Dead by Daylight's Walking Dead Episode is Fine and All, But It Missed Its Biggest Opportunity

A few days ago, Behaviour Interactive revealed that Dead by Daylight would receive some new content themed around AMC's The Walking Dead TV show in an upcoming DLC. While exciting, this news didn't exactly come as a massive surprise to most fans, since the existence of this expansion was originally hinted at in a roadmap for Dead by Daylight that was unveiled at PAX East 2025. Regardless, though, since fans had been asking for a Walking Dead crossover in DbD for many years, it was somewhat surreal to finally see it come to fruition. Although Behaviour confirmed that the Walking Dead DLC won't contain a lot of new content, it did, at least, announce that it will add a few new significant characters to the game.

Rick Grimes and Michonne, two of the protagonists of AMC's The Walking Dead, are both going to be playable as Survivors in Dead by Daylight upon this DLC's release. These two characters will each have a set of three unique skills, some of which are complementary to each other and can make it easier to avoid attacks from Killers. One of the major characters from The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon, will also make an appearance in Dead by Daylight, but only as a Legendary Skin for Rick Grimes; he won't actually be available as a standalone character. While this Walking Dead DLC seems largely decent for what it is, it honestly could have been a lot better if Behaviour went one step further and added a Killer.

Dead by Daylight's Walking Dead DLC Could Have Been So Much Better

The DbD Walking Dead DLC Suffers from a Lack of New Killers and Maps

One of the biggest fumbles with Dead by Daylight's Walking Dead DLC is its lack of additional Killers. Traditionally, the crossover DLCs for DbD have added both Survivors and Killers, but this is the first time in the history of the game that an expansion has introduced two Survivors and almost nothing else. There are so many antagonists in the Walking Dead TV show that would've felt right at home as Killers in Dead by Daylight, such as Alpha, Beta, The Governor, and even Negan Smith. While some of these characters — Negan, in particular — might have played a bit too similarly to other Killers in the game, it would have been nice to see them appear in DbD in some capacity.

Considering the number of recognizable locations in AMC's The Walking Dead, it's a tad strange that Behavior Interactive also decided not to include any maps themed around the franchise in its Dead by Daylight crossover DLC. While there is a new map tile that appears whenever gamers play as either Rick or Michonne in the Garden of Joy map, this tile isn't a full standalone map, and it only features a couple of Walking Dead-themed locations. There are several places in the Walking Dead series, like The Sanctuary, West Georgia Correctional Facility, and The Commonwealth, that seemed like ideal settings for a Dead by Daylight map, and yet, they've been completely overlooked by Behaviour.

The Walking Dead Crossover DLC Should've Been a Full Chapter Instead of a Half-Chapter

The Walking Dead DLC has been labeled by Behaviour Interactive as a half-chapter expansion instead of a full one, so, to some extent, it's understandable why it's not that massive in scope. One could argue, however, that Behaviour shouldn't have made the crossover DLC a half-chapter in the first place. Last year, the company released a full Dungeons and Dragons chapter for Dead by Daylight, which included both a Killer and a Survivor, as well as some cosmetics. Dungeons and Dragons isn't even a horror franchise, so the fact that it received preferential treatment over a horror icon like The Walking Dead makes little sense.

Behaviour Interactive Should Revisit the Walking Dead Crossover Concept in the Future

This may just be wishful thinking, but it would be great if Behaviour Interactive decided to revisit The Walking Dead in another DLC for Dead by Daylight sometime in the future. Given that Resident Evil has received not one, but two DLCs for the game in the span of a few years, it wouldn't be the first time that something like this has happened. There's so much potential in this Walking Dead and Dead by Daylight collaboration that it would just be unfortunate if it ended here.