10 Incredible Dead by Daylight References in The Casting of Frank Stone

The following contains spoilers for The Casting of Frank Stone, available September 3, 2024.

Dead by Daylight has become known over the years for its iconic horror crossovers. Behaviour Interactive, the company behind this groundbreaking game, has partnered with many famous horror franchises, from Scream, Stranger Things, and Halloween, to more unexpected collaborations like Dungeons & Dragons and Attack on Titan. Recently, Behaviour partnered with another iconic gaming studio to bring the world of Dead by Daylight to life in a way never seen before.

Supermassive Games is known for incredible choice-based horror games, like Until Dawn, The Quarry, and The Dark Pictures Anthology. In addition to an Until Dawn remake in October, Supermassive Games partnered with Behavior to create The Casting of Frank Stone, a “cinematic horror experience” from the world of Dead by Daylight.

These Collectibles Reference DBD Killer Add-Ons

Most Supermassive Games have many objects to interact with, from documents that will help clue the characters (and player) in on something important, to small collectibles that the character keeps. In The Casting of Frank Stone, players can collect a dozen trinkets that they store in a nifty padded box. These aren’t the only collectibles to find, but they are some of the earliest references to Dead by Daylight that players can pick up.

Seasoned DBD players will instantly recognize the shape and name of these trinkets as killer add-ons. These add-ons allow players to tweak their character’s base kit to work a bit more efficiently. For example, the first trinket in The Casting of Frank Stone is the Iridescent King, a Doctor add-on. The Iridescent King causes survivors to see and hear an illusionary terror radius and red stain when they normally shouldn’t, causing survivors to tilt and panic.

9 Players Will Also Stumble Across Killer Dolls

These “Relliks” Make DBD’s Terrifying Killers Weirdly Cute

Dead by Daylight might have a reputation for doing crossovers with iconic horror franchises, but before Behaviour secured licenses for things like Halloween, it had to rely on original characters. The original killer trio, the Wraith, the Trapper, and the Hillbilly, have become horror staples in their own right. Over the last eight years, DBD has added a plethora of original killers and The Casting of Frank Stone didn’t miss an opportunity to pay homage to them in more ways than one.

Alongside the killer add-on trinkets, players can also find “Relliks.” Like the trinkets, there are 12 relliks littered throughout the game. Each one is a doll depicting one of Dead by Daylight’s iconic killers, and the relliks only include original DBD killers — T he Casting of Frank Stone doesn’t include anything from licensed DBD chapters.

8 The Game’s Trophies Are Clever DBD References Too

Please the Entity by Killing Every Character

The Casting of Frank Stone features 33 PlayStation trophies. Many of the trophy titles and tasks relate directly to Dead by Daylight. For example, there is a trophy called “Tinkerer” that players earn for repairing all the generators. Tinkerer is a Hillybilly perk that allows him to track survivors through generator repair progress. Another trophy called “Plunder’s Instinct” pops up when a player collects all trinkets. Plunder’s Instinct is a survivor perk that shows survivors where nearby chests are and increases the chance of item rarity.

Other trophies refer to DBD’s gameplay. Players earn the “Merciless Killer” trophy by getting the main cast killed. Killers earn a Merciless Killer victory in DBD if they kill all four survivors in a trial. Players earn the “Entity Displeased” trophy by saving the entire cast. Killers receive this result if they don’t sacrifice any survivors during a trial. There are even trophies for players with a deep understanding of DBD. Players earn the “Motif” trophy if they play DBD’s iconic theme music on the piano.

7 Frank Stone Uses Killer Instinct to Track His Victims

Survivors Can’t Hide from Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct is a DBD mechanic that was first introduced with the Legion. Originally, only the Legion could trigger Killer Instinct with their Frenzy ability. Killer Instinct allows killers to track survivors without the need for a visibility perk or add-on. Survivors also can’t use perks, like Distortion, or normal methods of hiding from aura reading, like hiding in lockers, to avoid it. Since Killer Instinct’s debut, the ability has become a more universal mechanic for multiple killers.

In The Casting of Frank Stone, the player gets to see the world through Frank Stone’s perspective a few times. In DBD, Killer Instinct highlights the survivors in orange, making it incredibly difficult to miss them. Frank Stone also tracks his victims using this same method, allowing him to easily follow after Linda, Sam, and the others.

6 In Addition to Trinkets & Relliks, the Game Features Many DBD Artifacts

Learn About the World of Dead by Daylight by Exploring The Casting of Frank Stone

The Trinkets and Relliks are pulled straight out of Dead by Daylight to offer players fun Easter eggs, but many of The Casting of Frank Stone’s other artifacts relate to DBD too. For example, while in the antique shop, players will find the Huntress’ classic bunny mask sitting on one of the many shelves. Players will also find and use survivor equipment, like flashlights, med-kits, and toolboxes.

