Dead by Daylight’s Portrait of a Murder is out now, a visually striking chapter that captures horror through a surreal and nightmarish lens.
As our players know, crows have been a long-time staple in the Entity’s Realm. The new Killer, The Artist, brings her own murder to the Realm in both her narrative and her gameplay. With the ability to summon Dire Crows and unleash them on a devastating flightpath, she brings dynamic new gameplay possibilities to the action-packed world of Dead by Daylight.
Portrait of a Murder also introduces new Survivor Jonah Vasquez — a brilliant codebreaker haunted by a recurring numerical pattern — as well as the Forsaken Boneyard, our first original Realm in nineteen months. Inspired by the fascinating world of surrealist artwork, players will be able to explore a fragment of The Artist’s haunted imagination, gaining deeper understanding of her backstory through environmental storytelling.
In celebration of the Portrait of a Murder chapter release, I spoke with Dead by Daylight’s Creative Director Dave Richard about the process of bringing The Artist and Jonah Vasquez to life.
Q: The Portrait of a Murder Chapter is now releasing. Could you tell us about the production process that led to its creation?
A: The idea of a Killer using crows has been with us for as long as there have been crows in Dead by Daylight! As Hitchcock once proved, there is something extra anguishing about being pecked to death by beady-eyed birds.
After so many Chapters with so many different fantasies, we wanted to re-explore themes close to our roots through a dark story of inescapable torment and death. The surreal art style of The Artist binds all these elements into the nightmarish landscape, character visuals, and intense gameplay of this Chapter.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about Carmina, The Artist?
A: The Artist’s soul has been tainted by grief and torment since her brother’s tragic death, for which she takes the blame. On the verge of suicide, a murder of crows gathered around her to stop the irreversible. This event was gift and a curse: Carmina lived to accomplish many great deeds, but anguish and torment always followed.
The Black Vale ripped her tongue out and cut both her hands to stop her from exposing them through her art. In this moment of ultimate darkness, the crows came back. Fueled by her rage, they killed everyone around and took her back to the realm of The Entity.
The Artist is incredibly fun to play. She gives the thrilling sensation of being a raptor on the hunt. Her power is to summon ink crows (known in-game as Dire Crows) that can attack or scout for Survivors. They are incredibly helpful when used strategically to reveal hiding Survivors and begin a frantic chase. Add three Perks with unique twists — including a brand-new Perk type, the Rekindled Totem — and you have one fantastic new character to master and face!
Q: Who is Jonah Vasquez, the new Survivor?
A: Jonah is a brilliant agent that is extremely capable in mathematics. Numbers, patterns, and codes speak to him, and he understands it all; it’s like magic. One specific pattern of numbers has followed him all his life, eluding him for the longest time. When he finally discovered its meaning, it led him directly to The Entity.
Jonah’s high intellect and field expertise bring a balanced set of beneficial Perks for solo and team play. “Overcome” extends the speed burst players get when they are hit. “Corrective Action” helps teammates by their ignoring failed skill-checks, which can happen while repairing generators or healing fellow Survivors. “Boon: Exponential” is a brand-new Boon Totem Perk that allows Survivors within its radius to recover faster while in the dying state, picking themselves up from the ground without the aid of another Survivor.
Gameplay, narrative, and art design converge in a dynamic and game-changing new addition to the expanding world of Dead by Daylight. Explore the Forsaken Boneyard as The Artist and Jonah Vasquez in the Portrait of a Murder chapter, available now in the Microsoft Store. And that’s not all. The holidays are around the corner, and plenty of chilling surprises will be waiting for you in The Fog. But remember, these birds don’t fly south for the winter.
Dead by Daylight
Behaviour Interactive Inc.
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