For the first time in the 340-odd hours I've played Dead by Daylight, it's managed to actually scare me. I've been working on this generator for what feels like hours. Somewhere in the darkness, a fellow Survivor screams. How far away are they? Do I have time to run? I can't see more than a foot in front of me, but I know that the shadows all around are hungry.
The Lights Out modifier was a welcome, albeit brief, break from how seriously unserious Dead by Daylight has always felt. Famous horror movie icons like The Shape, The Good Guy, and The Ghost Face might be involved, but unless played in a specific way, they very rarely feel as scary as the movies they hail from – especially when you have powerful Survivor perks equipped and can click a flashlight in their faces. With your perks and items taken from you in Lights Out, though, DBD never felt scarier. Its week-long run from February 7 marked the first limited game modifier to be launched by the developer, and by forcing us to rethink our approach to typical matches, Behaviour landed on its best idea in years to remind us that this was always meant to be a horror game. If Lights Out doesn't make a permanent comeback, I would be more than a little bit upset about it.
