopath that put them there.
Two of them are infected with a mutant virus, and when the lights go out, they’re transformed into malformed monstrosities with a penchant for human meat. But when the lights come back up, they return to their human form.
The uninfected must work together to complete objectives, weed out the secret betrayers, and get out of the facility before the infected munch their faces right off.
Deceit’s clever use of social deduction elements is what sets it apart from the rest of this list.
As a mutant, successfully murdering the uninfected is dependent on your ability to convince them that you’re one of them, avoiding suspicion and a hail of bullets.
If you’ve played a lot of Among Us or Town of Salem, you’ll know that one of the best ways to keep crosshairs off of yourself is to get everyone to point the finger at someone else.
Deceit is most fun with a good mutant player who can play the room like a fiddle, guarding their guise with persuasive arguments and plausible deniability.
Identity V
Identity V is a free-to-play mobile horror game for Android and iOS that combines elements of Dead by Daylight and Coraline. The game’s story follows James Reichenbach’s quest to find his missing daughter. He enlists a local detective with a troubled past and amnesia to investigate a rundown mansion where she was last seen.
In the game, players can choose to be either the hunter or a survivor in 4v1 matches. Survivors must work together to escape the hunter’s trap-filled dungeon by decoding cipher towers scattered throughout the map. Once all cipher towers have been decoded, the gateway unlocks, and the survivors must make a run for the exit without being caught.
Identity V’s desaturated colours and creepy button-eyed characters create an unsettling atmosphere that complements the tension-filled gameplay. The use of audio cues enhances the experience and keeps players on their toes. Although the game includes some monetization elements, such as cosmetic items, they do not affect gameplay. This makes Identity V a great alternative to Dead by Daylight at an unbeatable price.
Secret Neighbor
Secret Neighbor is a spin-off of the Hello Neighbor franchise that combines asymmetrical multiplayer with social deduction party game elements for a fun twist on the Hello Neighbor blueprint.
In the game, a group of kids must sneak into their creepy neighbour’s home to rescue their friend from his basement. To gain access to the underground chamber, the children need to find six keys randomly scattered throughout the house.
One of the group members is the neighbour himself, who can shapeshift and take the form of any of the children in the rescue party—username and all. This can sow distrust and force the team to separate, allowing the neighbour to pick the kids off one by one.
Secret Neighbor offers a simple take on the asymmetric horror of Dead by Daylight that’s easy to grasp and tons of fun to play. And unlike many games, Secret Neighbor has a large player base, so it’s never hard to find a pickup match.
Crawl
Crawl is a gothic local multiplayer dungeon crawler game, where four players compete to hold on to their humanity and defeat the final boss.
At the beginning of the match, one player is assigned the role of hero, while the other three players are ghosts. The hero’s objective is to navigate a randomly generated dungeon filled with hideous monsters and dangerous traps.
The ghosts can steal the hero’s humanity by killing him, turning him into a ghost while the killer respawns as the new hero. Although the ghosts cannot directly harm the hero, they can possess traps, monsters, and objects in the dungeon to eliminate the hero in various gruesome ways.
Crawl is described as manic and hilarious, offering a comically violent take on the classic game of duck-duck-goose. It takes the best elements of asymmetric multiplayer games like Dead by Daylight and brings them to your living room couch, emphasizing the physical interaction and competitiveness of local multiplayer gaming.
Friday The 13th: The Game
Friday the 13th: The Game is set in one of five maps inspired by the first five Friday the 13th movies.
One player is randomly chosen to be Jason, the murderer, while the others play as camp counsellors—Jason’s potential victims.
Jason’s goal is to find and kill the counsellors using his special powers, which may seem unrealistic but adds an element of unpredictability just like in the movie. The counsellors must find weapons to defend themselves and try to escape while working together to survive.
Although the game lacks the variety of Dead by Daylight, the tension created by Jason’s powers makes it a satisfying alternative for fans of the horror genre.
Predator: Hunting Grounds
Predator: Hunting Grounds is an asymmetric multiplayer video game that revives the horror property from the 80s.
Developed by IllFonic, the game allows players to take on the role of the Predator, a ruthless hunter from an advanced extraterrestrial civilization.
In this game, elite soldiers are deployed to remote jungle locations around the world, armed with a wide array of weapons to fend off the Predator and other adversaries. On the other hand, the Predator possesses various abilities that give them an advantage in combat, making the gameplay more action-oriented.
Unlike Dead by Daylight, which focuses on stealth and evasion, Predator: Hunting Grounds emphasizes freedom of movement and intense combat scenarios. The game offers an engaging experience with the Predator’s improved appearance and abilities, although their unpredictable appearances during battles can complicate players’ strategies.
White Noise 2
White Noise 2 provides a slower and more strategic gameplay experience compared to other games like Dead by Daylight.
The game revolves around light-centric gameplay and incorporates RPG elements. In this game, up to four survivors need to collect eight clues to perform an ancient ritual, thereby preventing the awakening of an arcane evil, all while defending themselves against spectral horror. The monster is vulnerable only to light, so the survivors’ flashlights serve as both illumination and their primary defense.
The game’s maps are filled with special items such as batteries for flashlights and incense that reveal the monster’s location. The fifth player controls the monster and can choose from eight different creatures, each with unique powers that significantly impact the hunt and survival strategies. For instance, the Rusalka can lay energy traps that disable flashlights and reveal the investigators’ locations, while the Olkhov can turn invisible for short periods.
The variety of monsters, characters, and equipment allows for an array of strategies, encouraging players to adapt to different matchups’ strengths and weaknesses.
Depth
In Depth, is a game in which four divers protect their robot companion collecting treasure from the ocean floor, while two sharks try to stop them.
Playing as a man-eating shark is lots of fun, as you get to dominate the underwater environment while humans struggle to navigate. Sharks have stealth, speed, sonar pulses, and a keen sense of smell, making it easy for them to hunt down divers.
The divers aren’t helpless, though. Collecting treasure earns them money to spend on advanced tools and weaponry such as nets, guns, and sonar beacons. Despite being outnumbered, the sharks have the advantage of agility and familiarity with the environment, while the humans rely on their gadgets and teamwork. The map design, featuring the carcasses of sunken ships, adds to the challenge and excitement, making Depth a unique asymmetric multiplayer experience where both the hunters and the hunted can have loads of fun.
In Silence
In Silence is an asymmetric horror game with a unique twist: the monster has terrible eyesight. One player controls Rake, a giant creature with hypersensitive hearing and supernatural speed. Rake sees the world as a blurry mess but can hear the faintest sound from hundreds of feet away.
Survivors must work together to escape the forest or kill Rake before he devours them. The game’s tension comes from the survivors’ need to coordinate their actions without making noise, as the only way to communicate is through proximity voice chat. This mechanic creates a nail-biting experience as players try to avoid making noise that could alert Rake to their location.
In Silence offers a similar experience to Dead by Daylight, but with a fresh twist on the monster concept. If you’re looking for a new game with the same tense atmosphere, In Silence is worth trying.
Conclusion
And there you have it—a comprehensive list of games like Dead by Daylight that cater to the most clever of killers. From the light-centric horror of White Noise 2 to the underwater terror of Depth and the eerie tension of In Silence, these games offer a variety of asymmetric multiplayer experiences that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
