Dead by Daylight adds Nic Cage as playable Survivor with acting-related powers

As promised, Nicolas Cage (Renfield, Pig) is now a playable character in Dead by Daylight, Behaviour Interactive’s venerable multiplayer survival horror game pitting Survivors against Killers. He’s bringing the power of acting to the game’s realm of terror, known as the Fog.

Cage is now a playable character in all versions of Dead by Daylight, which is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

In the new DLC, Cage plays himself: actor Nicolas Cage. During a film shoot, Nic acts with such skill and gravitas that he accidentally summons Dead by Daylight’s “malevolent being of incomprehensible power,” The Entity. Cage is thus sent to the Fog, where he fights for his life against the likes of Ghostface from Scream, Sadako from The Ring, Albert Wesker from the Resident Evil games, and many more Killers. (Cage, in fact, cited Sadako’s appearance in Dead by Daylight as one of the reasons he lent his likeness to the game.)

Nicolas Cage brings his own unique character perks to Dead by Daylight, harnessing his massive, Academy Award-winning talents in his struggle for survival. Here’s the breakdown of Nic’s powers, including the very amusing perk Plot Twist, in which Nic Cage can kind of die but — plot twist! — fully recover:

Dramaturgy: Activates while you are healthy. While running, press the Active Ability Button 2 to run with knees high for 0.5 seconds and then gain 25% Haste for 2 seconds, followed by an unknown effect (one of the following).

• Exposed for 12 seconds

• Gain 25% Haste for 2 seconds

• Scream, but nothing happens

• Gain a random rare item in hand with random add-ons and drop any held item

The same effect cannot happen twice in a row. Causes exhaustion for 60/50/40. Can’t be used while exhausted.

Scene Partner: Activates when you are in the Killer’s Terror Radius. Whenever you look at the Killer, scream, then see the Killer’s aura for 3/4/5 seconds. There is a chance you will scream again, if you do, you will see the Killer’s aura for an additional 2 seconds. Scene Partner then goes on cool-down for 60 seconds.

Plot Twist: Activates when you are injured. Press the Active Ability Button 2 while crouched and motionless to silently enter the dying state. When using Plot Twist to enter the dying state, you leave no blood pools, make no noise, and you can fully recover from the dying state. When you recover by yourself using Plot Twist, you are fully healed instantly and you gain 50% Haste for 2/3/4 seconds. This perk deactivates if you recover by yourself by any means. The perk re-activates when the exit gates are powered.

If you’re more of a Nicolas Cage fan than you are a Dead by Daylight fan, you can simply enjoy the actor’s signature line delivery in the following video. It’s nearly 10 minutes of off-the-wall Nic Cage acting, improv, and non sequitur from his DbD performance.

Update (July 26): This story has been updated to reflect Nicolas Cage’s availability in Dead by Daylight, as well as two sweet skins for the actor — the Sunset Racer outfit and the Gorgon Drip outfit — in the in-game store. Both looks pay homage to Cage’s affinity for the leather jacket, with nods to his golden Mandy press tour fit and his snakeskin leather look from Wild at Heart.

Image: Behaviour Interactive