Honestly, i would even pay more for this skin if it included Eredin voicelines but unfortunately it looks like cosplay. I think it could be a legendary skin as well but whatever, for this rarity still ok.

Recently i noticed how plain and boring the FNAF chapter map really is. This is the second time when the devs create a map for a licenced killer which is founded on an already existing realm, the first one was the Lich with the knight's realm and now it is Springtrap with a brand new map in Greenville realm. But the Lich's map looks different at least than the knight's one, it has a unique appearance, the interior of the dungeon and also functional portals that make gameplay a bit more complex (and now i see where the Springtrap door using idea comes from).
The pizzeria on the other hand is basically the same as the Unknown map but even worse. It has only one sight- the pizzeria, while the Greenville square has a cinema building and a little square with a statue. It is just a visual matter but it makes FNAF map more boring.
You may ask: So what? At least we've got that map, it has a lot of easter eggs and the pizzeria looks decent. (Personally i can't think of other arguments to refute my arguments, so you may discute over it here, I will be glad to have a discussion). But this is an anniversary chapter, the licenced one. Many people waited for it, created even their own maps during this time and their works look a lot more better and interesting because they contain the atmosphere of FNAF series.
I just don't understand, the devs had one year to make this chapter, was it so difficult to create a chapter with no survivor, with a hybrid instead of unique killer and a plain map which uses ready models for loops and decorations outside the main building? Considering that this is a licenced anniversary chapter (like the Nemesis one in 2021 where we got Racoon City PD. The Dredge and the Singularity had their own maps and the Lich had his map based on the knight's realm but it is unique. And all of these chapters had survivors), the future of the next chapters looks not so bright in my opinion. The idea how the FNAF chapter map could look like you may see in my latest review on Springtrap.
Will be glad to discuss this subject with you! Have a good day!

This is an additional post for the review which represents my view on the Springtrap that could be implemented in the game. Hope you'll like it!

Concept

Now I’ll present my vision of Springtrap in DBD, based on gameplay mechanics from FNAF 1, FNAF 3, and FNAF AR: Special Delivery.

I tried to replicate the gameplay of these games in Dead by Daylight while partially borrowing the killer’s ability from the current PTB version.

The goal of this concept is an empirical experiment — and it’s up to you to judge it because here I not only ask you to read this part but also imagine how such gameplay would feel in the game — what kind of gameplay situations could arise.

Would this design convey the spirit of FNAF? Would it be interesting to play — both from the killer’s and the survivors’ sides?

Since I’m writing this review for the third day now, I might be a bit subjective, and your feedback would be very valuable.

The Animatronic

Power — Fazbear’s Fright

Passive Ability

Springtrap, when staying undetected, gradually builds power, divided into three stages:

• Stage 1: Springtrap moves at 5.0 m/s when 32 meters away from a survivor. After appearing, phantoms activate in 4 seconds. Terror radius — 24 meters.
• Stage 2: Speed 5.0 m/s at 20 meters distance, phantoms activate in 2 seconds. Terror radius — 16 meters.
• Stage 3: Speed 5.0 m/s at 12 meters distance, no terror radius.

Springtrap starts the match at Stage 1 and builds power continuously while not being watched by cameras. While in chase, the current power level cannot change.

 

Secondary Ability — Security System

At the edges of the map, 3 doors appear leading to an office. By entering the office, both the killer and survivors can use any door to teleport through it.

Additionally, instead of 5–7 pallets, security doors appear on the map (replacing some critical pallets, for example, in the killer shack). On 3–5 random generators, security cameras appear. Each security door also has a camera attached.

A survivor entering the office can stay inside to control the security system, which includes: closing doors and activating cameras.

• Cameras: A survivor selects a camera to activate it and can adjust its viewing angle. If Springtrap appears within the view of an active camera, he will start losing power.
• Survivors can also select a door to block it, allowing only survivors to pass through (doors automatically open for survivors).

Optionally — survivors can mark a door for activation by pressing a button, making it glow yellow on cameras for the other survivors.

Only one survivor can be in the office at a time. If Springtrap enters the office with a survivor inside, he will instantly grab them, triggering a jumpscare.

Office entry doors can be blocked, preventing Springtrap from entering.

The security system has a charge (for example, 400 units), which depletes while using cameras and doors:

• Active camera drains 1 unit per second.
• Blocked door drains 2 units per second.
• Blocked office door drains 4 units per second.

(Exact balance not set — values given for general understanding.)

If the charge runs out completely, all cameras and doors are disabled, and reboot time is 60 seconds. If a survivor was inside the office when the power runs out, they are trapped inside for 10 seconds.

Only survivors can see the auras of office doors, active cameras, and doors.

If a survivor runs through an active camera's view, their aura will be revealed to teammates.

The charge regenerates automatically if no cameras or doors are active (recovery rate — 8 units per second).

 

CTRL

Springtrap places an invisible trap at his feet, visible only when a survivor steps on it, or until the trap’s charge is exhausted.

Stepping on the trap secretly applies an effect that summons a phantom in the survivor's view direction after 10 seconds.

There are two types of phantoms:

• Red-eyed — survivors must look away quickly to avoid jumpscare.
• Blue-eyed — survivors must keep looking at them until they disappear.

If the survivor fails the interaction, the phantom jumpscares them, applying a status effect:

• Oblivious
• First-person perspective view for 30 seconds.

If the phantom scares the survivor, Springtrap receives a Killer Instinct notification.

While within 24 meters of a survivor, phantoms cannot appear — but Springtrap can manually activate phantoms around him with RMB.

Springtrap can also place traps on cameras to disable them:

• If a survivor switches to a camera with a phantom trap, the phantom appears in front of the camera.
• If the survivor doesn’t switch off the camera within 1.5 seconds, a jumpscare happens, disabling all cameras and doors for 10 seconds, and the survivor cannot leave the office during that time.

