The Casting of Frank Stone

No one will deny Supermassive Games' affinity for horror. The British developer has created a collection of promising and well-received horror experiences in the past, many of which fall under The Dark Pictures Anthology banner. Regardless of whether Supermassive's projects are part of this wider series or a standalone outing like The Quarry, the developer has tended to a very synonymous and familiar setup, one that frankly has been in need of an update. We'll be getting that next year when the second season of The Dark Pictures begins with Directive 8020, but for 2024 we're left with a final gasp from the formula in the Dead by Daylight spinoff, The Casting of Frank Stone.

Yes, before continuing any further about the gameplay and the narrative, let me talk about the elephant in the room: the Dead by Daylight connection. This is a spinoff game based on Behaviour Interactive's hugely popular asymmetrical horror experience, but you by no means have to play Dead by Daylight to enjoy The Casting of Frank Stone. There are plenty of references and nods that those tuned into the lore will pick up and appreciate, but this game also serves its purpose as a standalone horror story that explores how DbD's terrifying Entity is introduced and summoned.

But anyway, moving on from the DbD ties, let's get back to the story and gameplay itself. For starters, The Casting of Frank Stone takes place over three time periods. You experience a part of the story in the late 60s when a local police officer (Sam) confronts the serial killer Frank Stone and attempts to stop him from sacrificing a baby. Then, we move ahead to the early-80s when a bunch of teenagers (including Sam's son) sneak into the same steel mill where Frank Stone killed countless folk in order to film an indie horror project. This leads to a summoning ritual where Stone's presence begins terrorising and murdering these youngsters without remorse. Lastly, we have the present day where a collection of unusual people (including the daughter of one of the 80s teenagers) are brought together into an unsettling mansion under false pretences where they soon find themselves at the mercy of a supernatural and bloodthirsty creature. Why am I bringing this tri-time period design up so early? Because Supermassive likes to jump between the three periods during the course of the narrative, and frankly it makes things a little confusing to keep tabs on, especially when multiple timelines are added onto this too...

To me, a convoluted story is a nuisance at the best of times, never mind in a horror project where the plot doesn't need to have such depth to entertain and engage. But frankly, this wouldn't stand out to me if we could look to Supermassive titles for great-feeling gameplay. This hasn't been the case for a long while, as more often than not the story is the strength, which is why I think The Casting of Frank Stone actually fails more often than it succeeds in telling a compelling narrative. It's not just the convoluted plot that's the issue though, there are clear pacing problems too, as following a great opening it takes six or so chapters until anything of significance or interest takes place. Again, this wouldn't be as much of an issue if wandering around the steel mill or the creepy mansion was interesting and crammed with secrets, but it just isn't.

The Casting of Frank Stone, like many of Supermassive's previous recent games, isn't very fun to actually play. The game excels when you either embrace the fantastic couch co-op experience or instead use the more hands-off cinematic mode to skip the tedious exploration elements. This is both because the characters feel sluggish and unresponsive to handle and move, almost like attempting to back an 18-wheeler into a cul-de-sac, and because there's very little to actually do outside of the more cinematic moments. Supermassive presents a world where you can wander down tight corridors to interact with doors that do not open or to pick up documents and other items that add to the lore but otherwise have zero impact on the story. Yes, there are a few puzzles to solve along the way, but these are ineffective at the best of times, with most simply revolving around wandering about until you find the necessary items in question lying on the floor to acquire them and continue progressing. As far as a gameplay experience goes, The Casting of Frank Stone flounders at the best of times.

And the constant quick-time events don't do much to help it at all. These pop up out of the blue and generally speaking require a level of precision that feels completely out of place compared to the rest of the game to overcome perfectly. Granted, you can usually get by without needing perfect timing, but still it seems silly that it has been tuned in such a way. But regardless of your stance on QTE, Supermassive has always leaned on them and I can see the value of the mechanic when in couch co-op as it does mean that people stay glued to the screen and attentive. So, while I'm inclined to be more forgiving for QTE, what I'm less likely to forgive is the poor film camera system. Essentially, when Frank Stone's spirit starts haunting and attacking the teenagers, they can use a wind-up film camera to stop and eliminate Stone temporarily. There is a lore reason for this, but in practice it feels like a wasted opportunity as it takes the fear-factor of being hunted by a malevolent foe completely out of the equation and instead leans on a silly gimmick without any depth and that means the monster never stands a chance at getting near to you.

Yet even though The Casting of Frank Stone proves that the changes planned with Directive 8020 next year are more important and necessary than ever for a Supermassive title, it also affirms the brilliant strengths of the developer. The branching system that allows you to discover one of multiple endings means that there's actually great replayability in The Casting of Frank Stone, and in fact it means that you can go back and experience new story beats that you wouldn't have encountered before. The ambience, setting, environmental design, character models and performances, dialogue, and so forth are all fantastic too. The visuals are not photo-realistic (even though that level of clarity would truly befit a developer like Supermassive) and there are the odd weird quirks with how a character's model reacts and emotes, but for the most part this game looks stunning, has a top setting and theme, and plays without a hitch.

It's because of this that I find The Casting of Frank Stone to be very hit or miss. There are elements that stand out and continue to impress, but also many parts that hold the game back and disappoint. A more fluid gameplay style would definitely do wonders, but arguably more importantly for a game of this kind by Supermassive, the narrative and story could have done with more refinement to ensure it felt less convoluted and had a more balanced and fulfilling pacing. The Casting of Frank Stone will go down as a final chapter in this era of Supermassive, a chapter of highs and lows, but even though it has its faults there's definitely a lot of potential between a Supermassive and Dead by Daylight collaboration and hopefully we'll see this explored once again in the future.