Illfonic Says Comparing Halloween To Dead By Daylight Is Inherently Flawed

Halloween is the latest asymmetrical multiplayer horror game to arrive over the past decade. Like many similar titles before it, the game immediately faced frequent comparisons to Dead by Daylight, which stands as the decade-long leader in the genre.

Jared Gerritzen, the chief creative officer at developer Illfonic, noted that while the comparison is an easy one for players and observers to draw, it remains inherently flawed. In an interview, Gerritzen compared the situation to contrasting cricket with baseball, pointing out that visual similarities mask deep differences in structure and intent.

Illfonic has a long history in the asymmetrical horror space, having previously developed Friday the 13th, Predator: Hunting Grounds, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Gerritzen explained that Illfonic builds projects specifically tailored to individual franchises, horror fans, and specific monsters, rather than creating generalized mixtapes.

According to Gerritzen, the team chooses intellectual properties they love and want to adapt faithfully. The goal is to recreate iconic settings like Haddonfield and characters like Michael Myers, embedding their abilities into a bespoke experience. He argued that horror fans should appreciate a variety of entries in the genre rather than limiting themselves to just one title, comparing such narrow focus to watching films from only a single director.

Gerritzen also pushed back against players who wrote off Halloween before its release. He highlighted Illfonic's studio record, pointing out that none of the games published by Illfonic have shut down. He acknowledged that Friday the 13th eventually shut down due to a rights issue, but noted that Illfonic did not publish that particular title. Meanwhile, other games in the studio catalog continue to run. Halloween is currently available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.