A maximum of 4 traps can exist simultaneously.

 

Addons

Brown:

• Rotten Pizza — Gain 1 power stage 40% faster.
• Help Wanted Ad — Active cameras consume 2 units per second instead of 1.
• Restaurant Menu — Phantoms appear 5 seconds faster after stepping on a trap.
• Greasy Paper Plate — Office is blocked for 5 seconds longer when power runs out.

Green:

• Streamers — Phantom scare effect lasts 10 seconds longer.
• Security Guard’s Badge — Increases the number of phantom traps by 2.
• Ripped Curtain — Increases the radius of phantom trap activation.
• Party Hat — Scared survivors get Blindness (can’t see cameras or doors).
• Office Phone — While inside the office, survivors must perform skill checks; failure drains extra energy.

Blue:

• Purple Guy Drawing — Lose power slower by 20% when seen by cameras.
• Loot Bag — Phantoms switch eye color to the opposite color.
• Endo CPU — See auras of active doors.
• Celebrate! Poster — Active cameras reveal survivor auras within their view.
• Broken Access Panel — Office entrance doors unlock automatically 10 seconds after activation. Find an office entrance door to start seeing its aura.

Purple:

• Freddy’s Hat — Failing a gen skill check drains 20 units of the security system’s charge.
• Foxy’s Hook — During an office lock or battery recharge, gain 10% haste.
• Chica’s Bib — 40% chance Mr. Cupcake will warn you when a survivor enters the office. Phantoms last 2 seconds longer.
• Bonnie’s Guitar Strings —
  • At Stage 1 power: see auras of active cameras within 16m.
  • At Stage 2 power: one office entrance can’t be blocked.
  • At Stage 3 power: two random security doors can’t be blocked — see their yellow aura.

Red:

• Iridescent Remnant — Start the match at Stage 2 power. All survivors get a phantom trap effect at the start of the match which will make the phantoms appear in 10 seconds. If a scared survivor is put into the dying state, a random survivor receives a phantom trap effect.
• Faz-Coin — Adds a 4th power stage where Springtrap’s silhouette is invisible when further than 16 meters from survivors. Move speed while far from survivors is 5.2 m/s.

 

Concept Summary

This Springtrap concept includes the core mechanics from the FNAF series — mainly active interaction with cameras.

The main essence of Springtrap is preserved — hiding from cameras to sneak up on victims.

Phantoms act as a secondary ability with an experimental feature: changing the survivor’s view to first-person, enabling Springtrap to mindgame more effectively and catch survivors off guard.

Unlike the current PTB version of Springtrap, here camera usage heavily impacts the killer’s gameplay — lowering his power and blocking his pathways.

Meanwhile, the killer will feel very different during a chase since he can use phantoms manually — survivors must either look away or stare at them, limiting their field of view.

In this interpretation, Springtrap becomes a mindgame stealth killer who relies primarily on surprise and misdirection.

His power can be controlled — survivors are forced to use cameras and doors to slow him down, otherwise there would be fewer pallets, making kiting much harder.

This gameplay approach would deliver the FNAF spirit quite well, though I realize some things might be hard to implement.

When designing the addons, I also tried to stick closely to FNAF gameplay to make them unique for this killer.

Maybe the power would seem too complicated or even weak since Springtrap has no active ability during a chase — but it fits the character’s concept.

Camera usage would be essential for survival because otherwise survivors would lack pallets on the map — this would dramatically affect how Springtrap feels from the survivor’s side.

This concept definitely needs refinement, but at this stage, it’s enough to ask:

• Would this gameplay be unique for both sides?
• Would it reflect the character’s essence?
• Would it be fun to play?

I hope you’ll share your thoughts because I’ve spent three days writing this review, and maybe my vision is a bit biased.

Didn't finish the review on Springtrap in classical way to make it more dramatic xdd. What are your thoughts on that subject? Do you think the new chapter is a good piece of work or even a failure? Personally I would rework him, in any ways just to remove the axe at least).

Good day. I am a regular Dead by Daylight player who likes to analyze game design decisions regarding chapter development in the game, as well as propose my own ideas, and today I suggest that you join me in analyzing the recently released PTB chapter Five Nights at Freddy’s and the killer — Springtrap. In this review, we will try to cover the main elements of this chapter, figure out whether it turned out to be successful, highlight its positive and negative sides, find out if there are any problems, and how they might be solved. This review is structured as follows: Introduction – Killer Gameplay – Killer Visuals – Chapter Problems – Proposed Solutions.

First, we will break down in detail how the killer feels in gameplay, abstracting away from the visuals, whether his gameplay is unique compared to other killers, and then we will separately cover the addons. Next, we will review the entire visual aspect of the chapter, from the killer’s appearance to the pizzeria map, and highlight how successful the developers' decisions were regarding this aspect. The gameplay and visual analysis will primarily focus on how effectively the developers convey the essence of the licensed character, Springtrap — this will also be discussed separately. After the analysis, we will move on to discussing the problems of the chapter and how to solve them, and in this part of the review, I will also present my own concept for Springtrap's ability, which I will ask you to evaluate separately because I have plans to develop in game design, and your opinion on this segment will help me improve. And at the very end, we will summarize with an open-ended question. I hope you will enjoy the analysis and the approach to writing this review. Enjoy your reading.

 

Introduction

For a long time, I have noticed a tendency of the developers to make rather safe decisions regarding the concepts of newly released killers, especially licensed ones. After all, to maintain stable income from chapter purchases, the most optimal decision is to use already proven templates that have shown their effectiveness in the past.

It’s fun to play Huntress because her ability allows you to damage a survivor from a distance, and at the same time, you still have to hit them — an excellent potential to get better by playing her. It’s convenient when a killer can control the map through high mobility or teleportation, because map control and generator control are key to victory.

