Nicolas Cage is officially a playable character in Dead by Daylight's public test server, and early reactions say the new Survivor's abilities are both cleverly self-referential and substantive.
As revealed in the full patch notes which you can find here, Nic Cage's Perks include Dramaturgy, which causes you to run "with knees high" for half a second. This is followed by 2 seconds with a 25% Haste boost and then one of the following effects: exposed for 12 seconds, 25% more Haste for another 2 seconds, or "Scream, but nothing happens."
Then there's Scene Partner, which allows you to scream at the Killer when you're in their Terror Radius and make their aura visible for a few seconds. And finally, Plot Twist, a fan-favorite already, lets you silently enter a dying state while injured. Once you're fully recovered, you'll instantly be healed to full health and gain 50% Haste for a few seconds. Better yet, the Perk re-activates with the Exit Gates are powered, which could definitely come in clutch when you're injured and close to an exit.
Here's a hilarious example of a less conventional way you can use Plot Twist to best killers:
I already love Plot Twistfrom r/deadbydaylight
The reaction to Nic Cage in Dead by Daylight seems to be uniformly positive, which, I mean, what else would you expect from the legend himself?
"Finally some fun new survivor perks," says Redditor Phasmamain. "These can actually allow for different gameplay opportunities that both sides have to play around. Most survivor perks now are just menial boosts or rehashs of older perks. These actually seem like fun new ideas so that's definitely cool."
"His perks are REALLY cool. I love the theme of having perks with upsides and downsides," says typervader2.
"They're so unique and different. So memey, I LOVE them. Adept will be fun," adds CoreyReynolds.
"The risk and reward aspect of Dramaturgy is something I would love to see more of," says DubsyReincarnate.
I haven't had the chance to play as Nic Cage yet, but I'm similarly excited to see how his new Perks, which seem to present equal parts opportunity for success and failure, can shake up the game's meta in this late stage.
In the meantime, here are the best horror games to play right now.
