Dead By Daylight Absolutely Needs Proximity Chat, Here's Why

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is out now, and it features a proximity chat feature that lends itself to some equally hilarious and tense moments. The game isn't just funnier with proximity chat, it's more fun and fairer for the humans. While hopping into a fully powered boat to safety alongside someone who beckoned me over from a good ways away, I found myself asking - why doesn't Dead by Daylight have proximity chat?

I mean, I get it. I do know why Dead by Daylight doesn't have voice chat. Lots of people are against adding proximity chat to the game for several reasons; most believe that it could add to the game's toxicity, letting solo players insult their teammates or even allowing a platform for SWFs to verbally harass the killer. For example, in one user's words:

Still, others say Dead by Daylight is "too serious" for proximity chat, and that adding the feature would add too much potential for hilarity and antics in a game meant to have an eerie atmosphere.

But, hear me out - I don't think proximity chat has to be an outlet for toxicity, nor does it have to ruin the game's ambience. In fact, I think voice chat could actually fundamentally improve Dead by Daylight, if it's employed in the right way. In fact, it could even solve the seemingly everlasting issue of balancing the game.

It's a well-known fact in the Dead by Daylight community that SWFs are a thorn in the side of Dead by Daylight's balancing - and they always have been. Teams that can communicate tend to consistently do better, especially at higher levels of play, for several reasons. Your teammate telling you where the killer and generators are means you don't need to use up a perk slot for tracking those things, and, if you're on call with friends, you can always rely on them to take a hit for you or make that sneaky pallet save. 

Some say that this prominence of SWFs is an issue in Dead by Daylight, and that developers should do what they can to either limit that communication or accommodate for it. Unfortunately, neither of those options really seem practical. You can't stop players from communicating outside of the game, whether it's on a Discord call or in-person. It's easy to say that the game should then be balanced around the assumption that players can communicate, but where does that leave solo survivor players who end up at a disadvantage? That's exactly where proximity chat comes in.

If every player could hear survivors within a few meters of themselves, all survivors would be on an equal playing field; solo survivors are no longer left without help and communication from their teammates. Of course, some perks would have to be tweaked to accommodate for the change - but those perks would no longer benefit some survivors more than others.

Proximity chat would also solve the problem of miscommunication in Dead by Daylight. With limited modes of communication, comes lots of potential for misunderstandings. With proximity chat, your teammates would know you're not t-bagging them, for example; you're trying to get their attention for a heal.

Past the gameplay and balancing benefits, voice chat tends to lend itself to some pretty hilarious moments; you'd get to hear your teammate shriek in surprise as Ghostface uncloaks and grabs them from a generator, for example. Sure, it's a little silly for a horror game like Dead by Daylight, but I don't think the game strives to take itself too seriously these days - after all, we do have Nicolas Cage as a survivor.

Would some people use a voice chat in Dead by Daylight to be toxic in ways they couldn't before? Sure, just like in every other multiplayer game - but that doesn't mean that the majority of players wouldn't use the feature for good, and that it wouldn't improve the game's balance. Many fans might be opposed to Dead by Daylight adding voice chat, but I think it'd breathe some much-needed fresh air into the game, especially as newer titles like Killer Klowns from Outer Space continue to successfully implement it.