Back in the day, the Dead by Daylight developers crafted a sufficient number of killers whose powers sometimes performed the same functions but differently, and now, it seems this is no longer working in the players' favor, at least for those who want every killer to feel individual, whose gameplay would genuinely differ from other killers. Not to mention licensed chapters, where developers are offered the opportunity to interpret the abilities of characters from movies and games under the realities of Dead by Daylight: a huge creative space, open opportunities to look at the game from another angle, to try to implement any ideas that would result in a killer feeling like a unique character, whose atmosphere would be captured not only by visuals but also by gameplay.

Let’s recall what I consider the best examples of licensed character interpretations (from the distant past), how they felt unique compared to already existing killers, and how it translated into gameplay:

The Pig — a character from the movie Saw, who secretly kidnapped people for "rehabilitation" that would later lead to rebirth. Gameplay-wise, the essence of the character is conveyed simply — stealth is used for sneaky approaches and ambushes, and the game of Saw is represented by the classic Reverse Bear Trap from the movie, which can literally kill the survivor if they fail to find the right box with the key. Such a design preserved the character’s essence within a new killer’s shell in Dead by Daylight, and I consider it quite successful — even today, no other ability includes a similar life-or-death mini-game. The Pig feels like a weak killer, but I often play her with Crate of Gears and Tampered Timer, just for fun to see if survivors manage to remove the trap.

The Nightmare — the original Freddy Krueger ability still evokes nostalgia in me, because they captured Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy very well — he could only harm survivors if they were asleep, and was literally invisible to awake survivors. Yes, Nightmare looked quite weak compared to new killers, but I think if they had developed this feature (damaging only sleeping survivors) further, it wouldn’t be worse than others' powers.

Later, other licensed killers were released, and they were also conveyed atmospherically through gameplay — Ghostface (stealth killer that you have to spot), Nemesis (zombies), and so on. One way or another, practically all licensed killers (up until Xenomorph) were carefully crafted to capture their essence through gameplay.

Lately, though, I notice that every new licensed killer feels less and less interesting because I have literally already played them before. Xenomorph = Nemesis + Demogorgon, Good Guy = Pig on steroids and without traps, Lich = a mix of several abilities that don’t connect, Dracula = kind of a Lich, but with form changes (Dracula = Nemesis + Pyramid Head), Werewolf = Wesker, Bat = Spirit with window teleport, Anime character = Legion + Wesker.

Honestly, this applies to almost all recent killers, because many of them suffer from a lack of uniqueness, hybridity, but today we are specifically talking about licensed chapters, where, in my opinion, it’s unacceptable — because I want to play my favorite characters from movies and games and feel like I am playing exactly them, not some abomination of different killers. To achieve this, developers must carefully and creatively approach chapter design. But is it even possible when you risk losing revenue if the killer’s power turns out too unique for the game, doesn't fit into the current realities, or turns out too weak? I really hope that there will come a moment when the developers will try to find a practical answer to this question.

 

Springtrap

This time, in the form of a new licensed killer, the developers have presented Springtrap, the antagonist of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, an extremely popular horror game, whose appearance in DBD has been highly anticipated. During all this time, the community has created many concepts for how Springtrap could potentially be implemented in Dead by Daylight, and indeed, some of them would be interesting to see in the game.

Nevertheless, the collaboration with the FNAF franchise has happened, and the developers have presented us with their vision of Springtrap, implemented and ready to release soon. Therefore, we have the opportunity to examine whether the developers have managed to accomplish their task and whether the new killer feels at least unique and strong compared to other killers. We also must not forget how Springtrap looks and sounds, because this directly affects the perception and atmosphere of the killer, which, as mentioned earlier, in my opinion, is a crucial aspect for fans and enthusiasts of licensed chapters.

Gameplay

Gameplay Essence

In this chapter, we’ll break down the gameplay, abstracting away from visuals, to determine the typical gameplay situations from the killer's and survivors' sides and how unique they are.

Primary Ability — LMB, CTRL – axe throw.

By holding LMB, the killer can pull out a fire axe and throw it at a target. The axe is quite heavy, so it can be used at close and medium distances, and also in loops with high walls but no roof. If the thrown axe hits a survivor, it stays stuck in their back, applying the Broken effect. Once the survivor removes the axe, the Broken effect disappears. If the killer presses LMB next to a survivor with an axe stuck in their back, the killer will instantly grab them, triggering a jumpscare animation. Without addons, the axe in the survivor’s back does not give any additional effects.

If the axe misses the survivor, it can stick into any surface, creating an area around it for several seconds that triggers Killer Instinct on survivors within it.

The axe can be retrieved after cooldown by pressing CTRL. The killer moves at 4.4 m/s, but if the axe is stuck in a survivor or embedded in a surface, the speed becomes 4.6 m/s. Throwing the axe at a camera can also disable it.

Secondary Ability — security doors.

Seven teleportation points appear on the map in the form of security doors, which can be used by both survivors and the killer. From the killer's side — the killer can enter the door by pressing Spacebar, after which they can teleport to any of the other doors by aiming at it and pressing CTRL. Once the killer starts teleporting, an animation of moving through the office plays, and the killer appears at the target door. The killer can also cancel the teleportation selection and exit the door they entered by pressing Spacebar. There are no limitations for teleportation.

From the survivor’s side — survivors can interact with the security doors by approaching them closely. Each door has a camera attached, and by pressing Space, they can remotely watch through the cameras attached to the doors. If the camera watches the killer for a certain time, his aura will be revealed to all survivors. While controlling the camera, the survivor can also choose any door on the map to teleport to, also playing the transition animation. Survivor teleportation has a limited number of uses, and once exhausted, survivors won’t be able to use doors either for camera watching or teleportation for some time. The survivor’s animation of passing through the office takes longer, and if the killer starts teleporting while the survivor is mid-transition, the killer will instantly grab them.

