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There have been a lot of strange gaming crossovers over the years. Freddy Krueger was in Mortal Kombat, Michael Myers in Call of Duty: Ghosts, and the Ninja Turtles in Street Fighter 6. But one crossover in particular had me turning my head in disbelief: Nicolas Cage in Dead By Daylight.
For the uninitiated, Dead By Daylight is an asymmetrical horror video game where 4 players take on the role of survivors who are trying to escape the map, and 1 player takes on the role of a killer who’s trying to sacrifice them on meathooks. It’s a simple premise that allows for a great amount of freedom for bringing in crossover characters and killers from franchises such as Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, and Scream. Previous crossovers have always been in the form of fictional characters, however, so it was a bit strange when it was announced that Nicolas Cage would be joining the ever expanding roster of guest characters. As himself.
After some hands-on time playing as Cage, I can say this is a pretty special collaboration. His toolkit plays up that he’s a real life star. He has abilities that allow him to play dead and get back up to trick or hide from the killer, or become screen partners with the killer as if he’s viewing the whole ordeal as the role of a lifetime. He brings a lot of fun energy to the Dead By Daylight roster, which is something that’s been missing with some of the more recent updates.
Playing as Cage is an absolute joy but I was curious how the hell this collaboration even came about. So I sat down to talk to Mathieu Côté, Head of Partnerships for Behaviour Interactive (the developers of Dead By Daylight), to find out how this surprising mashup came together.
Bloody Disgusting: How did this collaboration even come about? Is Cage a fan of Dead by Daylight?
Mathieu Côté: “It occurred very naturally, actually. We had the idea of collaborating with him and we reached out. We were thrilled to learn that in his close circle, he has people who are fans of the game. So he knew of us and he accepted. We were very lucky.”
BD: Did the team ever expect to have a real person, as opposed to a fictional character, join the expanding Dead by Daylight roster?
MC: “The idea has always been to have him as a real person and not one of the fictional characters he has played during his long and fruitful career. The world we have built in Dead By Daylight allows us to get people from various multiverses – which opens the door to having a real person in the game. It helps tremendously that he, himself, is bigger than reality, which made him an ideal candidate.”
BD: Were there any challenges that arose when designing Cage’s gameplay and toolkit due to the nature of him being a real person and not a fictional character?
MC: “The big difference wasn’t the fact that he was real or fictional but rather how do we represent that character to the best of our ability so that it’s as close to reality as possible? The perks, for instance, were designed to reflect what he stands for.”
BD: What do you feel Cage adds to the ever-growing lore of Dead By Daylight?
MC: “It expands on the idea that the world of the Entity is a place where different realities mix, which has always been a strength for Dead By Daylight. Everything we add to this world adds to its richness. And again, it’s been said many times but we are extremely lucky to have him in our game. He’s just… so cool.”
BD: Anything that Cage devotees should keep an eye or ear out for when playing as him?
MC: “There’s a couple of hidden elements – which players should definitely keep on the lookout for. If you play enough, if you master the character, there are really cool rewards!”
BD: Has Cage got a chance to play as himself in the game yet? What was his response?
MC: “We sadly don’t know. We really hope so.”
BD: What’s your favorite Nicolas Cage movie?
MC: “National Treasure 1 and 2. Both are perfect movies and I watch them regularly.”
Nicolas Cage is now available in Dead By Daylight.