The Casting of Frank Stone Preview: An Evolution In Horror

I was initially interested in The Casting of Frank Stone precisely for everything it’s not. Don’t get me wrong, I think Dead by Daylight is fine, but as I’ve mentioned before , the series’ popularity, coupled with the initial fascination of Friday the 13th , essentially diluted any potential horror game based on a n existing horror property into an asymmetric multiplayer game.

I don’t blame Dead By Daylight for this of course. It’s the nature of the industry to see something that worked and distill it down to its base components until all originality is completely drained from it. Hence why I found it particularly exciting and somewhat ironic that The Casting of Frank Stone would be a narrative-driven, cinematic horror experience.

CGM got to experience a small, early portion of The Casting of Frank Stone , and it was immediately captivating. Players take on the role of a police officer named Sam as he investigates reports of a missing child at the Cedar Steel Mill in 1963. However, things are not what they seem; a dark air runs through the Mill, and Sam quickly finds himself in a nightmarish situation and must fight to survive.

It was a fairly short preview, essentially covering the tutorial chapter of the game. It didn’t give too much in the way of plot, but for a horror experience, that’s to be expected. But what this preview of The Casting of Frank Stone does most effectively genuinely is hook the player in. Even someone with little to no experience with Dead By Daylight will find themselves wanting to see what happens next, thanks to genuinely intriguing storytelling.

“Something I actually like about The Casting of Frank Stone is how it maintains its connection to Dead by Daylight …”

Since The Casting of Frank Stone has Supermassive Games on the development side, players might notice some familiar mechanics. Like Until Dawn and The Quarry , the proceedings of the game are driven by interactions where every choice can have a knock-on effect on future actions. This is interspersed with some light exploration and some intense QTEs—the success of which can be the difference between life and death.

Furthermore, while this preview only gave us the option to “Die Alone,” there was an option to “Die Together,” hinting that, much like the Dark Pictures Anthology games, there may be a multiplayer component to this game, which would be fitting given the game it’s based on started as an asymmetric horror game.

Something I actually like about The Casting of Frank Stone is how it maintains its connection to Dead by Daylight in its QTEs—replicating several of the ones found within the main series game. It presents newcomers with QTEs that aren’t particularly demanding but also gives a fun nod to long-time fans of the series. It’s a nice touch.

“But what this preview of The Casting of Frank Stone does most effectively genuinely is hook the player in.”

Something else this early preview of The Casting of Frank Stone did really well was to provide a solid understanding of the game’s horror setting. While it’s a fairly unassuming opening, it does a great job of using atmosphere and ambiance to create a spine-chilling environment. Right from the get-go, it builds tension with creepy surroundings where you’re never quite sure if something is going to jump out from around the corner.

Also, special mention should go to The Casting of Frank Stone being the first horror game I’ve played in a while that actually gives players a flashlight that behaves like it would in real life—casting a beam of light that covers more than a foot in front of the player. It goes a long way to add to the believability of the world and genuinely makes the environment scarier.

All this is built further by phenomenal visuals and solid performance by the game’s characters—who find a really solid balance between campy and captivating. The Casting of Frank Stone is dark, grimy and downright beautiful to look at in a macabre way. And while this preview only gave us a taste of the more grounded horror aspects, I can only imagine how much more interesting it gets when the truly otherworldly elements start to appear.

Even though it was a small taste, I’m excited to see what else The Casting of Frank Stone has to offer. If for nothing else, it’s a solid example of the interesting and scary things you can do with a horror IP when you strive for more than “another asymmetric multiplayer game.” Why couldn’t Killer Klowns from Outer Space have been this?

The Casting of Frank Stone comes to PC, PS5, and  Xbox Series X/S on September 3rd, 2024.