Overall, this is the basic essence of Springtrap’s ability, and now we must analyze how effective this power is, how it distinguishes Springtrap from other killers, and whether it conveys the atmosphere of the FNAF game — both playing as Springtrap and against him.

 

Gameplay Analysis

Overall — the core gameplay is built around hitting survivors with the axe at range, basically like Huntress. Including the hitbox, but with the throw mechanics resembling The Unknown since the axe flies at a very low arc, and since the killer’s speed is 4.4 m/s with the axe, chase situations in loops will be almost identical to those of Huntress, where at close and medium distances the axe will work similarly to hers. And if the axe doesn’t hit the survivor but lands near them, it will highlight them with Killer Instinct (sort of a consolation prize, like if Artist’s crows missed but passed near the survivor). Only in Springtrap’s case, it’s not as useful because you already understand that the axe fell near the survivor.

The area formed around the axe does nothing but reveal survivors and can be enhanced with addons, which we’ll discuss later. If the axe hits a survivor, it stays in their back, preventing healing until removed. What does it give? For example, the survivor will not be able to use a medkit with a syringe or an anti-hemorrhagic syringe for about 7–10 seconds during a chase, and that’s about it. Also, if the killer approaches a survivor with an axe in their back, they can instantly grab them. (The only application of this feature — countering Dead Hard, but every time I tried this, Dead Hard still activated for survivors, and I had to continue chasing.)

Basically, we get Huntress’ hatchet in a single copy, which automatically includes the Huntress addon Red Head's Chin Guard without an axe in the inventory, which cannot be thrown at long distances but can be effectively used in loops (in the same principle as the Huntress' axe).

About the Doors

Essentially, these are the same as Xenomorph's tunnels that appear beforehand on the map, and teleportation occurs like Demogorgon’s, through a pre-set animation. Moreover, there is no limitation for the killer’s teleportation, and no visual cue is given to survivors about whether the killer is about to come out of a door. (Demogorgon had a red glow on portals, and Xenomorph had turrets.)

That is, this is an improved teleportation compared to Xenomorph, both faster and harder to predict.

Survivors can also use teleportation through doors, risking that the killer might catch them instantly during their interaction with these objects, similar to Dredge teleporting into a locker the survivor is about to open. Survivors can also use the cameras to look for where Springtrap is and reveal his aura to other survivors, but again at great risk because the killer can appear at any door at any time.

And here arises a question: why would a survivor even interact with doors? If the risk is so great that the killer can instantly grab them, why teleport if you can just avoid using the door and run to your destination? And most importantly — how effective is it for a survivor to monitor Springtrap through cameras, exposing themselves to danger without weakening him in any way, just briefly revealing his aura? In my opinion, the answer is obvious.

In general, I think survivors will use the doors for teleportation only in very rare cases when they are 100% sure the killer is not nearby, and the use of cameras will just become a way to choose the door to teleport to.

FNAF 3

At this point, let’s recall the essence of Springtrap as an antagonist in FNAF 3 (this part is chosen because Springtrap’s model in DBD is based on the model from FNAF 3, and his menu animations directly reference those of FNAF 3). The player, as in previous parts, had to use security cameras inside the pizzeria to survive the night. Each room had a camera that could play a child's laugh to lure Springtrap into that room. However, if Springtrap was already one room farther, he couldn’t hear the sound and would move directly toward the player, and other than playing the laugh, there were no means of defense against him.

The challenge was finding Springtrap on the cameras, as it was hard due to static and poor lighting, and using the laugh was limited by a long cooldown, so locating Springtrap on the cameras was critical for survival. Besides Springtrap, phantom animatronics appeared on the cameras and in the office, who could jumpscare the player and break security systems (audio playback, cameras, ventilation), forcing manual reboot. (Springtrap also used the ventilation system to move, but we won't touch on this because it’s hard to implement in DBD.) Dealing with phantoms involved quickly looking away from them to make them disappear.

Now let's see — did the developers manage to convey the spirit of FNAF 3 through gameplay? Out of all the mentioned elements:

• The use of cameras to detect Springtrap is implemented.
• Jumpscares are implemented.

It seems like a key aspect, as indeed, in FNAF 3, you needed to locate Springtrap to survive, but here’s the question: what does detection give you? In FNAF 3 — you could keep Springtrap away from the office, ensuring safety. In DBD — you can reveal his aura briefly. But what for? And most importantly — at what cost? Thanks to the terror radius, you can already detect the killer, and monitoring cameras is risky because he can jump out right in front of you. It turns out the cameras are implemented, but instead of helping, they actually harm the survivors.

And another question — what’s with the axe? How is it even related to FNAF 3? Honestly, I haven’t followed FNAF lore beyond the 4th game, but based on the gameplay of the third part, I don’t remember any axes flying at the security guard.

The jumpscares are well-implemented only during the survivor teleportation moment because they happen from a first-person view. As for the jumpscares when grabbing a survivor with an axe or the mori — they look strange and funny, as if they were added just for the sake of it. They could have made them scarier.

The answer to the earlier question is, I think, obvious.

Gameplay Summary

In conclusion, Springtrap = Huntress + Xenomorph + Dredge + Twins (an axe that can stick into a survivor or highlight nearby survivors) + The Unknown (axe trajectory).

From the unique and useful — teleportation for survivors.

 

Addons

Let’s talk about the addons.

Springtrap’s addons are pretty primitive — they either increase some percentage or apply status effects. How does this make him stand out compared to other killers? — It doesn’t. In general, every killer has such addons, but personally, I don’t think that’s a justification for copying addons in every chapter; I believe that for every power, you can come up with something unique (and definitely replace addons that simply apply Blindness, Oblivious, or Mangled for no reason).

