If you like the ideas behind Dead by Daylight but you feel like the game is missing something, and you also feel that something may be top-down Slavic-inspired medieval fantasy action, then I have good news for you. 7 Bones and 7 Stones is here to deliver on all of your highly specific preferences – just in time for Halloween too.
7 Bones and 7 Stones pits four villager players against a monster player. You and your fellow villagers must work together to keep each other alive and perform a ritual against the monster of Vayandor. One touch from the monster is all it takes to turn to the dark side. Survive long enough, and complete your tasks around the map to win.
As a villager you traverse the map, collecting five ritual stones that need to be delivered to the portal. You can be fearless and run around full tilt, giving your position away with a torch, or you can snuff your torch out to be sneaky-beaky-like.
As a monster, it’s basically just like playing a MOBA, or more specifically Battlerite. Use your abilities to hunt down your prey and eat them…or turn them? Whatever it is your monster does to its victims. You also get an ultimate ability, which is a big bad move you use to make people mad. Through the gameplay, we can see that ultimates are charged through the villagers-turned-acolytes. This may vary from monster to monster, but of course the vampire has to suck villagers dry to gain power. It just makes sense, guys.
You can also customize and upgrade your character to prep them for another face-off against the monster. On top of that, you actually get taunts, banners and other customization options to help you f**k around and piss off the monster. It’s really just all the best parts of trolling in Dead by Daylight.
What does it bring to the table?
The top-down view is a fresh perspective, and serves to force villagers into getting creative with their hiding spots. There’s also a funky little bit of verticality we can see in the gameplay trailer. Unlike other top-downs, barriers and walls aren’t just obstacles. You can hop over low walls and fly over whole buildings. That alongside the addition of a minimap – interesting choice, really – turn the Dead by Daylight style of play on it’s head.
By the way, I should also mention my favorite part of the game. You have this booming announcer the whole time who keeps you up to date on what’s going on. It’s different, but quite welcome.
7 Bones and 7 Stones is an interesting take on the 4v1 genre that I didn’t know I wanted. It opens up a ton of possibilities, too. Where Dead by Daylight uses a mix of original monsters and iconic horror villains, 7 Bones and 7 Stones is that same type of game, but with monsters from fairy tales and folklore. So far we’ve seen the vampire, but I can’t wait to see other classic monsters drawn from the medieval setting. I know it doesn’t add up, but how cool would a Frankenstein’s monster be? Or – hear me out here – more obscure and esoteric creatures, like Basilisks or even this wicked thing:
7 Bones and 7 Stones is currently in early access and is scheduled for release on Oct. 20. I’ve heard you can potentially get a key if you ask the devs, but you didn’t hear it from me.
It’s a spooky game for a spooky month, and if you’re a fan of high blood pressure, you may want to give it a look.
