It almost feels like Dead by Daylight should be running out of ideas. Incorporating icons from numerous horror franchises, surely the developer would run out. Seemingly not. Along with some new content coming in March, the asymmetrical survival game is a??lso throwing up the horns for heavy metal.

For all you metalheads out there (yo!), this one's for you. Dead by Daylight just launched a special collection that takes cues from the legendar??y?? Iron Maiden. More specifically, there are a number of outfits inspired by the band's Eddie mascot.

The abov??e video has announced that the collection is out now via the in?-game store. You can get such variations as the Dredge, the Doctor, the Deathslinger, and the Oni. There are also some rare tour shirts for the original Survivors.

The download of the beast

I suppose something like this was bound to happen eventually. Horror and heavy metal go hand-in-hand. There's just something about the loud and rebellious sound of rockin' guitars and violent video games that makes them such good bedfellows. I mean, just look at Brutal Legend (disappointing though that was).

This isn't even the first time Iron Maiden has graced the world of gaming, either. Back in 2016, Nodding Frog Ltd released Legacy Beast RPG, a fantasy, turn-based role-playing game for mobile. Then there was the video game/greatest hits album Ed Hunter, released in 1999.

In short, Bruce Dickinson and co are not exactly strangers to our world, and Eddie joining Dead by Daylight sounds like a pretty good match. If only Behaviour Interactive had released it a couple of minutes before mid?night...

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Dead by Daylight continues its trend of adding well-known movie and video game horror villains to its increasing roster. Now, Child's Play is the latest franchise to be incorporated, as developer Behaviour ??Interactive brings the kill?er doll Chucky to the game.

A new trailer for the patch shows the pint-sized terror doing what he does best: stabbing people to death. Chucky comes with two modes, Normal and Hidey-Ho, the latter of which makes him temporarily undetectable. He's also in a fixed third??-person camera view due to his short stature.

Dead by Daylight has also added in The Good Gal, which is essentially Tiffany. Fans of both the game and the Child's Play series will be pleased to know that Br??ad Dourif has reprised his role as the voice of Chucky.

No short-changing with this update

But it's not just Chucky and Tiffany that have been added in. Patch 7.4.0 also brings with it a few changes, including some tweaks to a number of DbD's killers. There's also been a slight reduction to some of the la?rger maps, specifically Mother's Dwelling and Red Forest Realm.

If that wasn't enough, the update also implements a ton of fixes, adds in a Player Card, which you "can earn collectable banners and badges" for, and adds support for AMD's FSR 1.0 upscaling technology. You can see the full patch notes on the Steam page.

It's a pretty sweet gig Dead by Daylight has. While a popular asymmetrical horror game in?? general, the fact that it has a long list of other franchises it can utilize for characters and enemies lends it that extra bit of longev?ity. With it now bringing Chucky into the mix, it kind of makes me want to reinstall it again.

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Since Dead by Daylight released in 2016, we've seen so many horror crossovers. The most recent one was when the Xenomorph from Alien was incorporated into the asymmetrical survival game. Now, developer Behaviour Interactive seems eager to join up with the Five Nights universe.

In a recent Reddit AMA conducted by the studio (as spotted by The Gamer), several members of the team take turns to answer some burning questions from fans. One of them comes from user NasserMX who asks whether Five Nights at Freddy's will ever make its way to Dead by Daylight.

//www.reddit.com/r/deadbydaylight/co??mments/16cjy36/comment/jzjqfmy/?utm_source=share&u??tm_medium=web2x&context=3

While the answer isn't a definitive yes or no, Behaviour's own Senior Creative Director, Dave Richard, says to "never say never!" Not much can ?be read from this statement, but a few Reddit users posting below seem excited about the possibility of the two franchises coming together.

Imagine running away from The Puppet

Since time immemorial (well...seven years ago), Dead by Daylight has made a name for itself with numerous crossovers. We've seen Silent Hill's Pyramid Head, Freddy Krueger, Bill from Left 4 Dead, Resident Evil 3's Nemesis, and more horror vil?lains make an ??appearance.