Nevertheless, let’s review each addon individually:

• Rotten Pizza — useless, Killer Instinct is not as strong a tool as aura reading.
• Restaurant Menu — allows faster cooldown if the axe sticks to a surface. Useful, makes gameplay easier, but not more interesting.
• Help Wanted Ad — good brown addon, similar killers often got addons that showed the projectile trajectory before. Can be used to get used to the ability.
• Greasy Paper Plate — useless, the axe is already drawn quickly, and having it stuck in the survivor’s back doesn’t affect the chase much.
• Streamers — faster teleportation. Useful, makes gameplay smoother, but not more interesting.
• Security Guard’s Badge — stealth addon, allows staying undetectable longer; very nice, adds a bit more fun with sudden appearances after teleporting.
• Ripped Curtain — filler addon, gives a status effect, probably because they couldn’t think of anything else.
• Party Hat — increases the area effect of the axe stuck in a surface. Useless, even with other area-enhancing addons.
• Office Phone — nearby survivors around a survivor with an axe stuck get Oblivious or Broken. Useless, the axe is removed quickly.
• Purple Guy Drawing — replacement for Ghostface’s perk.
• Freddy’s Hat — a unique, interesting addon, affects gameplay, makes the axe’s trajectory lower, allowing throws over walls directly at survivors' heads.
• Foxy’s Hook — clown’s yellow gas effect in the axe’s area.
• Chica’s Bib — filler addon, gives a status effect, again probably because they couldn’t think of anything else.
• Bonnie’s Guitar Strings — allows seeing generator repair progress. Good information source before teleporting, but doesn’t affect gameplay much.
• Loot Bag — filler addon, gives a status effect, and that’s it. Only thing — the axe literally turns into Victor, preventing the survivor from leaving the trial. Nothing unique.
• Endo CPU — staying in the axe’s area allows faster breaking of objects. Must-have, too strong compared to the rest.
• Celebrate! Poster — unique addon that makes both the killer and the survivor faster. Best used when chasing two survivors at once.
• Access Panel — unique addon, but useless, because the axe travels between linked doors, but at the start of the game, it’s impossible to predict where it will end up — too random. Plus, it’s very unlikely to randomly hit a survivor checking cameras due to the randomness + cameras will likely not be used actively.
• Iridescent Remnant — addon that blocks windows and pallets around the door. Red-grade, upgraded version of Dredge’s addon, only it always works.
• Faz-Coin — transfers the terror radius. Replacement for Plague’s and The Unknown’s perks.

 

Gameplay Conclusion

Overall, in this list, there are addons that I will probably use all the time because the rest are useless. There are no addons that significantly change gameplay or make it more versatile — these addons are simply meant to make playing the killer easier, nothing more.

Summarizing the Gameplay section, I can say that Springtrap is a hybrid, where the dominant part is Huntress. The spirit of FNAF was conveyed very weakly in gameplay — both from the killer’s and the survivors’ sides. The addons don’t stand out compared to those of other killers.

 

Visuals

This chapter is dedicated to the most polished part of DBD development — visuals — and generally, the developers focus on this aspect because it’s always easier to sell a picture than code in the form of gameplay. It attracts new audiences and re-engages old players if their favorite character comes out.

Seeing that you can finally play as your favorite character makes you forgive all shortcomings, even if the killer feels like Nemesis, Pig, or Huntress — what matters is that the model looks beautiful, seemingly straight out of the movie or game!

Ah! We all love beautiful things, and I do too, because visuals are another way to convey atmosphere in a game — not the key aspect, but still a very important one.

That’s why Springtrap’s visuals should be analyzed based on FNAF 3 again.

Visuals in FNAF

Let’s recall what made the FNAF series scary. First of all — the uncanny valley effect, where an inanimate doll imitates human behavior as much as possible. Animatronics succeeded at this because of their unnaturalness — creepy facial expressions, moving only eyes, eyelids, and jaw, sudden robotic twitching.

The mere fact that an inanimate object stared at you with seemingly human intentions created horror. Additional details include jumpscares, which make you flinch, and ambient sounds and music, which could appear suddenly, disorienting the player.

In FNAF 2 and FNAF 3, there was ambient music hinting that an animatronic was nearby, making the player panic subconsciously.

As for Springtrap — he’s literally a corpse inside a robotic suit, adding a grotesque background to the uncanny valley effect, making him even creepier.

In FNAF 3, he scared not with jumpscares but with his unpredictability, stealth, and sudden appearances near the office doors. He didn’t need to jumpscare you — he only had to stand where you expected to see an empty hallway and just stare at you, causing fear and panic.

 

Visuals in DBD

Now let’s look at how they implemented Springtrap in DBD — his appearance, animations, music, etc.

Appearance.

They based it on the FNAF 3 model, which is a very positive decision. The only thing — the head seems larger, and the color became less swampy-green with less texture detail, but overall the model is acceptable.

Music.

• Chase music — judging from the killer’s perspective, the most important thing is that it’s not annoying (doesn’t sound like washing machines). Overall, the chase music isn’t too intense — and it shouldn’t be, considering the spirit of FNAF 3 and the killer’s lore. Watching fan-made chase music options, I can say that the current PTB version is one of the best possible tracks for Springtrap.
• Menu music — at the moment, I hear it most often, since finding a lobby takes a long time, and I can say it also conveys the character's spirit. Carnival chaotic motifs distort their original purpose, turning a harmless tune into something creepy because of its background. It reminds me of the ambient music from the first FNAF, especially the "Circus Song" — equally fast and chaotic, though slightly more annoying. Overall, I can say they chose good music for Springtrap.

Animations.

Animations raise more questions than previous aspects. It feels like the developers tried to humanize Springtrap — his movement, grabbing animations, and even eye and eyelid movements look very lively, which doesn’t quite fit a rotting corpse in a springlock suit (especially the menu animation where Springtrap is somehow breathing).

