The Casting of Frank Stone review

Dead by Daylight is a fantastic multiplayer game and has been around for over eight years now. Since its release, there have been tons of updates, new worlds, killers, and survivors, with little bits of lore added to flesh out the story that exists mainly in text. When you play, you’re either trying to survive or trying to kill, while the narrative has never truly been developed until now. The Casting of Frank Stone is set within the same world, and I’m sure those that play DbD are keen to know to what extent it delves into the source material.

As a fan of Dead by Daylight, Supermassive has done a fantastic job of integrating this original tale into what lore is already there, turning it into a relatively cohesive and richly focused story regarding the Entity and its penchant for serial killers. There are tons of references to many of the playable killers and its wider world. It explores the universe in exciting ways and ties it all together in an explosive finale that will have fans beaming from ear to ear. No spoilers here, but you’ll recognise a lot from DbD in The Casting of Frank Stone.

The original story is mostly satisfying with some great elements. There’re some cool twists, tense moments, and story beats you might not expect, with original characters that are all fleshed out. It takes place across multiple time periods that show the legacy of Frank Stone in all his gory glory. After witnessing a cop called Sam kill him in 1963, you venture to 1980 and watch a group of students make an amateur film called ‘Murder Mill,’ filmed in the location where Frank Stone was killed by Sam, but where he also dismembered and butchered his victims.

The final time period is the present day, where three characters are called to a manor by a mysterious woman known as Augustine who wants to buy their pieces of film that make up a lost copy of Murder Mill. The Casting of Frank Stone jumps between these periods without any confusion, giving each one a chance to breathe. Despite there being a lot of different characters, they’re given a surprising amount of depth. In the 80s, you play as Chris, a girl who starts to obsess about filming in the mill, and her boyfriend, Jaime, one of the actors in the film. Linda, who also appears as one of the characters in the present day, acts as a great tether between the two time periods.

Maddie, a woman who turns up at the manor with a piece of the film, is one of the main playable characters and does a good job of garnering sympathy from the audience while at the same time being a strong and interesting lead. There are some characters like Stan, an arrogant hipster that never shuts up, that do grate on you, but you’re not really meant to like him as it’s part of his lack of appeal. Supermassive are often masters of character building, and they’ve done it once again. There’s no dwelling on back stories or depth of certain reveals; they’re simply presented and everything moves on at a quick but pleasing pace.

You’re always on your toes, making decisions that effect different outcomes. The more you progress, the more tense things become, and death is always around the corner. When the timelines start to blend together and the killer starts to become more prevalent, the tension ramps up. Those quick-time events from Dead by Daylight appear when you’re not always expecting it, so it’s always necessary to pay close attention. The most obvious nod to DbD comes in the form of repairing generators after finding missing parts for it, where, you guessed it, you must click the button at the correct time.

The gameplay is similar to other Supermassive titles like The Quarry and Until Dawn. There’re opportunities to climb or jump, interact with objects, and find various collectibles and artefacts, including little models of some of Dead by Daylight’s most infamous murderers. Some of the movement is rough around the edges, and some areas I struggled to move around due to invisible walls. While not consistent or overly frustrating, getting around could definitely do with tweaking to make the experience smoother. Some of the puzzles in The Casting of Frank Stone aren’t particularly challenging, but they do mix up the gameplay to give you extra things to do along the way.

The Steel Mill acts as a fantastic setting for the game, and while the visuals aren’t as polished as they could be, they characters are still well-designed, especially the titular Frank Stone who I am almost positive will appear as a killer in Dead by Daylight. I can’t help but imagine what other stories Behaviour can tell, especially when they hand the reigns over to talented developers like Supermassive. While the story doesn’t always explain things in the best way, it’s clear what they want to do with regard to the lore of DbD, and that ending was so good.

The Casting of Frank Stone isn’t without its issues, but I still thoroughly enjoyed playing. The story ties in excellently with Behaviour Interactive’s multiplayer game, breathing new life into the series while feeling new and exciting at the same time. The cosmic horror, the blood and gore, the suspense and terror, the building of tension; everything is done with the familiar expertise Supermassive is known for, and I can’t wait to see what fans of the lore of Dead by Daylight think. While the visuals aren’t as crisp as they could be and some of the gameplay is a little unresponsive, I still had a blast finding out who the hell Frank Stone is.