We obviously don't know whether the team will bring the creepy animatronics from Five Nights at Freddy's over. However, it does sound like the studio is keen on the idea. The smash hit spooky series is still going, though it's not as popular as it once was. A film adaptation of FNaF is currently i??n the pipeline and due to release Octobe?r 27.

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It's all in the family

Sumo Digital's asymmetrical multiplayer take on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is locking in dates for both a technical test and full release. The gory multiplayer will ??test the waters on May 25, with a full release scheduled for August 18, 2023.

Based on the 1974 horror film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre looks to pit hapless travelers against the Slaughter family that loves to prey on them. It seems to be following in the same asymmetrical steps of many other multiplayer horror games these days. The victims run and hide, using stealth and wits to survive as the Slaughter Family players hunt them down. And you really don't want to get caught, as you can see in today's release date trailer, via IGN:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlab3PEYzKE

Just real gnarly stuff. This does not seem like a multiplayer game for the faint of heart?.

Deep in the heart of Texas

If that seems like your type of jam, though, there will be a technical test to kick the tires of this new horror game in May. Gun and Sumo Digital advise those who want to know more about the test to follow The Texas Chain Saw Massacre social channels, or you could keep an eye on the Steam page.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game interests me, though not solely because of my Texan roots. Many asymmetrical horror games have come and gone, and it feels like the extremely specific adaptations sometimes have trouble sticking around. Going up against established, multi-property juggernauts like Dead By Daylight has to be tough, so I'm curious to see what Sumo Digital brings to the table to make the Slaughter Family's horror experience stand out. Y?ou know, aside from the chainsaws.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre hits on August 18 for PC, PlayStation ??4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. It'll also be a Game ??Pass day one game, for both Xbox and PC.

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Yo, She-bitch... Let's go.

Saber Interactive has launched a brand new mode for its cartoonishly gory multiplayer title Evil Dead: The Game �The new "Splatter Royale" mode is now available? to download on PC and console platforms, free of charge, and offers up a fresh/rotten new take on the battle royale g??enre.

In Splatter Royale, up to 40 players step int?o the viscera-soaked world of The Evil Dead, donning the gross, splatteriffic visage of any of the roster's demons, or, alternately, a Deadtite-turned variant of Evil Dead's many heroes. Once you've selected your death dealer, then it's off into the woods, to fight it out in an every-demon-for-themselves competition for gory glory.

//www.youtube.com/wat??c?h?v=_QupM-QQW9A&ab_channel=EvilDead%3ATheGame

Navigate the grim terrain, arm yourself (quite literally in Ash's case) with any and all scattered weaponry, and take on all comers in a bid to be crowned the Last Deadite Standing. There are a lot of cool characters on offer, and a massive variety of mayhem-dealing weaponry. But no matter who you chose, and no matter whether you're rocking a hammer, shovel, or the all-new grenade launcher, all entrants to the Evil Dead Splatter Royale can be sure o??f one?? absolute certainty: You Will Get Wet.

In addition to the new mode, a new paid DLC bundle is also available. The "Immortal Power Bundle" adds a new survivor in the shape of Ash vs. The Evil Dead's Ruby Knowby, portrayed on-screen and in-game by the former Xena: Warrior Princess herself, Lucy Lawless. In addition, the bundle contains four new skins for Ash vs. the Evil Dead stars Kelly, Pablo, an??d, of course, Ash himself, as well as a new "King of the White Frost" skin for the Puppeteer class demon. The Immortal Power Bundle is available n??ow, priced at $9.99 USD.

Evil Dead: The Game is available now on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms. It will be available to download for all PlayStation Plus subscribers from February 7.

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I feel so funky

I’ve been a massive fan of Ghostbusters for almost as long as I can remember. That means I’m insufferably picky. I haven’t even watched the 2016 reboot or Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It’s already been proven you can’t top the majesty of the original film. Video games are similar. Most games made off the license are okay at best and abysmal at worst.

When Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed was announced, I was skeptical. I’m not typically drawn to multi-player-focused games, and anyone who touches my beloved had better have immaculate hands. This time, it’s Illfonic, makers of the Friday the 13th game. They’ve proven themselves before, even if it was sort of overshadowed by Dead by Daylight. So, as I fastened up my pos?itron collider??, I kept a stance of cautiously optimistic mixed with immovably scrutinous.

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
Developer: IllFonic
Publisher: IllFonic
Released: October 18, 2022
MSRP: $39.99

The background to Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed has Ray and Winston (and maybe Peter, but he doesn??’t appear) re-opening the Ghostbusters back in the old firehouse. Since the business only seemed profitable during major, apocalyptic disruptions and real estate in Manhattan is probably even more expensive than it was in the 1980s, this seems like a bad move. Even worse, they’ve hired a bunch of new 'busters to sit around and eat Twinkies.

Okay, so apparently, there are still a lot of ghosts running around New York, which means we’re more in cartoon territory here. While there’s a storyline that runs as you level up, it’s not terribly interesting. It makes the same mistake that a lot of new Ghostbusters narratives do and bri?ngs in previously mentioned subjects and puts the spotlight ??on them. Of course, that’s hardly the draw here.

We’re really here to kick in the doors and be “totally discrete.�You and three other 'busters are dropped into one of the game's five environments with the goal of catching the ghost running rampant. The ghost has three opportunities to respawn through rifts hidden in the environment. Ghostbusters can c??lose these rifts either by catching the ghost and forcing it to respawn or by locating a haunted object in the environment and using their proton stream to shut it. If all the rifts are closed, and the ghost finds itself in a trap, the 'busters win.

[embed]//youtu.be/SvU0NnTCxXM[/embed]

No human being would stack books this way

The asymmetrical part of Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed has one player take the role of the ghost. Their goal is to creep up the place by scaring civilians and haunting objects. It’s largely a matter of survival, as rifts can be protected, moved, and re-concealed. If you’re? feeling really sassy, you can sabotage or outright attack the 'busters. You can’t fully eliminate the Ghostbusters, but you can delay them and frustrate their attempts to undo your work.

Haunting is actually a lot of fun, but unfortunately, I didn’t have much chance to try it in the lead-up to this review. Often, I was playing with the same groups of streamers and press in the pre-release period, which you’d think would mean I’d frequently be rotated into the role. But it rarely happened, even if I joined from th?e spirit realm. It’s likely that with more players running, there will be more opportunities, but I didn’t get all that much time to experiment.

The franchise rights alone will make us rich

The first time I played Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, it didn’t click. It was chaotic and confusing, and everyone else seemed to be having the same trouble. When I went back to it, I quickly found myself getting invested. From the moment whe?n the team splits up to seek out the rifts to the final minutes where they group together to wrangle the ghost, there’s a lot of dynamic fun to be had. Many of the game’s mechanics have smaller nuances, to the point where strategies take form over repeated plays.

Busting along can be difficult, which is something that has often been stressed across multiple versions of the universe. In Extreme Ghostbusters, Egon even remarks that going alone is breaking the first rule of ghostbusting. You can’t maintain a tether and throw a trap out at the same time, and a ghost that slips your stream can disappear quite quickly. It’s better if someone supports the person with the primary tether. Throw out a trap, open it, then help guide the ghost in. Better yet, if you can bullseye ??the trap under the ghost.

The whole experience feels rather polished and balanced. It may need some fine-tuning, but I had plenty of battles against talented ghosts who were one miscalculation away from seeing the inside of a trap. Spirits Unleashes feels?? like it has a lot of passion behind it. More than just a licensed multi-player game, the development team put some visible thought into how to adapt the subject matter into a compelling multiplayer experience.

Are you a god?

There’s a decent?? amount of customization available, which I’ll admit is very important to me. There are multiple skins for each ghost type and the equipment can be tuned with some very universe-appropriate?? upgrades that gradually get unlocked, but more key is the ability to deck out your 'buster. You’re mostly forced into the uniform, but there’s a wide selection of ways to wear it, as well as colors to choose from. This means that while you can go wild with your creations, no one looks fully out of place.

