Highlights

  • Chucky is a unique killer in Dead by Daylight, subverting traditional killer character designs.
  • Chucky cannot pick up and hook survivors himself, instead summoning his human spirit form.
  • Chucky is played from a third-person perspective, which is a first for a Dead by Daylight killer to provide a wider point of view relative to his size.

In typical Dead by Daylight fashion, fans who are elated about the long-anticipated and long-speculated Child’s Play debut are already learning all of the foul-mouthed Chucky doll’s strategies thanks to the PTB. Chucky is already shaping up to be the most unique killer in Dead by Daylight thus far and there are already a handful of traditions that Chucky subverts for a killer character despite the red-haired menace and his human spirit form not being available in live servers until the end of the month.

Chucky’s announcement for Dead by Daylight might’ve been glossed over by many fans due to the surprise announcement that Stranger Things’ DLC has returned. Thankfully, the PTB is here now to allow fans time with Chucky, where they can now also try him out on the exhumed Hawkins Laboratory map. There are many differences between Chucky and other killers that fans will instantly acknowledge, many of which challenge and supersede a formula for killers that Behaviour could’ve easily chosen to adhere to. Instead, Chucky is the clear result of ingenuity and a refusal to stay stagnant.

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Chucky Refuses to Be a Twins Clone

When Chucky was imagined without any context of how he might play in Dead by Daylight before, there were a few misconceptions that wouldn’t have been out of the realm of consideration. Because Chucky is extremely short and small in comparison to almost every other killer, the immediate thought was that he would behave identically to the Twins’ Victory and even potentially have a character to supplement him and hook survivors.

This is what has been decided on for Chucky’s design on paper, but its execution is much more immersive with Chucky truly being the center of attention and where all gameplay is derived. Chucky himself cannot pick up and hook survivors, and when he needs to do so he summons an extension of himself, his human spirit form of Charles Lee Ray.

This is a perfect way of fulfilling those necessary killer functions without adding in a whole second character like the Twins’ Charlotte, and it doesn’t detract from Chucky as the main role. The lobby screen even shows the spirit’s backside while Chucky clutches the spirit’s shoulder and grips a chef’s knife.

Dead by Daylight’s Chucky is a Brilliant Adaptation of the Iconic Killer

That said, where Chucky’s most creative distinction lies is in the fact that he is played fully from a third-person perspective, aside from when a survivor is being picked up and players inhabit the spirit form. This is a first for a Dead by Daylight killer and makes a lot of sense due to players not being able to see basically anything in the field of play at Chucky’s height if it was in first-person.

If Chucky had to aim down sights for long-ranged attacks like Huntress or Deathslinger that might’ve been an issue, but with his sprinting attack it really is of no consequence to have a third-person perspective that is gracious enough to give players a wider point of view.

His animations don’t skimp out at this short height, either, with players getting to watch as he leaps up to disrupt generators or destroy pallets, which he can also crawl beneath under particular circumstances. Each element of Chucky’s gameplay in Dead by Daylight seems to have been meticulously thought out and it’s wonderful to see that for such an unconventional character, demonstrating how creative Behaviour can be when it comes to adapting any licensed character in the future.