Chucky is one of the most iconic slashers in horror, and one of the few with a single continuous timeline (save for one reboot). Now, everyone’s favorite Good Guy is coming to the world of Dead by Daylight as a killer.
Dead by Daylight has long fashioned itself as a horror hall of fame, and has brought in iconic killers from movies and TV, such as Michael Myers, Leatherface, Ghostface, the Demogorgon, Pyramid Head, Pinhead from Hellraiser, Sadako from The Ring, and the Xenomorph, alongside dozens of original killers. Chucky marks the 30th chapter of the game and the 34th killer (when not including Legendary skins).
The announcement
IGN announced the DLC with a trailer, less than a full day after the first teaser was released—a photo featuring the knives of other DBD killers, with one kitchen knife missing. Stealing knives while no one is looking is one of Chucky’s signature moves and that, along with the chair next to the knife rack, made many fans guess correctly that Chucky would be the next killer in the game.
Chucky in Dead by Daylight
Chucky and his life partner in crime Tiffany will be available to purchase and play as of November 28, 2023. The PTB will be available for PC players to download and test play—both as and against the killer—at 11 AM EST.
Behaviour Interactive has confirmed in its PTB Notes that Chucky, a.k.a. The Good Guy, “has a fixed third-person camera positioned above and behind him, giving the player a better view of his surroundings.” His small stature and third-person POV comes at a cost, as Chucky will leave behind footprints, allowing survivors to track his location.
His main power is Hidey-Ho Mode, which makes him stealthier with “distraction” footprints and audio that spawn all across the map. During Hidey-Ho Mode, Chucky can “Slice & Dice,” sprint forward at high speed, triggering an attack at the end (or whenever the Special Attack button is released), or “Scamper” (press the Interaction button to scamper through a vault or pallet quickly without breaking it).
Chucky’s perks are as follows:
- Hex: Two Can Play (Anytime you are stunned or blinded by a Survivor 4/3/2 times, if there is no Hex Totem associated with this Perk, a Dull Totem becomes a Hex Totem. While the Hex Totem stands, Survivors who stun or blind you get blinded for 1.5 seconds.)
- Friends ‘Til the End (When you hook a Survivor that is not the Obsession, the Obsession becomes exposed for 20 seconds and reveals their aura for 6/8/10 seconds. When you hook the Obsession, another random Survivor screams and reveals their position and becomes the Obsession.)
- Batteries Included (When within 12 meters of a completed Generator, you have 5% Haste. The movement speed bonus lingers for 1/3/5 seconds when you are no longer in range.)
These perks and powers are subject to change in the live version of the game.
Future content
One of the best parts of this chapter is that, unlike many other licensed killers who mostly look the same from film to film, Chucky has a lot of cosmetic possibilities. The default Chucky in-game appears to be the original Child’s Play film version, but we’ll likely get the stitched-up Franken-Chucky from Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky. We’re already confirmed to be getting Tiffany Valentine from Bride of Chucky as a “Legendary” Skin. Both Chucky and Tiffany will have voice lines done by the original actors, Brad Dourif and Jennifer Tilly, which makes Chucky the second killer to curse in-game (after The Trickster, whose stun animation has him cursing in Korean).
However, this does make me wonder if we could also get a potential skin for Glen/Glenda/GiGi, Chucky and Tiffany’s doll child who is voiced by Billy Boyd and is a queer, nonbinary icon.
Unfortunately, this is a killer-only DLC, meaning we won’t be getting any iconic survivors from the Chucky movies or series, such as Andy Barclay, Nica Pierce, or Jake Wheeler. This does make sense as two of these characters were children when they first faced off against Chucky, and Nica is in a wheelchair, meaning the developers would have to give her an entirely new model and gameplay style from other survivors. Still, it would be nice to see some disability representation in DBD.
SAG-AFTRA strike
SAG-AFTRA has voted in favor of extending the strike to the video game industry, especially towards game developers that are owned by or work closely with AMPTP members and affiliates. While a full strike is not confirmed, it may be coming in anticipation of the holiday season. In which case, we will reach out to SAG-AFTRA to see how this applies to video game DLCs of struck work.
(featured image: Behaviour Interactive)
