The Casting of Frank Stone is the first narrative-focused video game set in the Dead by Daylight universe. It contains a ton of Easter eggs and references that only fans of the asymmetrical horror game will know.
While The Casting of Frank Stone is able to stand on its own, fans of Dead by Daylight will no doubt get more of a kick playing the game and seeing nods to their favorite Survivors and Killers.
Of course, if you're just a casual Dead by Daylight player or someone who isn't into the lore but wants to know more about the references in The Casting of Frank Stone, this is just the feature for you. But be warned, there will be heavy spoilers ahead.
Frank Stone's Demise
During the first opening chapter of The Casting of Frank Stone, the titular character in question bites a bullet and perishes.
However, even at the very start, it's obvious that Frank Stone isn't simply descending into hell where he belongs. As the game cuts away from his grisly demise, we see fog start to roll in and a flash of light reveals the Entity's claws.
Lore knowers will be able to put together that the Entity's appearance during Frank Stone's death can't spell anything good. Frank Stone's arrival into the trials was likely only a matter of time.
Madison's Dreams
Madison's appearance is marked by a seemingly recurring dream, where she meets her mother at an abandoned campsite. Considering that the Survivors of Dead by Daylight sit by a campfire each and every time before a trial, there is a sense of forewarning here.
Survivor's Melody
In Chapter 2: The House of Darkness, players can discover a sheet of music titled Survivor's Melody. The sheet of music is played later on via a piano on the upper floor, and as you might have guessed, it sounds exactly like the instrumental music that plays when waiting for a match.
Afterpiece Tonic
Throughout The Casting of Frank Stone there are multiple references to the Afterpiece Tonic, such as Calhern's pharmacy and Afterpiece Tonic stickers you can find on trinket boxes.
While you could say that these exist to highlight the pharmacy, the reality is that the Afterpiece Tonic is a direct reference to an in-game add-on from Dead by Daylight's Kenneth Chase aka The Clown. A killer who uses chemicals and gases to subdue and kill, this Dead by Daylight Easter egg is a subtle indication of what bleeds through this omniverse about individual Killers and Survivors.
Leatherface
Linda Castle mentions to Madison that she highly doubts that the people who invited them to Gerant Manor want to use their faces for leather masks. Nice Leatherface reference, Linda.
While technically not a Dead by Daylight Easter egg, Leatherface does feature into the game and unlike their original creations, it's not like Behaviour and Supermassive can include licensed franchises in this game in any other way.
The Huntress Mask
Throughout The Casting of Frank Stone, you see multiple bunny masks -- the majority of them somehow damaged. This mask belongs to Anna aka The Huntress, a popular axe-wielding Killer who steals little girls with the intention of raising them as her own.
If you pick up The Huntress mask in Endless Curiosities, it plays a minor tune. This is the lullaby that The Huntress sings in-game.
Lery's Memorial Institute
Stan mentions a place called the Lery's Memorial Institute, a secret lab used by the CIA for enhanced interrogation.
Dead by Daylight players will recognize this as the realm belonging to The Doctor, who worked at Lery's and performed brutal experiments with his shock therapy.
Crows
Crows are extremely important in the Dead by Daylight universe as The Entity often uses their eyes to hunt and track Survivors and other potential figures to pull into the realms it possesses.
While crows don't feature heavily in The Casting of Frank Stone, you do spot one in Endless Curiosities. This is particularly fitting considering Augustine Lieber's desperate quest to get the Entity to recognize her and her champion, Frank Stone.
The Wraith's Azarov's Skull
As you explore Endless Curiosities, finding a weapon on a table is possible. It looks like a spine with a head still attached. Dead by Daylight players will know this weapon as Azarov's Skull, a weapon belonging to Philip Ojomo, aka The Wraith.
The backstory behind Azarov's Skull is that it belongs to The Wraith's previous boss before he was taken into the Entity's realm. Azarov manipulated The Wraith into cold-blooded murder without him even realizing, and, in retaliation, The Wraith stuck Azarov in a car crusher and ripped out his head, spine still attached.
Lost Movie Magazine
When the group visit Calhern's pharmacy, there is a magazine that sits on top of the counter. It describes Andy Dean, an actor who went missing from a film many years ago.
What's particularly exciting about this Easter egg is that it says any movie footage of him appearing is said to have had dark fog in the background. It's said that each Survivor taken to the trials first saw fog rolling on in, only moments before being snatched by The Entity.
The Legion's Smiley Face Pins
During your exploration of Endless Curiosities, you will see a table in the northeast section that is under a red light. On top of that table is a yellow, smiley face pin.
The smiley face pin directly references The Legion, who uses the pin as an add-on to better their Feral Frenzy ability. I'd like to think they'd find its appearance in a curiosity shop exciting in the most sarcastic way possible.
Unique QTEs
Supermassive Games like Until Dawn and The Dark Picture Anthology are well-known for their quick time events. This usually means pressing the correct button, but for The Casting of Frank Stone, Supermassive have chosen a different approach and incorporated the visual of skill checks of Dead by Daylight into quick time events.
In Dead by Daylight, skill checks are designed to play a short audio cue beforehand and a wheel with a small segment highlighted that you need to hit. Success is all about timing, not which button you press. If you time it correctly, then it's a success, and vice versa if you don't. It's a small change, but I don't doubt for a minute that fans of the game won't feel gooey with delight at seeing it pop up on their screen.
Archibald Macmillan
During Chapter 4: These Walls Have Eyes, Linda will uncover a portrait of Archibald Macmillan. Lore enthusiasts will recognize this stern, taciturn-looking man as the father of Evan Macmillan, aka The Trapper.