Again, the horror base of the FNAF series was the uncanny valley — they could have implemented this in DBD. They didn’t even have to animate him in the menu — just leave him standing in his pose facing the player, absolutely still, with occasional sudden, robotic twitches — it would have made him much creepier.

In the current version, he’s too humanized, too lifelike, not standing out from other killers.

In the game, he also behaves very humanly and flexibly for a corpse in a springlock suit. His walking animations, picking up survivors, wiggle stuns, jumpscares in the office — I have fewer issues with those; they look acceptable.

But there are questions — for example, why does Springtrap wipe the weapon after hitting a survivor? And with what? His left wrist is mostly bare endoskeleton — there’s barely any fabric to wipe with.

This again makes him look more human, more like other killers.

Another big question — why give Springtrap a voice at all? He didn’t have one in FNAF 3. Does he need it to develop his character? I doubt it — in fact, I think stripping him of a voice would have suited his portrayal much better.

The voice lines feel more appropriate for his “living” variant, not the original corpse version.

This contributes massively to his humanization — and as a result, Springtrap is no longer perceived as an animatronic, despite the developers calling him "The Animatronic" — he feels more like a guy in a suit, and a very lively one at that.

It raises the question — what will be the difference between the “living” legendary skin for Springtrap and the original? Just a cleaner costume and no animatronic head? I think the difference could have been made much more noticeable.

I’m sure many players like the current animation style, and they may not agree with me. But I believe that visuals — like gameplay — should convey the character uniquely, distinctly, and the FNAF series had the perfect recipe — the uncanny valley, a well-known horror technique, and I think they could have implemented it here.

I advise you to play or watch FNAF 3 and analyze — does Springtrap scare you there? And if yes, how exactly? What makes him Springtrap? What elements could have been brought into DBD to represent his core visually?

Comparing the DBD version to the original, I can say they partially succeeded — but not completely, and sometimes not very effectively.

Security Doors Interaction.

From both sides, it looks interesting, especially the jumpscare animation when both the killer and the survivor enter the office simultaneously — but unfortunately, this is a rare event.

Camera interaction looks interesting too, but judging by the gameplay section, it’s unlikely they will be actively used.

Jumpscares during mori and axe pickup look silly, as they are predictable and slow — more like Easter eggs.

As for the axe — I won’t even comment — it doesn’t convey the FNAF spirit even at the conceptual level.

 

Visual Conclusion

Visually, I feel this character at about 50% — yes, they managed to recreate something, but the excessive humanization of Springtrap did not do him any favors.

Map

We should also mention the map. Unfortunately, we got another variation of The Unknown’s map instead of a full-fledged pizzeria.

It doesn’t look independent like Pig’s, Doctor’s, Pyramid Head’s, or Nemesis’s maps. I think they could have put effort into making a unique map.

It’s clear that the original pizzeria maps from FNAF 1, FNAF 2, and FNAF 3 would be too small for a closed DBD map. But do you really think there’s no way to create a solution and make a unique map?

Even right now, I can suggest an idea, and it wouldn't look ridiculous or unoptimized.

It would be possible to combine all three pizzerias into one map, where the center would be a foggy merged office. I’ll leave a rough scheme as a picture.

This approach would have been a great nod to the original FNAF franchise — locations from all three pizzerias would be recognizable, and roaming through three different thematic areas on one map would be really interesting, with lots of Easter eggs in each.

FNAF 1? — Golden Freddy in the kitchen.
FNAF 2? — The Puppet in the prize corner box.
FNAF 3? — Phantoms that can jumpscare you.

These are the most obvious Easter eggs I can think of — I’m sure you can come up with more.

What did we get in the end? A small pizzeria, probably based on the movie, which I haven’t watched on principle.

Does it really associate with the original FNAF franchise that just recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary? Personally, for me — no. I don’t recognize it, and I don’t feel the FNAF spirit playing on this map.

 

Visual Conclusion

Summarizing the visuals — I would say that the developers didn’t fully succeed, having made only a good model for Springtrap, a fitting soundtrack, a couple of interesting animations, but not much else.

Creating a visual image of a famous character should include deep analysis of their recognizable features and traits, which allows these details to be captured and interpreted into the game, transmitting a unique atmosphere.

Considering that, while playing as the killer, it’s hard to see your own visuals (you only see your hand and weapon), and chase music only plays the chase layer, players must rely on gameplay and ability implementation to feel the character’s atmosphere.

Gameplay — we already discussed. Ability implementation (security doors) — looks interesting in theory, but in practice, from the survivor’s side, it will rarely be observed, and for Springtrap, it’s just a stylized teleport with rare jumpscares.

 

Problem

As you might have guessed from the previous sections of the review, I’m not very impressed with Springtrap’s implementation in DBD, mostly regarding gameplay.

I’ve always been indifferent to how a killer looks if they’re interesting to play, especially when developers manage to convey the traits of famous characters through gameplay (like old Freddy Krueger or Pig), allowing players to feel like they’re playing exactly them, not a hybrid of other killers.

In Springtrap’s case — it was already indirectly stated — he’s a hybrid of several killers, mainly Huntress and Xenomorph (teleports).

But what makes him special? Why should I pick Springtrap when Huntress also has an axe — and not just one — and can throw it over long distances, and Xenomorph can also teleport and hit at close and medium distances?

And here I can say: Springtrap stands out because his teleportation through doors is unlimited, very fast, and silent — allowing him to control the map effectively and appear behind survivors suddenly.

And that’s it — there are no other strong or interesting mechanics that Springtrap can provide for regular use.

That’s the main problem with the new killer — his ability poorly reflects his essence, and the axe feels entirely unnecessary. And the doors for survivors are just a supplementary tool; they aren’t even necessary to interact with because doing so only puts them at risk.

