Dead by Daylight: Chains of Hate Review

"Chains of the West"

March 13, 2020 at 5:46pm
By Jason Stettner

The horror experience of Dead by Daylight continues to evolve with the Chains of Hate chapter. This is the latest DLC addition to the game that provides us with another killer, a survivor and of course a map. This is western themed, and honestly adds a really neat different sort of aesthetic to the experience. For the killer we have The Deathslinger.

This was a character who was a former bounty hunter, who faced a massacre and betrayal at Hellshire Penitentiary. The killer uses a neat primary weapon at his disposal. This is a hook gun that can catch survivors and then drag them towards him. I found the gun to have a bit of a skill curve where it was either super helpful or just ineffective.

Once they are reeled in you can slash them, otherwise they may escape. That aside the killer really doesn’t have anything else going on. It does of course come with three unique perks, as does the survivor. The killer’s perks are based around totems and the relentless hunt.

The survivor is Zarina Kassir who is apparently a modern day cowboy. That is, in the fact she uses a camera and filmmaking skills to help those that cannot help themselves. She’s trying to investigate the “Mad Mick Massacre” which is where the Deathslinger comes into the picture. I really liked this character, she’s got a very interesting look to her and some neat perks. One perk I want to highlight is to basically instantly heal another player but at the cost of your own health. It’s a neat change-up, and shocks every player I do it to.

The new map is the Dead Dawg Saloon, it’s really awesome. It’s a very open sort of map, with just a few little buildings propped up to move within. It features long lines of sight, dust bunnies and many authentic western elements. It features an orange hue, and so many neat props that perfectly capture the era. I was very surprised by how it looks, and it fits in well while being something so fresh to play on as you try to survive.

The Conclusion

The Chains of Hate Chapter was a solid addition to the game providing a fresh aesthetic yet not a necessarily stand out killer to play as. I liked the survivor as she was interesting, at the same time she’s not anything too wildly different. The killer was just alright, the hook can be effective if used well but I just thought there might be something more dynamic there. It was almost like, oh just another killer that slashes people.

It’s not that he isn’t effective, just that he’s sort of boring aside from the cool lurking style he has. There’s a certain swagger there in seeing this tall character pacing about. The map is incredible that was added with this release, it’s beautiful and very different from the others within the game. It takes entirely different strategies and has such a neat aesthetic to it.

Read our Chains of Hate Chapter Review
View our Dead by Daylight Hub

Dead by Daylight: Chains of Hate Review on Xbox One X
Review Code Provided by Behavior Interactive

Rating Overall: 7.5