When Dead by Daylight (DBD) was released in 2016, it began making waves with its acquiring of iconic horror licenses. With the additions of the infamously silent Michael Myers from Halloween, alongside Stranger Things’ horrible Demogorgon and more, the game has continued to grow in popularity. Now, to celebrate its five year anniversary, they are adding one of the most influential titles in gaming to their pantheon of horror: Resident Evil. Specifically, taking characters and locations from the recent Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes and placing them in the realm of The Entity. With the chapter right around the corner, we’re going to take a look at Jill Valentine, Leon Kennedy, and the new ruthless monster, Nemesis, along with all the new perks they’ll be bringing to the game.
The Survivors
Jill Valentine is a main stay of Resident Evil, making her debut in the very first game, and now she may be a main for many DBD players. Her first perk, “Counter Force” allows the player to cleanse totems quicker and see other totems around the map for a couple of seconds, a great way to nullify those tricky hex totems. But her usefulness does not stop there. Her next perk is “Resurgence”. This means that when Jill is taken off the hook, the player is already healed to half health. With healing time halved, you can spend less time worrying that the killer is coming back to finish the job.
While these perks are quite passive, Jill is a fighter, and her final perk, “Blast Mine”, will let her take the fight to the killer. When Jill is working on a generator, she has the ability to place a mine on it. When the killer kicks it to try and halt its progress, they’ll be stunned for 5 seconds (a VERY long time in a DBD game).
Now for Leon Kennedy. Leon is fan-favourite of the Resident Evil franchise, appearing first in Resident Evil 2. While Jill seems to have a higher skill cap, Leon’s perks add some brand new mechanics to the game. First, “Bite the Bullet”. A feature that stifles the noise made when healing yourself, reducing the opportunity for the killer to find them. We then have his “Flashbang”, which does what it says on the tin. After fixing a generator to the halfway point, you can hop into a locker and craft a flashbang which he can then use to blind the killer. His last perk, “Rookie Spirit”, is a simple yet effective one. When a generator is regressing because the killer has damaged it, Leon will be able to see that generator anywhere on the map. As the name suggests, this will be very helpful to newer players getting a feel for the game.
The Killer
While Mr X from Resident Evil 2 was a speculated choice, Nemesis has become one of the most recognizable tyrants in the series. While Mr X may be powerful in his own right, how can we ignore Nemesis’ lethal tentacles?
A new aspect Nemesis brings with him is the inclusion of passive zombies that lurk around the map, applying pressure to the survivors. Along with the traditional hit from Nemesis, you also have tentacle strike. When a healthy player is hit with this, it then contaminates them. However if the player is already contaminated, this ability damages their health. Zombies also have the same ability as this strike.
This then adds to Nemesis’ two stage mutation rate. When you reach contamination stage two, Nemesis will be able to break walls and pallets with his tentacles, reducing that long animation which usually occurs when breaking them. Once you have reached stage three, Nemesis now has a longer range with his tentacle. Very menacing when trying to hit players over any pallets or windows. Even if all players are contaminated, Nemesis can kill his own zombies which then adds to his mutation rate. As a survivor this may seem quite unfair, however, there is a solution to the contamination, which comes in the form of a vaccine that can be found in supply boxes.
Along with this special attack, we also have Nemesis’ perks. The first of his perks (and my personal favourite) is “Lethal Pursuer”. This perk allows Nemesis to see the survivors at the beginning of the game for a few seconds. While this is a simple perk, it is quite an effective one as it lets Nemesis head straight for his target. We also have “Hysteria”. This means that when Nemesis injures a player, any other who is already injured becomes oblivious. For any new players, this means that the survivors are unable to see their hunter for a short of time. Lastly, we have “Eruption”. Once Nemesis has kicked a generator, the damaged generator will have a yellow aura notifying the killer that they have damaged it. But that’s not all. Once the killer has put a survivor into the dying state, these generators will explode. On top of that, any players on said generator will scream, thus notifying Nemesis as to where they are.
As well as that we have a ton of new add-ons but I will shorten it down to, in my opinion some of his strongest. First we have the “Umbrella Badge”, which allows Nemesis to see anyone who has taken the vaccine for 12 seconds, so use your vaccines wisely. Then we have the “Depleted Ink Ribbon”, which spawns any dead zombies near the exit gates. This could make an excellent combo with the “Serotonin Injector”, which makes you unseen after killing zombies for 15 seconds. Rocking these two add-ons together could be a nightmare for survivors.
Overall, Nemesis seems like an extremely strong hunter and a terrifying addition to the plethora of other killers.
The Map
The great updates do not even stop there. We also have the addition of Raccoon City, the main area of Resident Evil 2. It is said to be an exact replica of the original level and the developers have stated if you have played Resident Evil before, you would have a great advantage on this map when it comes to hiding, running and evading.
With every chapter comes a new way to play, and Resident Evil looks set to bring a whole new set of exploits and strategies to achieve your goal, whether that’s surviving or sacrificing. The future is bright for DBD, and who knows who we could see next. With the release of Resident Evil Village, what’s to stop Miranda or Ethan joining the roster? Only time will tell. For now, let’s enjoy Leon, Jill and the fearsome Nemesis.
Dead by Daylight: Resident Evil releases June 15th, 2021
Words by Arib Dauhoo
Good read