Dead by Daylight The Realm Beyond Graphical Overhaul

For better or for worse, the weird, otherworldly stares of the Dead by Daylight character models are going the way of the DS/Unbreakable meta. The four original survivors all have updated (and arguably improved) looks, which go hand in hand with the new animations that were added a few patches ago. The DBD dev team recently released an internal interview, which shared some of the design decisions as well as the process behind the graphical overhaul.

The team’s stated goal with these changes is to provide a consistent look, which in turn should provide a more immersive experience for players. These updates aren’t limited to base models — it appears that a large number of other hairstyles and outfits have received updates alongside the characters themselves.

While some fans have lamented changes to their favorite characters, it’s hard to debate that the new models are improvements, though it’s unfortunate that some of the changes make fan favorites look fairly different.

Apparently, the disparity of designs between old and new characters meant that lighting values had to take into account two different art styles; the recent updates have removed that issue. The new survivor models will also be able to utilize an updated facial rig (which sounds like it’s currently in the works) promising more realistic facial expressions in future updates.

It’s great to see Dead by Daylight getting the updates it needs to stay a modern, visually impressive game. With any luck, this dedication to improvement will continue, and will extend to the games wonderful — but flawed — gameplay systems as well.