Since Gun Media, publisher of Friday the 13th, announced that the servers will be closing at the end of the year, many fans may be looking for a similar game to play. Even now, the game has been delisted and server-hosted games are unavailable, leaving player-hosted games as the only option. While there is no shortage of asymmetrical competitive multiplayer games to play, for players who are ready to move on, Dead by Daylight is most likely an ideal game to fill that role.
Comparing by the Numbers
Dead by Daylight beat Friday the 13th to market by nearly a full year (releases on June 14, 2016, and May 26, 2017, respectively). For some fans of Friday the 13th, this might show in Dead by Daylight’s somewhat more rudimentary gameplay. It lacks the combat elements of Friday the 13th, so survivors, the analog of Friday the 13th’s counselors, have no way to defend themselves. Dead by Daylight also offers only a single win condition for the survivors (repairing enough generators to open the doors and escaping), compared to the three win conditions for counselors in Friday the 13th (repairing the device and escaping, killing Jason, or surviving for twenty minutes). Friday the 13th also sported a higher player count as a 7 vs. 1, against Dead by Daylight’s 4 vs. 1. A number of players will find the resulting shorter queue times to be a positive, and even for those that prefer the higher player count, the recently-announced 8 vs. 2 mode will likely remedy that particular pain point.
Dead by Daylight definitely has some things going for it, of course; otherwise, it would not have lasted this long. When a lawsuit ended the development of Friday the 13th, it was sporting nine different versions of Jason, each with its own special stats and traits, a respectable number. However, Dead by Daylight, now with eight years of support behind it, boasts a whopping 36 playable killers, all of whom have unique gimmicks, as well as perks that can be taught to other killers. Many of these killers are licensed from popular horror franchises, including Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Ring, to name a few. It does seem unlikely, however, that Jason will ever join the cast of Dead by Daylight due to licensing issues.
Also, all this doesn’t touch on the number of survivors, a massive 43 compared to the 14 counselors. It’s worth noting that the counselors of Friday the 13th have different base stats, meaning they perform differently at a core level, while Dead by Daylight’s survivors differ only in their unique perks, all of which can eventually be made available to the entire cast. This does, however, mean that any character can have any build, meaning a devoted player can simply use the character with their preferred aesthetic to achieve their desired playstyle.
On top of the size of the cast, Friday the 13th weighs in with seven maps while Dead by Daylight absolutely tips the scales with 39. Of course, all of the maps in Friday the 13th are based on locations from the movies, which fans of the franchise are sure to love. Many of the maps from Dead by Daylight are also based on iconic locales from a variety of horror franchises, and those that aren’t are directly inspired by classic tropes of the genre.
Saying Goodbye Twice
Tragically, the fan-made mod project Friday the 13th: Resurrected, which promised to turn the game into a free-to-play experience that would continue after the official servers shut down and provide ongoing support, was canceled due to a copyright claim. This would have been a boon for fans who already poured countless hours into the title and weren’t ready to move on; after all, nobody wants to say goodbye to their favorite game. There may be hope, though, as a rumor surfaced summer of 2023 that a new Friday the 13th game was in development, but with no details since, it remains unclear what the format of the game will be if it ever manifests. Until such a day arrives, hopefully, displaced Friday the 13th fans can find a suitable home in Dead by Daylight.
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