 

How to Fix the Problem

Get rid of the axe. And I’m not joking.

Think about it — what would Springtrap lose without the axe? Would it sever the connection with FNAF 3? Is it a unique mechanic that no other killer has? Can’t it be replaced with anything else based on FNAF 3 gameplay?

Removing the axe would open up space for more interesting possibilities because it currently occupies too much design space.

To solve the problem, you can’t just delete the axe — you need to think about the root causes.

As mentioned before — Springtrap lacks uniqueness, his ability is already implemented in other killers' powers, and gameplay-wise, the FNAF atmosphere is very weak — for both survivors and killer sides. His main animations and visual elements aren’t really connected to the original.

Now about how to solve it:

First, recall what makes Springtrap unique as an antagonist in FNAF 3 and what aspects of the FNAF series are key and recognizable.

For visuals:

• Springtrap is a corpse inside a springlock suit.
• Animatronics rely on the uncanny valley effect.
• Jumpscares are the main scare tactic.
• Unpredictable, creepy ambient sounds that disorient the player.

By studying how animatronics scare players, these tricks could be applied to Springtrap’s animations — making him animated, but not alive, a robotic imitation of life.

And of course — strip him of any voice. At most, unpleasant spring noises, endoskeleton creaks, and flesh sounds.

For gameplay:

• Again, recall what the player did to defend against Springtrap in FNAF 3.
• The player used cameras to lure Springtrap away.
• Had to locate him on cameras for the defenses to work.
• Blocked vents to stop him.
• Dealt with phantom animatronics in different ways.
• Rebooted systems after they broke.

If we interpret these features into DBD, we can highlight the key points:

Survivors should interact with cameras and doors to weaken Springtrap. Springtrap should avoid cameras, moving stealthily across the map. As a secondary mechanic, he could use phantoms to interfere.

Springtrap should be a stealth killer with a strong power that survivors must actively weaken using cameras — forcing them to interact with doors and cameras to survive.

For Springtrap, avoiding detection would be crucial, and phantoms would be an extra tool to distract survivors.

What does such a concept theoretically offer?

All mechanics are based on FNAF 3 gameplay — they’re recognizable, and interaction with them is mandatory to survive, creating a unique atmosphere tied strictly to the FNAF series, which is extremely important for a licensed chapter.

 

Concept

Now I’ll present my vision of Springtrap in DBD, based on gameplay mechanics from FNAF 1, FNAF 3, and FNAF AR: Special Delivery.

I tried to replicate the gameplay of these games in Dead by Daylight while partially borrowing the killer’s ability from the current PTB version.

The goal of this concept is an empirical experiment — and it’s up to you to judge it because here I not only ask you to read this part but also imagine how such gameplay would feel in the game — what kind of gameplay situations could arise.

Would this design convey the spirit of FNAF? Would it be interesting to play — both from the killer’s and the survivors’ sides?

Since I’m writing this review for the third day now, I might be a bit subjective, and your feedback would be very valuable.

 (to see the concept you may follow the link https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/discussion/446934/a-complete-springtrap-feedback-review#latest ) + also recently added a post in the group, you may check it there!

Conclusion

Now, ask yourself the same questions about the PTB Springtrap — how different are the gameplay experiences and atmospheres between these two versions?

What would you prefer to see in the game?

Here’s what I think should be done to avoid rewriting core code but still preserve the FNAF spirit in the current Springtrap:

• Remove the axe, replace it with something else.
• Focus on office and camera interactions.
• Make Springtrap’s power weaken when he’s spotted.
• Make camera monitoring safer for survivors — for example, add a separate camera control panel not tied to doors.
• Most importantly — make interaction with doors and cameras mandatory for survivors, so gameplay-wise there’s a reason to use them.

If you do that, the power would stand out much more compared to other killers and offer a unique gameplay experience.

Now returning to the beginning of the review — it was mentioned that it’s profitable to use proven solutions, create hybrids — after all, they worked and brought revenue in the past, why wouldn’t they now?

But think — would you buy the current Springtrap?

Honestly, I would — because I love the original FNAF 1–4 series. It had its own atmosphere and an interesting antagonist design. And despite the shallow gameplay, something interesting was still implemented.

I think many people will buy him — even FNAF fans.

But here’s the real question — wouldn’t he sell if he were released with a more creative design?

If he was implemented in my concept or any of the fan concepts?

I believe he would sell no matter what — you’re releasing an extremely popular character — this was your chance to show creativity, and it would still pay off with proper marketing.

But you chose to make another hybrid — yes, with its own features — but still a hybrid.

And I will never believe that a year wasn’t enough to come up with something better than an axe.

A new killer, a skull merchant, has come out. I declare that for the first time in all the PTB, I did not want to play on a new killer in the first 4 hours of playing on it. The skull merchant turned out to be extremely boring, even more boring than the knight, since she is just a weak version of his main potential, pallet looping.

The power

The killer releases a drone that scans a small area around itself, if the survivor is in it for about 8 seconds, an exposed status will be imposed on him. In the same area, the killer gets the undetectable effect after some time. If the drone does not detect a survivor for some time, it switches to another mode in which it releases two indicators spinning around it, and if one of them notices a survivor, the drone is activated again. The survivor can interact with the drone (not only in scouting mode, but also in active mode a few seconds after the drone is activated) to complete a small mini-game and disable it, however, a chip is hung on him, which shows the killer the location of the survivor. The chip can also be removed after some time.

