The Casting of Frank Stone, developed by Supermassive Games, is a fresh horror experience that threads a familiar path with its narrative and gameplay elements. Set in the eerie universe of Dead by Daylight, this game skips the crossover material, providing a standalone story that captivates with its creepy settings and engaging, if tropey, storyline.
The central plot revolves around a group of teenagers attempting to shoot their own low-budget horror film within the confines of an old, abandoned sawmill known for its paranormal occurrences. This location, rich with a spooky history, makes the perfect backdrop for their film, which inevitably becomes cursed. The players navigate through this cursed setup, jumping across different dimensions to uncover the mystery, making it a compelling ride through its approximately six-hour gameplay.
The gameplay remains loyal to Supermassive's style, known from their previous titles like The Quarry and The Dark Pictures Anthology. Players get to control a small group of characters and decide their fates through a series of choices. These decisions often lead to harrowing consequences, including the life or death of a character. This interaction is primarily handled through quick-time events (QTEs) and exploration, with an over-the-shoulder perspective that differs from the more unconventional angles seen in other games from the developer. This new perspective adds to the immersion, drawing players deeper into the palpably tense atmosphere of the game.
While the game might not pose a significant challenge on the standard difficulty setting, it excels in drawing players into its narrative with the interpersonal dynamics among characters. Players can influence relationships in various ways, which can result in alliances, romances, or deadly fallouts. In our gameplay experience, managing to save preferred characters while leading less favored ones to their doom added a satisfyingly manipulative layer to the storytelling, enhancing the overall engagement with the game.
Despite the engaging gameplay and story development, The Casting of Frank Stone faces criticism for its slightly abrupt ending and the brevity of its content. The game concludes just as the narrative seems to require a deeper exploration into its characters and the intricacies of its dimension-hopping adventure, leaving a sense of unfulfillment. This abrupt finish makes the experience feel underdeveloped, which could have been mitigated by extending the gameplay by a couple of hours and expanding on character backstories and motivations.
In terms of technical performance, The Casting of Frank Stone runs smoothly on the Xbox Series X with a consistent 30FPS, which is more than adequate for a game designed to be cinematic. The visual presentation, especially the character designs and facial animations, are impressively executed. High-quality graphics are crucial in maintaining the eerie and immersive atmosphere crucial to horror games, and Supermassive Games does not disappoint in this aspect. The carefully crafted visuals complement the performances of the digital characters, making them convincing and engaging, key factors that contribute to the overall success of narrative-driven games like this.
The Casting of Frank Stone, while not groundbreaking, offers a solid horror experience that combines Supermassive's signature gameplay mechanics with an intriguing, albeit familiar, narrative. It effectively capitalizes on setting and atmosphere to deliver a short but sweet journey into the supernatural that will likely be appreciated by fans of the genre, even if it leaves them craving a bit more substance and a more fleshed-out ending. The game represents another commendable entry by Supermassive into the horror genre, with enough spine-tingling moments and character-driven narrative to keep players entertained and engaged throughout its runtime.
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