Dead by Daylight helped to popularize the modern asymmetric multiplayer game with its extensive roster of fictional Killers and Survivors, haunting digital environments, and spine-chilling lore. The mystery of who these tormented characters are, and how they came to be caught in the clutches of the malicious and sadistic Entity, is as enticing as the game's fast-paced mechanics and slick presentation. However, Dead by Daylight is far from the only good-looking asymmetric multiplayer game out there, and fans may want to keep an eye on Dragon Ball: The Breakers, an upcoming Dragon Ball game that tackles the genre as well.
This Dragon Ball tie-in game promises to shake up the asymmetric multiplayer formula, while keeping players on their toes. Although the Dragon Ball franchise is well known for its roster of superpowered, superhuman fighters, they probably won't be taking center stage here — at least, not the heroic ones. According to an in-depth pre-release trailer, Dragon Ball: The Breakers will follow seven ordinary citizens with no fighting skills as they try to escape a Temporal Seam, all while being hunted by the horrifyingly powerful Raider.
A Dragon Ball Game Without Goku
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The seven ordinary citizens — known as Survivors, just like in Dead by Daylight — will be tasked with running, jumping, hiding, and employing skills and countermeasures against the Raider, while struggling to summon the Super Time Machine to escape the Temporal Seam. Unlike most previous Dragon Ball titles, iconic characters like Son Goku, Vegeta, and even Krillin appear to be absent. Instead, this game will focus on characters without the power or bloodlust to take on overpowering foes. Among the example Survivors shown off in the trailer are two familiar faces, Bulma and Oolong, both dressed in some of the outfits they wore in the original Dragon Ball series, rather than their Dragon Ball Z attire.
Dragon Ball has a very different tone from the bleak world of Dead by Daylight, supported by the way Dragon Ball: The Breakers chooses to implement Survivor mechanics. Most of the existing Survivor skills focus on movement, camouflage, and getting quickly across the map to put distance between the Survivor and the Raider.
However players can also equip up to three Transpheres, containing the souls and outfits of powerful Dragon Ball heroes. After collecting a certain amount of Change Power, Survivors will be able to activate Dragon Change and briefly gain the power to fight back. The Raider's power is still overwhelming, but this mechanic allows Survivors to defend locations if necessary, a decision that radically changes the feel of the game.
Monsters of Cosmic Proportions
Dragon Ball's villains are easily as famous as its heroes, and for good reason. These near-unstoppable monsters are one-man apocalyptic events, and Dragon Ball: The Breakers is set to reflect that terrible power through literal world-shaking gameplay mechanics. The example Raiders include Cell, Buu, and Frieza, each of which offers an array of terrifying abilities and unique evolutions. Unlike the steadier Killers found in Dead by Daylight, these larger-than-life villains will power up and evolve as they catch and devour Survivors. Each time a Raider evolves, they are permitted to destroy an area of the map, cutting down the remaining hiding places for the Survivors and reminding everyone exactly how powerful the Raider is.
Footage of Cell's gameplay style has been revealed and it appears that he focuses on stealthily tracking Survivors across the map in his first form before ascending to soaring across the map in his second and third forms. He features a number of devastating projectile energy attacks, a hallmark of the Dragon Ball franchise, that are sure to mix up the feel of the game.
Being pursued by Cell across the map is likely to be far more fast-paced and frantic than being chased by many of Dead by Daylight's Killers, especially since he can attack from range. All in all, Dragon Ball: The Breakers looks like it will mix up the Dead by Daylight formula in all the right ways while keeping the determined and brightly-colored spirit of Dragon Ball.
Dragon Ball: The Breakers will launch in 2022 for PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.