Despite being a horror juggernaut for eight years, the world of Dead by Daylight is fairly mysterious. There’s only so much we learn about the serial killer universe through its asymmetrical multiplayer matches. There’s an evil “Entity.” It requires blood sacrifices. Violence ensues. Behaviour Interactive is finally looking to expand that story this September. Developed by Until Dawn studio Supermassive Games, The Casting of Frank Stone is an interactive horror movie in the same vein as The Quarry. It’s a classic slasher story about a sick killer terrorizing a town full of teens, with each player’s decisions affecting who lives and dies. It’s a tried-and-true formula for Supermassive, but how well does that adapt to a completely different studio’s established horror universe? Based on the prologue demo I played, it’s a natural (and bloody) fit.
The Casting of Frank Stone takes place in the small town of Cedar Hills, at small Oregon burg with a dark secret. A steel mill at the heart of town is home to Frank Stone, a vicious killer decked out in chains and a welder’s mask. The main story follows a group of teens trying to uncover the dark — and perhaps supernatural — mystery of Frank. That’s not what I see in my demo, though. Instead, I’m dropped into a prologue set in the 1960s, one that both provides a tutorial on some familiar narrative systems and sets up the story. I take control of a cop investigating a missing child report and head to a steel mill. I quickly meet a creepy groundskeeper and get a quick reintroduction to what Supermassive does so well. Detailed character models, spirited performances, and an eerie tone pull me in quickly. I immediately feel like I’m watching a tense horror movie.
Of course, I’m not a passive observer. All of Supermassive’s gameplay signatures are accounted for here. I choose dialogue options that can shape my relationship to the groundskeeper, explore the mill in third-person, pick up scattered documents that tease out the story, and perform quick-time actions. Nothing feels like new ground for the studio so far, but that’s fine considering how much it has interactive horror down to a science. That becomes clear as I get toward the end of the 45-minute demo. Early on, I’m mostly just soaking in the atmosphere. I occasionally stop to mash the space bar to pry open a grate or drag my mouse to unblock a door, but those are just early tests of my reflexes. The tension ramps up when skill checks come into play, where I need to press the space bar at the right point in a quickly spinning circle. That comes into play when I choose to walk up a ramp instead of a ladder. A panel falls under me, so I need to act fast to grab the ledge and avoid falling to my death. It feels like the most direct gameplay connection to Dead by Daylight so far, calling back to some of the precise timing required to survive in that game.
Everything comes to a head in the final sequence, where I finally come face-to-face with the monstrous Frank Stone just as he’s about to sacrifice a baby. A fight scene ensues and I need to work quickly to aim a cursor in the right spot to shoot, pass some crucial skill checks, and eventually wiggle my way to freedom when Stone impales me against a wall (another clear nod to Dead by Daylight and its killers’ obsession with hooks). It’s a thrilling sequence that ends with a gruesome teaser for what’s to come. I’m a little bummed when the demo ends; I need to know what happens next. I can probably guess where it’s going judging by how quickly Supermassive seems to be sticking to its formula. The full game will seemingly have me controlling a bunch of teens who wind up in the mine fighting for their lives. I know that I’ll be changing their fate with dialogue decisions and skill checks. What I’m more intrigued by is how this all connects to Dead by Daylight. That’s not totally clear yet based on the mysterious prologue, though I’m sure it will connect back to the Entity in some way. After so many years of slashing teens in Dead by Daylight, I’m ready to see one of its killers at work outside of the fog. The Casting of Frank Stone already feels like it’ll deliver that with a healthy side dish of gore. The Casting of Frank Stone launches on September 3 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