Between jobs, you can also wander around the firehouse, check out your various collections and side tasks, and even interact with some of the equipment. While the narrative is a bit bust, it takes the time to actually be a Ghostbusters game. Ernie Hudson a??nd Dan Aykroyd are both here to voice their characters, with both Winston an??d Ray being lovingly animated.

Light is green; trap is clean

As a Ghostbusters fan, I’m left wanting more. I wish the humor were more in line with the original movies, but instead, it sounds more like it’s ripped from Extreme Ghostbusters. Being able to do something with Ecto-1 would have been nice, but somethi??ng tells me Illfonic pro??bably did some thinking on how to include it, but it fell out of scope. Frankly, while I wish for more levels and more customization, the price they’re asking for what’s there seems more than fair.

When the multiplayer was dropped from the remaster of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, I was rather disappointed. It was somewhat tacked on to tick a box that the publisher probably wanted, but it was kind of fun all the same. I’m not big on multiplayer, but busting makes me feel good. There’s been a drill-sized hole in my heart waiting to be filled, I just wasn’t expecting Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed to fill it so well.

And, as I sit here writing this, I can’t wait to zip up my flight suit and step back into my combat boots to bust some more. A lot of love was poured into Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, and it speaks to me. I?? can only hope that Illfonic is able to support it for months or even years to come because I can definitely see myself returning to it again and again. Now, if you’ll exc?use me, I’ve got an unlicensed nuclear accelerator to strap to my back.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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In Space, No-One Can Eat Ice Cream

Of all of the announcements, of all of the franchises, of all of the adaptations, I wouldn't have put a single penny on this one. And yet, here we are, less than 24 hours from the Gamescom Opening Night Live presentation and the news that somebody, somewhere, decided to put pen to paper and sign a contract to produce a brand new video game, in 2023, based on Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

Asymmetrical horror games are all the rage right now, despite being something of a mixed bag and a niche market. Major franchises such as Friday the 13th and The Evil Dead have both had a shake of the multiplayer scythe, while Behavior Interactive's Dead by Daylight is a literal ??who's who of horror's grimmest superstars, having played host to Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Hell Priest, Leatherface, and Ghostf?ace, among others.

But Killer Klowns from Outer Space? Now there's a real outlier.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilwcOZTBa64

Independently produced in 1988, Killer Klowns from Outer Space was written and directed by New York-based siblings Charles, Stephen, and Edward Chiodo, who had, since an early age, developed a love for claymation, prosthetics, animatronics, and all manner of practical special effects. Having cut their teeth in the film industry designing the homicidal fluffballs of Critters (1986), the brothers decided to try their hand at producing their own special-effect-laden take on the horror-comedy genre, that had blown up big time in the wake of Ivan Reitman's seminal classic, Ghostbusters (1984).

Shot in and around the Santa Cruz county of Watsonville, KKfOS was created with a relatively modest budget, with much of its $1.8 million USD being used to finance shooting permits, rental vehicles, and the materials for a widely ambitious range of practical effects. Set against the backdrop of the fictional Crescent Cove, the narrative tells a simplistic tale of a party of invading?? aliens, depicted as hideous and grotesque circus clowns, complete with a "Big Top" shaped flying saucer. Upon their unwelcome arrival, the "Klowns" embark upon a campaign of chaos throughout the slee??py suburb, capturing humans within candy-floss-style cocoons to be used as sustenance on their home planet.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETiSMS4i1as

Going all-in with its circus theme, the Klowns' methods of murder and mayhem reflect that of circus shenanigans. There are sentient balloon animals, tiny cars, human-eating shadow puppets, giant balloons, acidic cream pies, and �the aliens' piece de resistance �the deadly popcorn gun. As the residents of Crescent Cove fall victim to these perilous pierrots, it is up to the obligatory teenage couple in love, Mike Tobacco and Debbie Stone, to find a way to rid the town of this terror lest they become the finale of the Greatest Show not on Earth.