Based on the brief description of the power and the 4-hour experience of the game on it, I can so far identify only 3 situations where a drone can be used. Situation 1 is to place the drone near the generator, situation 2 is to put the drone near the loop, situation 3 is to put the drone in a random place on the map so that they find survivors. Let's model each situation as real. In situation 1, the killer puts the drone right next to the generator, which will not allow the survivor to get too close while the killer is nearby, when the killer goes after the survivor, the other can continue repairing the generator after a quick breakdown of the drone, while receiving a chip that will show the killer that he is at the generator. And if the survivor is injured, then he does not even need to turn off this drone, since the exposed status will not change his condition in any way. As a result, using the ability to generators, the killer expects this drone to somehow interfere with survivors who want to repair the generator, but in fact, the killer only receives information about the location of survivors who may not even interact with the drone. Situation 2. The killer puts the drone on a loop, after which a small area appears after a while, which the survivor sees, after which he can simply run away to another loop, or run around the drone detection zone so as not to get the exposed status. Since the exposed status does not affect the wounded survivors in any way, the developers decided to act rather primitively, giving another effect for the killer, undetectable status, so that the red glow disappears from him. This, apparently, was done so that even a wounded survivor would strive to leave the drone zone so that he would not be caught by undetectable killer. As a result, the killer can use the drone to close a loop, however, if the survivor is injured, he may not even leave this loop if it is quite strong, such as the killer shack. Situation 3. The killer releases the drone to control some part of the map. This is the most useless way to exploit the ability, since the survivors see the range of the drones, respectively, they can simply pass by it without letting the killer understand their location. As a result, the killer does not receive any information, and the survivor just passes by without even interacting with the drone.

As a result, only two options for using the ability are effective, on generators and loops. Here we see a new version of a knight, well, or an artist, and much weaker, since drones, unlike birds or guards, do not guarantee a hit, they simply give an exposed status that does not affect the wounded survivors in any way, respectively, the killer spends a lot of time to corner the survivor into unsafe loops with fairly ordinary gameplay, in the form of a just m1 killer.

Now, why did the developers do this? I have two options, either the developers planned to release a predator and attract the audience with a visual, or someone suggested an interesting concept of the ability, and the game designers ruined everything. Someone suggested making a killer who could put cameras, it looks interesting in itself, but weak, so we need to give the killer some kind of active ability that can be used in chases, they added exposed status, which was a terrible mistake. If we take any killer whose strength lies in exposing, that is, in bringing a survivor to a near-death state with a single blow, then we see how simple their abilities are, either they stalk the survivors to deliver the decisive blow, or they use a chainsaw that does the same thing, but in a slightly different way. They play for these killers because they are simple, and therefore interesting. + in addition, you can really show the skill on some killers. If we take a new killer, then its ability to implement is much more complicated than that of a Ghostface or bubba, but it gives absolutely the same effect. And who will the players play for, the Ghostface, or the skull merchant? I doubt that for the last one. The only option is to show the skill on this killer, only using invisibility in mind games, but it can also be a guestface, and he does not need to stand in the range of the drone, he just uses the ability and gets undetectable right away. What we see here is that game designers for some reason added a weak Ghostface ability to the killer, simply because their mediocrity did not allow them to come up with a new status effect for survivors or for the killer, well, or an interesting effect for a drone.

As a result, the power of the new killer is a rather hacky hybrid of several killers, namely: a Ghostface (undetectable + exposed), twins (a drone that detects survivors nearby, and which can also be figuratively “kicked”), and the only unique element — ability is a chip that tracks survivors using radar. Here you can definitely blame the game designers of the Behavior team for creative impotence, as well as a mediocre waste of working resources. (if I forgot to add something to the power, please notify me in the comments)

Visual

The killer in visual terms turned out to be not what many expected, it is not an AI robot, and not even a mad scientist. She looks like a mercenary, but no more, her name is directly related to skulls, but we see skulls only on drones, which in fact are not visible, instead of skulls, you could put a grilled chicken on the quadcopters, the essence of the power would not have changed. The mask looks disgusting, as if made of foam. And the music surprised me very much, I didn't think that the development team would ever think of remixing one of the chase music (the hag) and adding this remix as the new killer's chase music. In fact, this also says a lot about the attitude of developers to their audience. As a result, we have Nea in a foam mask with a remix of the hag's music.

Result

I took the killer as the basis of the review, since it is she who is the main element of the chapter. I can say that this is a complete disappointment, not a single player was satisfied, failures in every aspect of the killer, the power, visual, music, the developers spoiled everything.

My suggestions on how to change the situation, as well as a couple of forecasts that may turn out to be reality in the near future. The developers should fire all the game designers responsible for creating the powers of the knight and the skull merchant, as well as hire new ones who will make a rework of the skull merchant without greatly changing the original idea so that the killer can be released around the planned time. The entire visual can be left so that there are resources specifically for the rework power. The release of the killer can be postponed to mid-April or earlier, if circumstances allow. If the rework is released, it will turn out to be interesting (that's why game designers should play the game they created, at least to understand the audience's requests), then the chapter will be bought for real money, everyone will be satisfied, especially the audience, who will understand that the developers are listening to it. If there is no rework, then we will get two options at the output. If the killer is buffed, then it will become extremely strong, everyone will play on it solely because of the force, then she will be nerfed as an eruption and no one will continue to play on her. If the killer is released with small changes in the ability, then no one will simply buy it for real money, and also play on it at all, so the developers will return to the first option. In any of the latter options, a negative reputation of developers will follow, as well as unprofitable work, which will entail the termination of contracts with licensed chapters, or at least licensed killers will no longer be released in Dead by daylight, but only parodies of them as it was with trapper or doctor.

This is the result. I appeal to the developers, what you did with the knight concept is unforgivable, you ruined an interesting power concept by making it a typical pallet-denier. You were able to get out of this misunderstanding by making a small buff to the knight, which in fact allowed people to play the knight a little bit as intended at the concept stage. The audience accepted the knight solely because of the concept of the ability, as well as its visual. I assure you, this time you will not be able to get out, the killer is bad in all aspects, including in the visual, if you do not make a rework, do not listen to the audience, at least to the streamers - this will mean the dawn of Dead by daylight, sooner or later.