The Casting of Frank Stone (2024)

The Casting of Frank Stone may not be weighed down by its ties to the Dead by Daylight universe, but it's nonetheless unable to reach the surface from under the waves of a slow story, dull gameplay and a lack of thrills.

Despite odd technical issues, this is another quality Supermassive Games release, though it won't stand out from the herd.

The Casting of Frank Stone is slightly better received than the disappointing final chapters of The Dark Pictures Anthology. But it's nowhere near as good as the well-crafted The Quarry or Until Dawn.

Still, it’s a typically atmospheric game, with expressive animation, detailed (if restrictive) environments and foreboding chiaroscuro lighting. Fans of Dead By Daylight will feel at home with certain story beats and its use of skill checks to make progress, and it briefly nods to Alan Wake with its camera combat mechanic. While it’s an entertaining few hours, it does feel as if Supermassive have hemmed themselves in with another studio’s story, when they’re much better branching off on their own.

Like I said at the outset I was excited for the possibilities for The Casting of Frank Stone, but sadly that excitement didn’t last. The brightest things about this game were when it was pitting the cast against the supernatural but these things are few and far between and take a LONG time to get to. This is an extremely slow burn, and since the characters feel paper thin; there just isn’t a lot to grab onto here. The Casting of Frank Stone has tons of references for Dead by Daylight fans but the lack of scares and likeable characters makes this one best left on the hook.