Releasing in the summer of 1988, KKfOS won over the hearts, but not the heads of the day's cr??itics, who were not particularly entertained by the film's flattish, skit-style storytelling, but were undeniably impressed, even charmed by its colorful visuals, inventive design ideas, goofy concept, and overall sense of sick s??illiness. Today, despite the film having massed a much larger and more devoted audience as a cult movie, these initial reviews do stand as fair commentary.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space falls down a little on both the "Horror" and the "Comedy" of horror/comedy �it isn't particularly scary and it isn't particularly? funny. It is, however, delightfully creative, and a wonderful reminder of a time when practical effects were not only a true and underappreciated art form, but were most definitely taken for granted �especially when compared to contemporary times where every single movie is shot against a green screen in an Atlan?ta car park.

Time has, in its own weird way, been strangely kind to the movie as a whole, mostly thanks to the impressively ?gross Klown costumes and some nice uses of animatronics, claymation, and standard animation �all blended relatively seamlessly into the live-acti??on. Also of note is the theme song, by punk band The Dickies, which remains a cleverly written and frustratingly catchy... erm... "banger."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CzLdg0PpLI

There have been several efforts to revitalize the Killer Klowns brand in recent years. Most notably, a 3D sequel was announced in 2012, back at the height of that bizarre "idiots dressing up as clowns at night" phase. This project has seemingly fallen into disarray, with numerous pushbacks and mixed messages as to its completion date. In 2018, the Killer Klowns rights were licensed by SyFy, with a view to making a TV series. Again, n?othing is ??yet to emerge from this project.

And thus, the charming movie that barely anyone saw, that youngsters today ?might not even know, and that has repeatedly failed to find its way back to the big (or small) screen, has, somehow, been selected to receive a video game adaptation treatment 35 years later. It is, undeniably, a bizarre and? twisted tale, the kind one could only expect from such a strange franchise. So keep watching the skies, watch out for the pint-sized cars, and double-check that pizza delivery. If you ever wonder why the population's going down, blame it on the plunder from the likes of the Killer Klowns.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is ??currently in development for PlayStation, PC, and Xbox.

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The asymmetrical survival game begins in October

Bandai Namco has locked in a launch date for multiplayer survival game Dragon Ball: The Breakers. The asymmetrical horror begins on October 14, 2??0?22.

Dragon Ball: The Breakers is a game set in the popular anime series, but in multiplayer survival horror form. Players take on the role of either seven average citizens, caught in a temporal seam; or the immensely powerful Dragon Ball villains hunting them down, a.ka. the Raider.

These villains include Buu, Cell, and Frieza, who got a new trailer today. The idea is to make it out alive through teamwork and clever use of distractions and tactics. Otherwise, the ordinary players will all perish at the hands of Dragon Ball's meanest and most vile. In Frieza's case, this means a lot of explosio??ns, lasers,?? and henchmen like Zarbon and Dodoria.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5CSzhVOUT4

It's essentially Dead by Daylight, by way of Dragon Ball. And even though I'm not huge on the asymmetrical horror myself, it's a fun reinterpretation of the Dragon Ball universe. We've always played as Goku and crew, who are fully capable of taking down baddies like Frieza. But what of the poor bystanders caught up in the wake of their invasions? They'll have to use gadgets to survive, including?? Transpheres which can momentarily give them the special powers of Super Warriors. If they can fix the Super Time Machine and escape, they win.

While Dragon Ball: The Breakers launches on October 14, there will be a few closed network tests held on all platforms on August 5 and 6. You can sign up on the Breakers site here.

Dragon Ball: The Breakers closed network test times

• August 5, 7 p.m. PT to 11 p.m. PT

• August 6, 5 a.m. PT to 9 a.m. PT

• August 6, 11 a.m. PT to 3 p.m. PT

• August 6, 7 p.m. PT to 11 p.m. PT

Additional?ly, an open beta? test will be held at a later date.

Dragon Ball: The Breakers arrives to terrorize the timeline on October 14 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam??, plus PS5 and Xbox Series X|S via backward compatibility.

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