Deathgarden, the newest game from Dead by Daylight developer Behavior Digital, is a different take on asymmetrical PvP. This near-future bloodsport has one person playing what seems like a more traditional FPS, but the other five are teamed up against them in a third-person game of capture point keepaway.
I got my hands on Deathgarden’s closed alpha, and it’s already deep, fast, and shaping up to be a whole lot of fun. It’s a simple premise: a team of five Runners have to sprint and climb around a randomized map, coordinating to capture two of the three available capture points. Meanwhile, a lone Hunter is trying to track them down and blast them to smithereens. The Runners have a bow for marking items and special abilities to impede the Hunter, but they can’t actual hurt them. The Hunter, however, has a lethal arsenal of assault rifles, shotguns, and more.
The two sides can often feel like they are playing two very different games. While the Runners share a singular goal, they need to work together to split the Hunter’s attention, as capturing a point alone takes a long time. So one strategy could be to send two Runners to Point A, two to Point B, and a lone one to Point C. As soon as the Hunter attacks one, the Runners can flee to another point to keep capping - assuming they are still alive.
In contrast, the Hunter has lots of different plates to spin all on their own. You have to guard three separate points at once, track down wily Runners to get the kills you need to actually win, manage reloading and energy, and lay mines or stationary turrets around the map all at once. That said, you also don’t need to rely on anyone else to make sure your plan comes together.
The difference in view perspective is big too, with the third person camera and wall climbing of the Runners making them extremely mobile and much more adept at sneaking around. While the Hunter can use energy to move fast and jump farther as well, the first person perspective means you could potentially be walking right past a hidden enemy and not know it, or lose track of a runner entirely as they scamper up a tree or into some bushes.
I imagine a meta will start to develop in Deathgarden, as both the Runners and the Hunters can pick ability loadouts before the match. Runners can even collect a resource on the map that lets them upgrade those abilities mid-match. Special stun arrows or healing bolts can turn the tide, but the Hunter can also adapt and change what their doing to address new threats.
The good news is that if you are outclassed, an average match only takes about 5 to 10 minutes. That means you’re at least in, out, and onto the next randomized arena pretty quickly when faced with a bad game. And while out of match progression will unlock new cosmetic options, Behavior says it’s committed to making sure there’s no pay-to-win and no grind-to-win. All abilities will be available to all players, regardless of playtime.
Even this early on, I can already tell Deathgarden could be a complex game. It’s not just about having good aim and quick fingers (though those do help), it’s also about coming up with a plan and adjusting on the fly as your opponent’s own strategy plays out. It’s Developer Behavior Digital showing that asymmetrical PvP doesn’t need to be relegated to horror games, and it stands out as a result.
Deathgarden’s closed alpha starts today, which you can sign-up for here. Behavior will be hosting a livestream event to kick off the alpha starting at 11am PDT on their Twitch channel. Tom Marks is IGN's PC Editor and pie maker. You can follow him on Twitter.