Dead by Daylight Halloween Event 2021: The Midnight Grove Review
After the buggy rollout of the new Dead by Daylight 5.3.0 patch, Behaviour Interactive extended the Halloween event through 11 November. There’s still plenty of time to hop in, smash some pumpkins, and earn your exclusive Doctor and Mikaela cosmetics through The Midnight Grove tome.
Let’s be honest right at the start. There are players in Dead by Daylight who will make some elements of any in-game event just a miserable experience for everyone. These are the killers who only patrol event gens to stop anyone else from completing objectives to earn in-game cosmetics or the survivors who show up in game just to stop the killer from getting any event hooks. While a certain subset of players is always there just to create chaos, more join them during an event. It’s maddening.
The Midnight Grove event feels different for a few keys reasons.
First, the secondary objective is quick. Jack-o-lanterns spawn on the map like totems. Survivors and killers alike can smash them for bonus points or to complete certain objectives for the tome. These only take a couple seconds to break, so it would be almost-impossible to troll other players and prevent them from finishing. I’ve been able to pause quickly during a chase, smash a pumpkin, and still get away or down a survivor. It’s a quick addition that feels a lot more fair.
Second, the MMR system. I actually like the skill based matchmaking in DBD right now. I can really feel the difference as killer because I rotate through most of them. The players I go up against as my Nurse (my worst killer) aren’t as strong as the players I go up against as my Nemesis, Plague, or Trapper (my best killers right now). The skill level doesn’t stop people from intentionally derailing event objectives, but it does lead to a less frustrating match.
Third, the reward system. Using a tome to hand out cosmetic pieces and charms is smart. It’s not based on a limited currency system like the pustula serum and you’re not prevented from getting all the items like in past years. If you complete the objectives in The Midnight Grove tome, you will get any charm or cosmetic contained within. Other charms are being handed out with codes that Behaviour is listing on social media. The only limitation for getting the rewards is time itself, not artificial scarcity, and that feels more fair.
For me, the event generators and hooks look a bit underwhelming. It’s a more subtle design, with some vines and a candle or two sitting on top. Previous event objectives were much easier to spot on the map and looked more festive. Even the jack-o-lanterns read a bit dull onscreen. The aesthetic works in the lobby but doesn’t quite pop in-game.
There is a new add-on for the spooky flashlight that is just perfect. You can add a broken bulb to your ghost flashlight. This causes the flashlight to flicker, which makes it 30% brighter and last 15% longer. The broken bulb add-on appears more frequently than a lot of the event items, so you can stock up for a rainy day.
Overall, The Midnight Grove Halloween event is one of the better events Behaviour has done in long time. They can’t fix the playerbase, but they can address real concerns about fairness in the distribution of rewards and event challenges. This year, they really seemed to prioritize creating a more even playing field for everyone to unlock the rewards.
The Midnight Grove Event runs until 11 November.
