For fans of the Dead by Daylight series, or those who can’t get enough of Supermassive Games’ horror offerings, Frank Stone’s Casting is the ultimate narrative adventure that fully embraces its influences and isn’t afraid to have fun, as Supermassive’s past projects – Until Dawn, Quarry, The Dark Pictures Anthology – have shown us.
It’s a short, fun, and not-too-serious title, and while I imagine those unfamiliar with Dead by Daylight might not get a chance to appreciate its best moments, The Casting of Frank Stone shows that Supermassive Games is continuing to grow from strength to strength.
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It’s time Behaviour Interactive decided to expand the Dead by Daylight lore – beyond what we received in 2022 with Hooked On You: A Dead by Daylight Dating Simulator – and I’m glad to see Behaviour chose Supermassive Games as the developer.
This is a match made in heaven for any horror fan; if any studio was going to delve into the grim lore of the survivors and killers within the realm of the God of Death and its domain, it would be Supermassive, and the developers certainly don’t skimp on the gore and brutality. The developers make sure you’re uneasy in your seat, and that goes beyond making sure you can easily kill off your favorite characters by accident. Yes, I did. More than once.
Bloody ghosts, and Supermassive’s QTE and dialogue-driven gameplay mesh perfectly with Dead by Daylight’s gameplay loop. It wouldn’t be a Dead by Daylight game without a generator or two that needs fixing and those annoying skill checks, and fans weren’t disappointed. There are many nods, some explicit and some not, to both Dead by Daylight and Supermassive’s own past projects. Ultimately, there’s more than enough for fans of both developers to enjoy and get excited about.
The game itself begins in a run-down factory, where police officer Sam Green is sent to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a teenage boy, only to discover that things are far more serious than he bargained for. Throughout the prologue, the tone of a typical teenage slasher game is immediately set; you quickly resist the urge to scream at the screen and tell Sam Green to turn around and go home. After all, who would find a rotting corpse and a dismembered ear and think, “Hey, let’s go home.” no Call for backup, and we’ll move on.” Here we first meet the eponymous Frank Stone and the mysterious Augustin Lieber; these two characters are key to the chilling story that is about to unfold.
After a brief but thrilling prologue, you get to see the real meat of the game, which is told in different time periods. You first meet the likes of Madi, Linda, and Stan, all of whom have been summoned to Gerant Manor — a very spooky estate that feels like something out of The Woman in Black — to strike a deal; the deal is to deliver never-before-seen footage from the 70s film Murder Mill to your unsettling master.
At this point our flashbacks kick in and you’re back on the set of The Murder Mill in Cedar Hill, with young Linda and her companions – Robert, Jamie and Chris – at the helm. It’s not long after Frank Stone committed his horrific act, and when the group decides to go film some final scenes at the mill where it all happened, it’s no surprise that these nosy teens get themselves into trouble. As they do, our characters in the present also find themselves in trouble.
The game’s flashbacks and cinematics are very Alan Wake 2-esque at times, and Frank Stone’s casting seems entirely aware of that. After all, Dead by Daylight has been a game that celebrates horror for nearly a decade, so for a single-player adventure like this to have those same influences – including moments reminiscent of PT, the Zero series, and more – feels only too fitting.
Examples like this, combined with the abundance of Dead by Daylight Easter eggs, ultimately make The Selection of Frank Stone more than just an extension of the base Dead by Daylight lore; instead, it feels more like a celebration of horror passion, and those with a love for Dead by Daylight will especially appreciate all of the relics and nods to the past that are available for curious players to find.
Speaking of which, I also can’t ignore the dialogue. It often seemed awkward and funny, sometimes ruining my immersion, but it never seemed out of place in this horror film. Supermassive is certainly not making B movies, but it shows time and again that it knows how to replicate one with quality and style. These grand cinematic adventures of Supermassive often call to mind horror films from the seventies and eighties, and The Casting of Frank Stone is no exception in this regard.
This kind of hilarious, off-kilter dialogue keeps the game both entertaining and terrifying; something I found to be very important in convincing non-horror fans to play these games with me. This kind of dark, twisted humor amidst the scary moments is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Supermassive Games and Behaviour Interactive, and the developer has once again shown that it knows its players well and nailed the tone of the story on multiple levels.
Both the best and worst moments of Frank Stone’s Casting come at the end; an ending that I felt came too soon. It’s safe to say that I expected a bit more from the game’s ending sequence, though I did kill off a few characters (accidentally!) during my first playthrough, and can imagine that the ending could have been completely different if I had planned different fates for them. That being said, the ending of Frank Stone’s Casting is what Dead by Daylight fans will truly rejoice over; it’s both disturbing and delightful, providing a fitting end to a range of characters while also setting the stage for the ones we’ll encounter in Dead by Daylight.
Players who have always wondered how characters in Dead by Daylight are trapped in a never-ending nightmare by evil spirits will be very happy to finally get some answers, especially if the Dead by Daylight-style achievements and endless Easter eggs haven’t already made you foam at the mouth. If you’re a fan of Dead by Daylight or The Dark Pictures Anthology, then Frank Stone’s Casting is an absolute must-play. Even so, those unfamiliar with the series will still find something to appreciate in this fun but short experience.
Frank Stone’s Casting is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The game was reviewed on PC with a code provided by the publisher.