Archibald is not winning any Father or Boss of the Year Awards, known in the lore as a cruel and unfeeling man. He undoubtedly helped The Trapper on his way to becoming one of the most infamous mass murderers in Dead by Daylight history, and his portrait's appearance in Augustine's manor says a lot about what she sees as "art".
Carmina Mora aka The Artist
While exploring the atrium, players will come across three portrait paintings. The middle of these paintings is Carmina Mora, aka The Artist. A Chilean artist taken by the Entity after she got too closely involved with The Black Vale, cultists who worship The Entity.
Considering Augustine's affiliation with the cult, there is a cruel irony to having The Artist on her wall.
Hillbilly and Coldwind Farm
Throughout The Casting of Frank Stone, there are several references to killer Max Thompson, aka The Hillbilly.
The one that stands out to us, however, is his appearance as a diorama inside the display cabinet in Chapter 6: Beyond the Gate. In this diorama, we see the Hillbilly preparing to crush a boon totem -- a mechanic in Dead by Daylight that actively helps Survivors.
What's fitting is that The Hillbilly is surrounded by a backdrop of Coldwind Farm and the missing piece to complete the puzzle is the all-important cow tree (minus the cow). It's a small but fitting scene and is a direct reference to Hillbilly's realm.
The Oracle of the Omniverse
Jaime discovers a book called Oracle of the Omniverse in his garage. In it, it talks about multiple universes bleeding into one another, where there can be an infinite number of possibilities, people, and places. Moreover, all of these possibilities are true and real, and none cancel out the others.
Dead by Daylight fans know that the lore of the Entity and its realms are all made of up one big omniverse, and we've seen various instances of this within the game's tomes. For example, the character Yui Kimura is a Survivor in the game. Still, in another universe, she's a serial killer who is merciless and depraved - a far cry from the character we know and love.
Generators
Would it be a world set in the Dead by Daylight universe without any generators?
There are several instances of generators needing to be repaired so you can access the story further. Best of all, they come with skill checks and the characters must find brand new parts (if you know, then you know) in order to completely power the generator.
Playing Cards
In Chapter 6: Beyond the Gate, players can discover playing cards of The Clown, The Blight, and The Observer on a coffee table in Augustine's reliquary. While I would love this deck, the addition of The Observer, an important figure who previously used to narrate all of the in-game lore presented by Dead by Daylight's tomes, is an interesting addition. Does this mean that he too is simply a card to play at the Entity (or even Augustine's) whim?
The Imperatti
Sam Green mentions having been in touch with a group called The Imperatti. We get a brief glimpse at a letter from Logan Chen, the leader of The Imperatti, who warns Sam about The Entity and the cult that follows it. For those who don't know, The Imperatti is a group that wishes to fight back against The Entity and its followers and will go to extreme lengths to do so.
However, the mention of The Imperatti is surprising, as it's revealed in Dead by Daylight that all group members disappeared after fighting The Entity on Dyer Island in the abandoned laboratory of Talbot Grimes, aka The Blight. Of course, this letter is most likely before (or during, giving the wibbly-wobbly time that is Dead by Daylight's omniverse) this even happens.
What was left behind of The Imperatti was The Pariahs, the children of those left behind. The Pariahs are not mentioned, but memorable members include Elodie Rakoto and Felix Richter, who are both Survivors in Dead by Daylight. Does this mean that we can expect a Logan Chen to appear in Dead by Daylight sometime in the future? Only time will tell.
Terra 6113
In Chapter 8: Mystery Manor, Linda discovers a film of Murder Mill described as Murder Mine and is labelled as Terra 6113. Lore enthusiasts will recognize that this is another world where the movie Murder Mill was created, but with obvious differences. This is a direct reference to the omniverse of Dead by Daylight, where several instances are true, with little things mixed up to make it different. We're unsure which Terra universe The Casting of Frank Stone is part of, but we're happy it isn't the one ruled by spiders.
Augustine's Sacrifice
Not just every old murderer can become a Killer within the Entity's Realm. They must have a lasting impact that speaks to the Entity and earns them the right of passage to stand alongside the other Killers within the realm.
Frank Stone arguably does this with the sacrifice of Augustine in the last chapter, as well as any other character he manages to capture. Considering the Entity makes an appearance to carry away all of the Survivors sacrificed by Stone, it doesn't take a genius to guess that the Entity is one happy spider god with its new Killer's performance.
First-Person POV
Players are briefly thrust into Frank Stone's first-person POV if there are no survivors by the end of The Casting of Frank Stone. Killers in Dead by Daylight play the game in the first person, whereas Survivors play it in the third. A real nifty little inclusion there from Supermassive.
The Original Four
Depending on how many characters survive (if any) in The Casting of Frank Stone, players will reunite with some very familiar silhouettes once they make it to the ending. Sat on various logs by a campfire, it's easy to spot the forms of the original Survivors that paved the way for the future: Dwight Fairfield, Claudette Morel, Meg Thomas, and Jake Park.
Unlike the others, who start to feel frantic panic at the thought of Frank Stone catching up to them, Dwight, Claudette, Meg, and Jake do not move from their place by the campfire and do not show any fear - just utter resignation at their never-ending torment at the hands of the Entity.
After all, they know just like the rest of us Dead by Daylight players: death is no escape.
Are there any Dead by Daylight Easter eggs in The Casting of Frank Stone that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.
-
Shacknews
replyAimee Hart posted a new article, All Dead by Daylight Easter Eggs in The Casting of Frank Stone