A few puzzles also have beautiful callbacks to DBD. One puzzle requires players to place a replica tree from the Entity’s realm next to a statue of the Hillbilly. Doing so will award them the Hillbilly’s hammer, which can be used to open another mysterious compartment. There’s even a book containing the Dredge’s lore hidden in the game, highlighting that Augustine has been stalking the Entity for many years.

5 Skill Checks & Scratch Marks Make an Appearance

Failing a Skill Check Can Cost Players Everything

The Casting of Frank Stone pays tribute to two of Dead by Daylight’s most important mechanics by including both skill checks and scratch marks. In DBD, survivors create scratch marks on the ground and surrounding environment when they run. These scratch marks make it easier for the killer to track them when they’re moving quickly. Frank Stone shows the scratch marks, but since players only play as “survivors,” there’s no need to linger on the scratch marks too much.

Skill checks, however, are an important mechanic in the game. In DBD, players have to perform skill checks while working on generators, healing, and surviving on the hook long enough to be saved. These skill checks are important because missing one can result in alerting the killer to the player’s location or even death. They function much the same in The Casting of Frank Stone. Some missed skill checks can result in the death of a character.

4 It Wouldn’t be a Dead by Daylight Game Without the Iconic Generators

Repairing Gens is the Main Goal of All Survivors

One of Dead by Daylight’s staples is the iconic generator design. While killers hunt survivors, survivors must work together to repair five generators. If they repair all five generators, the exit gates will power up, giving them a chance to escape. Next to survival, repairing generators should be a survivor’s number one priority. It’s a huge part of survivor gameplay and there are dozens of survivor perks designed specifically to help make repairing gens easier.

The Casting of Frank Stone couldn’t be “from the world of Dead by Daylight” if it didn’t include generators. Fortunately, the game seamlessly includes several generators that need to be repaired before the survivors can continue on their journey. Arguably, repairing the generators in Frank Stone is much faster and easier than it is in DBD, but including the mechanic was still a lovely nod to the game.

3 Dead by Daylight’s Hooks & Iconic Deaths

The Game is Called Dead by Daylight, After All

In Dead by Daylight, survivors can die by a few different methods. The most common method is, of course, being hooked enough times to be sacrificed to the Entity. Once a player is on death hook (or left on hook long enough to die), the Entity impales them and lifts them into the sky. Survivors can also die if the Endgame Collapse timer runs out. The Entity will emerge from the ground beneath their feet and impale them. Less commonly, survivors can bleed out on the ground or be mori’d (instantly killed) by the killer.

The Casting of Frank Stone puts hooks and Endgame Collapse on full display. At the beginning of the game, after Sam succeeds in shooting Frank Stone, Frank falls from a catwalk and impales himself on metal shards. While gruesome, the pose Stone dies in mirrors the same pose that survivors suffer if they die to the Endgame Collapse timer. Stone also succeeds (depending on what choices the player makes) in hooking several main characters, including Sam, Bonnie, and Linda.

2 All Roads Lead to the Campfire

A Place Where Survivors Convene

When players load up Dead by Daylight, they’ll find themselves sitting on a screen where four survivors sit around a campfire while a killer looks at them from a distance. This campfire is a staple location in the Entity’s realm, a place where survivors convene and await their next trial. Survivors are sent into trials to be killed and revived repeatedly, so the Entity can feed on their despair and pain.

In The Casting of Frank Stone, the campfire is the final destination for every surviving character. Yes, they survived, but their fate is much worse than death could ever be. They will face death again and again until they become nothing but a husk that the Entity can no longer feed on. As the survivors approach the campfire, they get glimpses of original Dead by Daylight survivors like Claudette, Meg, and Dwight. These survivors don’t even acknowledge the new arrivals because they’ve already accepted their fates. They’re just awaiting the next trial.

1 The Entity Manipulates the World

It Has Been Pulling the Strings All Along

The Entity is the overarching antagonist of the Dead by Daylight universe. The Entity kidnaps people and traps them in its world to subject them to endless trials of agony and death. From DBD’s lore, players know that the Entity feeds on despair, dread, and pain. It will continue to suck the life out of survivors until that survivor gives up completely. Once a survivor gives up hope, it becomes an empty husk that the Entity can no longer feed on, so it continuously needs to bring in new survivors and killers (hence why the roaster keeps expanding).

The Casting of Frank Stone puts the Entity on full display from the beginning. Like in Dead by Daylight, players still mostly see the Entity’s limbs manifesting. That said, the game makes it obvious from the beginning that the Entity is in control of everything that’s happening. It manipulates the world for decades so it can secure a new killer and several new survivors. As it works, it makes the characters feel like the entire world is being overtaken by this mysterious, horrible force.