Dead by Daylight has been somewhat of an unexpected success. Developed by Behavior Interactive and released in 2016 to lukewarm reviews that criticized its technical shortcomings, the game has since evolved into a fully functional celebration of horror media. Collaborating with high-profile IPs, Dead by Daylight has now become something akin to the Super Smash Bros. of horror. Almost every horror icon is included, but there remains a glaring omission: Ripley and the Xenomorph from Alien.
Ripley and the Xenomorph may seem like just another couple of horror characters, but there's more to them than that. To this day, Alien remains one of the highest-ranked horror movies of all time. In a game that celebrates such a wide variety of different horror subsets (zombies, fantasy, psychological), the likes of Alien's sci-fi are absent. Adding Ripley, the Xenomorph, and maybe even other characters would add value to the already boastful roster of characters.
Alien's Gradual Success Over the Years
The first Alien film was released in May 1979. A collaboration between Ridley Scott and Dan O'Bannon, the film received mixed reviews (not dissimilar to Dead by Daylight), with some praising its imagination and others calling it uninspired. Over the years, however, many reviewers have revised their claims, and Alien has taken its place as one of the best sci-fi movies of all time. It's become so popular that references to it are scattered throughout pop culture. It's only fitting, then, that its protagonist and antagonist get to appear alongside other titans of the genre in Dead by Daylight.
Fringe Franchises in Dead By Daylight
Dead by Daylight hosts multiple iconic horror symbols: Freddy Kreuger, Ghostface, and Sadako Yamamura, to name a few. Most of the game’s crossovers have stayed comfortably within the canon of classic, slasher horror movies. With the Stranger Things expansion, however, Behavior Interactive ventured outside the box and dipped its toes into more fantastical elements. The world of Stranger Things deals with alternate dimensions, government conspiracy, and monsters, as opposed to ghosts and serial killers. This departure from the constraints of slasher pics, in a way, paved the way for an even harder sci-fi film like Alien.
Introducing More Sci-fi to Dead by Daylight
The developers of Dead by Daylight have done great work keeping the game's formula fresh over its numerous seasons and expansions. Adding Ripley, the Xenomorph alien, and a Nostromo level would maintain this streak. Unlike other, frequently rural realms in Dead by Daylight, the Nostromo is a metallic, industrial setting that hasn't been seen yet. What the aesthetic might lack in cohesiveness it would more than make up for in level design; its tight, claustrophobic hallways would be perfect for squeezing players through.
Moreover, though, it would provide the perfect backdrop for Ripley's design, which Fortnite featured last year. Killers could navigate through the ship's walls, much like the antagonist of the original Alien. Already the subject of multiple Reddit threads, the Xenomorph's abilities would range from exposing survivors to utilizing stage-generated Ovomorphs (a fancy way of referring to the alien's eggs).
Arguably, there have been few online multiplayer games of note recently. For this reason and more, Dead by Daylight stands out in a crowd of shooters, sequels, and reboots. Its distinct horror aesthetic is in part to thank for this, and adding the Alien IP to its mash-up of scary movie franchises could only add to its appeal. Introducing the sci-fi take on horror would not only make for engaging gameplay, but also broaden Dead by Daylight's appeal.
Dead By Daylight is available now for the Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.