This past weekend at PAX East, Behaviour Digital revealed their new game. Hot on the heels of Dead by Daylight, an asymmetrical horror game, their new game will be another addition to the asymmetrical genre. Design Director Matt Jackson explained the reason for this, as he sees the genre as “the genre that hasn’t gotten enough attention, enough love.” But that’s not to say that their new game will be just like their last. If Dead by Daylight consists of a game of cat and mouse, Deathgarden will be more like fish swimming through a river.
Instead of one vs. four, the game has one hunter tracking down five “Runners.” The biggest difference is how fast-paced this is. By the time I got my bearings as a hunter, I realized that the runners were already halfway to their goal. If Dead by Daylight is the kind of game you play late at night when you’ve got time to burn, Deathgarden is the one you play before going to school or work, since matches last no more than a couple of minutes.
As the Hunter, your job is naturally to hunt down the Runners. Hunters can’t die and have a variety of perks to choose from, such as throwing down turrets. In the build I played, the two weapons I had were a shotgun and assault rifle. I’m told that the final game will have a wide selection of guns to choose from.
While the hunter has weapons, the Runners do not. But what they lack in power, they make up for in mobility. Unlike the Hunter, they can scale walls and have vambrace gauntlets. These gauntlets can get a variety of perks as well, such as slowing down the Hunter or alerting teammates to where items are located.
The latter ability is key to understanding another difference from other asymmetrical games. While most promote the notion of every person for themselves, Deathgarden is team focused. Playing as a Runner, you win or lose as a team. Abilities are oriented around helping teammates.
Since Behaviour has just announced Deathgarden, the game does not have a release date just yet. I was told that when it does release, it will first come out for PC. But people eager to play should await details for a closed alpha, which will be announced shortly.
