The Startling Controversy Surrounding Dead by Daylight's Xenomorph Killer

Highlights

Dead By Daylight has become a hub for horror franchise crossovers, with collaborations ranging from movies like Halloween to video games like Resident Evil.

Ridley Scott's Alien franchise makes its way into the game with the latest crossover, featuring Ellen Ripley as a fresh addition to the Survivor lineup and the Xenomorph as a formidable Killer.

With its distinct powers like Hidden Pursuit and the ability to navigate through underground tunnels, the Xenomorph presents a daunting challenge for players, leading to demands for a more balanced gameplay experience. The ineffectiveness of the flame turrets has only added to the frustration.

In the past seven years, Dead By Daylight has become known for its collaborations with horror franchises. One of the game's first crossovers occurred shortly after its release, bringing Michael Myers from Halloween into the asymmetrical multiplayer game. This collaboration also included a map inspired by the movie series. Since then, Dead By Daylight has continued to partner with other horror franchises like Saw, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and even Resident Evil.

The latest crossover in Dead By Daylight features Ridley Scott's Alien franchise. This collaboration goes above and beyond, introducing a new Survivor named Ellen Ripley, a new map based on the Nostromo space freighter from the first Alien movie, and of course, the star of the DLC, the Xenomorph itself. While the quality of this crossover is impressive, it has received some criticism, particularly regarding the Xenomorph and its overly powerful abilities.

Dead By Daylight's Xenomorph Killer Is A Bit Too OP

When it comes to the Killers in Dead By Daylight, the game strives for balance, but there are a few that stand out as slightly more powerful. The Xenomorph has quickly risen to the top of that list, thanks to its unique abilities and perks that make it a formidable opponent. In a game where Survivor positioning and stealth are crucial, the Xenomorph effortlessly dominates.

The Xenomorph's primary ability in Dead By Daylight is called Hidden Pursuit. This allows the Xenomorph to enter a Crawler Mode, where it moves swiftly on all fours throughout the map. This ability brings several advantages for the Alien Killer. One notable advantage is the new Tail Whip attack, which enables the Xenomorph to attack players through windows and pallets. Currently, this attack has an excessively long range and a relatively quick cooldown, making it nearly impossible for Survivors to escape or switch pallets. In its Crawler state, the Xenomorph also moves considerably faster and has an incredibly low terror radius, ensuring a constant element of surprise.

The Xenomorph not only appears in various Control Stations scattered across the map, usually near generators, but it can also utilize these Control Stations to access an underground tunnel network, enabling it to swiftly travel across the map. Being underground allows the Xenomorph to observe footsteps and activity from above, giving it an advantage in catching Survivors off guard. With these abilities alone, the Xenomorph is already an extremely formidable opponent, and that's not even considering potential perk combinations that allow it to see Auras throughout the map and increase its speed.

Survivors do have one unique defense against the Xenomorph's range of abilities: a few flame turrets. Found at each Control Station, players can grab and place these turrets wherever they choose. The flame turrets have the ability to knock the Xenomorph out of its Crawler Mode, although this capability is not always reliable. Even if the Xenomorph is knocked out of Crawler Mode, it can still attack players with its basic attacks, and its movement speed remains largely unaffected.

Currently, the Xenomorph in Dead By Daylight is excessively dominant, making it extremely challenging for all four Survivors to escape unless they possess exceptional skill or extraordinary luck. However, several alterations could enhance the Xenomorph's balance, such as requiring it to retreat to its tunnels for recovery after being ignited, or temporarily impairing the Killer with flame turrets that cause momentary blindness. It is hoped that these adjustments will be implemented in the near future.

Dead by Daylight can be played on various platforms including Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.