Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical horror game where one player is the Killer and the other four are Survivors. The Survivors' objective is to escape the map by repairing five of seven generators scattered throughout it to power the two exit gates. The Killer must impale all Survivors on hooks before they escape, which will cause them to be sacrificed to a malevolent force known as the Entity. If only one Survivor remains, an escape hatch opens.[9] If the Killer closes the hatch or an exit gate is opened, the "Endgame Collapse" begins and the Survivors must escape within two minutes.[10]
When hunting Survivors, the Killer must capture them by either striking them with their weapon (one strike injures Survivors and two strikes puts them into a dying state) or by grabbing them in one move by catching them unexpectedly. Although Survivors can attempt to escape the hook the first time they are impaled, success is unlikely. They can also be saved by other Survivors. If they are hooked a second time, they enter a "struggle phase", where they must resist the Entity as it attempts to take them out of the game by performing skill checks until they are either killed or rescued. If they are hooked a third time, they will be sacrificed to the Entity.
The Survivors' movement options consist of sprinting, walking, crouch-walking, or crawling. They must elude the Killer by losing their line of sight in a chase or by successfully hiding from them. Most Killers can only move at a pace that is moderately faster than that of a sprinting Survivor. However, the Killer is slower in other movements, such as vaulting obstacles. With some exceptions, Killers cannot leap over obstacles that Survivors can throw down into their path and must instead go around them or destroy them. The Killer also has an aura-reading ability, constantly revealing the location of generators, hooks, and sometimes Survivors. Every Killer has their own unique power. For instance, the Wraith can turn invisible and move faster (though is unable to strike Survivors while hidden) and the Hillbilly wields a chainsaw which allows him to dash quickly along the map and instantly knock down any Survivors in his path. These powers can be altered using add-ons obtained through gameplay.
Survivors can search chests to find useful items, such as maps, keys, toolboxes, med-kits, and flashlights. Most Killers have an innate "terror radius" that surrounds them. Survivors inside the radius will hear a heartbeat, which increases in intensity with proximity to the Killer. They can also see a red light (called the "red stain") emanating from the Killer's head onto the ground, which reveals the direction they are facing and can help the Survivors determine when the Killer is about to come around a corner. Some Killers have the ability to suppress their terror radius and red stain under certain conditions, enabling them to surprise unaware Survivors.