While a game being formulaic is often used as a criticism, I’m fully okay with a formula as long as it’s used properly and supported by everything surrounding it. And for an example of a working formula, we have Supermassive Games, who have released a hefty amount of similar graphic adventure horror games ever sinceUntil Dawnstruck gold nearly a decade ago, be it withThe Dark Pictures AnthologyorThe Quarry.And now they return withThe Casting of Frank Stone,which sees them teaming up with Behaviour to tell a story in the world ofDead by Daylight.
Ki Ki Ki, Ma Ma Ma…
Describing the premiseDead by Daylightitself for newcomers is a whole other thing, so to try and quickly sum it up, an eldritch being called the Entity that wanders between dimensions and demands sacrifices, carried out by various slashers and monsters known as Killers, trapping several people known as survivors in order to keep a perpetual hunt going. It’s something that allows for lot of potential spin-off games, much like whatLeague of Legendsdid withvariousindie titles.So there’s a unique idea here, especially asThe Casting of Frank Stonefeatures a new Killer, that of…well, Frank Stone. But does this unique premise pay off?
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The story inThe Castling of Frank Stonelargely consists of a group of young filmmakers in the Oregon town of Cedar Rapids circa 1980, using a handheld camera to craft their amateur horror movie. When they learn about the abandoned steel mill where a serial killer named Frank Stone was killed in a showdown seventeen years prior, they can’t resist the potential to incorporate it into the film. Unfortunately, they’re about to learn that the past doesn’t die so easily. And all of this is surrounded by a trip of characters in 2024 summoned by a mysterious woman known as Augustine, eager to buy up any remaining strips and bits of the film. Unfortunately, the past is also going to come for them as well…
The central story inThe Casting of Frank Stoneis particularly well-done, with genuinely surprising twists and turns. Admittedly, this writer is not aDead by Daylightplayer and only knows basic stuff about the lore, so maybe some parts felt more shocking because of that, but trying to figure out the connections between the initially more mystery-oriented 2024 sections and the more straightforward horror of the 1980 parts was a delight, and the deeper looks behind theDbDcurtains is sublime. Of course, this being a Supermassive game, there are all sorts of multiple paths to take that can unlock new scenes or seal a character’s fate, but in contrast to some of the lesserDark Pictures Anthologygames, everything is still relatively easy to follow, no matter what route you take.
Of course, it also helps thatThe Casting of Frank Stonealso contains several collectibles to hunt for along the way, including artifacts that reveal more plot details, “Relliks” consisting of dolls of otherDead by Daylightkillers, and Trinkets forged by Frank, which seem to keep getting highlighted as something important given how much a trinket box displaying all that you’ve found appears and how hard they are to find, but nothing seemed to actually come of it (though I had only found ten out of twelve trinkets as of the time of writing). Still, all of them are tucked away just enough to make for a decent hunt without being too hard to find, and an unlockable “Cutting Room Floor” easily lets you replay areas to find them, which is a nice touch.
Fresh Meat
Unfortunately, while the story inThe Casting of Frank Stoneis intriguing, the same cannot be said for the characters within it. Some, like the director Linda, are rather compelling, but others…well, I can’t tell if it’s a mix of writing, performances, or both, but at least a few of them got under my skin at times because of their obnoxiousness, and this is coming from someone who had almost no issues with the characters in every other Supermassive game.
The Casting of Frank Stone Demo Scares Horror Fans Today
Dead by Daylight fans can check out The Casting of Frank Stone demo on Steam today.
Then there’s the odd fact that for a game calledThe Casting of Frank Stone,Frank himself doesn’t seem all that interesting. The more interesting parts of his story do lean into spoiler territory, but without giving away much, Frank mainly appears as a sort of generic ghoul for the majority, despite his cool-looking twisted welder visage being a key visual for the game. And what details you can find concerning his motivations aren’t exactly that creative. There’s a cool idea behind Frank, especially as the story goes on, but it still feels like he could have used more fleshing out.
Surviving Against a Killer
Speaking of Frank, though, let’s get to the gameplay, where he plays a key part. Supermassive aren’t exactly straying much from their formula here, with the majority of the game involving interactions with and examinations of objects, dialogue choices and QTEs. The latter tries to incorporate some ofDead by Daylight’sskill checks, including segments with generators that you have to power up in time without fail before Frank catches you, which can be sped up by pressing the button in an even more specific window. It’s a great idea for a survival horror game, but in a story-focused adventure like this, it only gets used about twice.
And speaking of features not getting used enough, the standard meters showcasing relationship strength between characters are here, varying depending on your choices, which came into play all of maybe once during this writer’s playthrough. Honestly, I can’t even say this is a flaw forThe Casting of Frank Stonealone, as Supermassive seems to keep trying to wedge this into every game, regardless of whether it gets used often or not. One newer touch that is appreciated are additional third dialogue options that that can be unlocked by discovering the right items and information, however, which nicely allows for more exploration of the story and encourages exploration more.
One final new mechanic that is also welcome is the use of the handheld camera, juiced up by some otherworldly energy. Whenever it crackles, it’s time to whip it out, aim it, and start rolling so that you can confront Frank Stone in aFatal Frame-ish bit of action. It’s simple stuff, just point, hold down the triggers, keep it aimed at frank to capture him, and wind the camera when needed, but it works nicely and has the right level of difficulty. It mainly does appear during scripted moments, but takes the stage in one truly memorable gameplay moment towards the end, whereThe Casting of Frank Stonedips its toes into more survival horror stuff.
A Setting Not Worth Dying For
Unfortunately, that segment was not memorable for actually looking interesting, being a maze in a sewer level-ish storm drain that the characters had already been in before. This is arguably one of the biggest flaws inThe Casting of Frank Stone,as the main setting of an abandoned steel mill in the 1980s parts doesn’t exactly allow for a lot of creativity. Augustine’s mansion in 2024 fares better, but both of them suffer from the flaw that the game reuses areas way too many times. It does help a little with trying to collect any collectibles you may have missed, and it’s understandable that Supermassive would want something different beyond herding players to the next location/setpiece, but currently, this approach just ends up making things feel a bit dull and repetitive. It says a lot that the game’s Steam page uses a scene from the final chapter, as if to admit that the rest isn’t that impressive to look at.
Ultimately,The Casting of Frank Stonestill shows that while Supermassive still has a working and well-crafted formula, it doesn’t work as well when it’s not backed up by anything truly interesting, or even hindered by some aspects with poor execution. There’s still a decent game to be found here, and maybe futureDead by Daylightcrossovers can be more successful, but much like the movie our main characters make, it’s a bit of a cursed initial outing here.
Closing Comments:
The Casting of Frank Stonemay be something for die-hardDead by Daylightfans or those who truly love Supermassive’s adventure games, and can even act as a good entry point for new players, but it can’t help but feel like a disappointment. While the story is great and the camera mechanic is neat, the overall experience is dragged down by the likes of repetitive, bland areas and a few aggravating characters. Still, it’s great to see a franchise with a lot of variety such asDead by Daylightexpand into other genres, but let’s just hope that next time they bring along a lot more personality.
The Casting of Frank Stone
Version Reviewed: PlayStation 5
A horror adventure game set in the world of Dead by Daylight, The Casting of Frank Stone centers around a group of young filmmakers and how a serial killer that plagued the town nearly two decades prior will greatly impact their film for decades to come.
