Dead by Daylight Director Says Behaviour Wanted a Gun-Wielding Killer for a Long Time

Dead by Daylight has a new Killer on the way as part of the Chains of Hate Chapter, and that [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

Dead by Daylight has a new Killer on the way as part of the Chains of Hate Chapter, and that Killer has a gun. His name is The Deathslinger, and while he's not yet available on the game's live servers, those on the test servers have already had a chance to be on both ends of his "Redeemer" speargun. It impales players and reels them in for The Deathslinger to strike down once they're in range, but above all else, it delivers on a long-standing community request to add a gun-toting Killer. The community wasn't the only group that wanted a Killer like The Deathslinger in the game though – the devs wanted someone that used a gun, too.

The Deathslinger isn't the first ranged Killer in Dead by Daylight with The Huntress and The Clown already available, but he's still a milestone moment for the game. To learn more about Behaviour Interactive's inspirations for The Deathslinger and the Chains of Hate Chapter overall, we asked director Mathieu Cote what the goals for this Chapter were. Cote said there were two influences, and the first of them was simple: Get a gun-wielding Killer in the game that meshes with Dead by Daylight's style and gameplay.

"On one side, we've wanted to do a killer with a gun for a long time," Cote said over email. "It's also been a vigorously requested element since day one. There was a challenge to this because the game needed us to create a new, unique way to interact with a gun. A simple bullet would not have been fun either for the killer or the survivor. What we created, with the Redeemer, is a weapon that makes you feel powerful and terrifying while at the same time keeping the struggle going for a while longer between prey and hunter."

For those who haven't seen the killer's weapon in action yet, the speargun impales survivors it hits and allows The Deathslinger to reel them in. They can fight against the chain by moving around and using the environment in an attempt to break it and stun their assailant, but if they're pulled in too close to the killer, he can strike them to either put them in the wounded or dying state. The power is balanced by a noticeable reload time after each shot so that The Deathslinger isn't shooting out rapid-fire spears.

The second inspiration manifests itself in the Chapter overall. The Deathslinger is an Old West-style character, and the map that accompanies him is a fitting environment called Dead Dawg Saloon. Cote said the team has wanted to deliver on the idea of this sort of fantasy for a while and was finally able to do so in Chains of Hate.

"The other side of it was a desire to create something in the very dark western fantasy," Cote said. "The imagery and the atmosphere of that very unique theme is something we've been wanting to visit for a while. The end result is one of the most moody and rich ambiances we've ever created.

Dead by Daylight's Chains of Hate Chapter will release for all platforms on March 10th.

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