Dead by Daylight - Pyramid Head

Normally someone who exists to terrify you would look scary. Mangled face, psychotic composure, scissors for hands, something! I guess this villain missed the memo. He (I think he) decided their persona should be personified by a cone on their head. More specifically, a traffic cone, painted brown, and flattened on four sides to look like a pyramid. Worst costume ever. Even their weapon is dumb, portraying more of a drastically over sized butter-knife look than a giant butcher-knife. We call him Pyramid Head, because that is what he looks like.

“He’s heading off to the opposite side of the arena. Should be good. Spot me while I sabo. Please,” Jake asked as he set down his toolkit. I placed my hand on the wall of broken car parts and peered around the corner. The mist was thick this time, but not thick enough to still make out the figure that desperately searched for survivors in the distance.

“You’re all good for now!” I still got excited during trials as I haven’t been stuck in this sick and twisted realm for as long as the other survivors.

“Ready to run?” Jake was one step away from knocking the hook down. I gave a thumbs up while not taking my eyes off the last spot I saw Pyramid Head show up. Even if he looked silly, his butter-knife still hurt if slashed you. Being stabbed was not on my agenda this trial.

The hook fell down and bounced a couple of times alerting the killer. Within seconds he would run back across the map trying to cut us off from our goal. We split up since there was no point in both of us getting chased. While Jake went towards the center of the arena, I decided to stick to the pathetically small outer wall. It seemed cruel to make an arena with easily scalable walls, yet that is what the Entity has done. If you try to climb over, black talon-legs would appear knocking you down back into the arena. The only way out was to finish the trial. Light up five generators to restore power and open the damned doors. At least, that is what I’ve been told. I haven’t actually seen the doors open yet.

A scream in the distance bounced off the walls and permeated every surface. Sounded like someone had been stabbed while I was lost in thought. Still new to the whole trial idea, and I just couldn’t break my immersion sometimes. Everything was fake. There was no real threat. You’d feel pain, you’d die, you’d escape, you’d do the whole thing over again. The only thing that was certain is the Entity would not release you.

After a hot minute a generator appeared in the distance. Unfortunately, Jake and Pyramid Head also appeared in the distance, circling around the generator. Crouching, I cautiously approached the reenactment of the classic cat and mouse chase. The killer really did look ridiculous. Pyramid Head wobbles when he walks. Not wobbly in a way that looks like he might be injured, he just looks like a penguin that is trying to imitate humans.

Apparently our conehead friend had enough of chasing Jake, as he stuck his sword into the ground (I was surprised it was sharp enough to do that) and started dragging it behind him. A a trail of broken earth and barbed wire followed wherever he walked. As I said before, this killer was not meant to be scary. Obnoxious seemed like a better word. Jake kept circling inevitably tripping over the wire. It didn’t make him stumble, which was confounding.

“Alrighty, guess you’ve had enough. Are you actually going to hit me now?” Jake was baiting him on just like he did with every killer. I guess when you’ve been in trials for as long as he has, you start enjoying this hell. Regardless, it’s still a little concerning that he seems to get so much pleasure from the chase.

Right before Pyramid Head could hit him Jake slammed a pallet on his head. Sadly the cone did not fall off. “Seriously? You thought you could get that one?” In response, the killer shoved his sword into the ground and tore up the earth in front of him creating a rippling effect for the next three meters. Spikes shot out of the broken earth and hit Jake knocking him to the ground. “Screw me, should have seen that one coming.” Blood pooled at his body as he tried to crawl away while the killer smashed the pallet.

There was nothing I could do. First time I saw this I screamed and tried to protect the survivor, but that whole incident just ended with me on a meat hook waiting to be saved. That first time having a giant hook pierce my shoulder was traumatic. I could see the Entity slowly creeping up on me, no hope of escape. I really did think I was going to die right then and there until Jake helped me off. Little did I know that was not the last time I would end up on a hook. Maybe that’s why I have an inclination to pair up with Jake over other people. He comforted me that first time. I guess he saw I was new and felt bad.

Jake was hoisted up on to Pyramid Head’s shoulders (in which there was barely room to rest a body with that stupid cone taking up space) and was taken off into the distance. It was weird. Every time I had seen this happen, the killer put the survivor on the nearest hook. Where were they taking Jake now?

Snapping myself out of the mesmerization, I quickly ran to the generator they had been circling around and started fixing it. It’s funny how you just inherently know how to fix stuff in this realm. I hadn’t been an engineer, yet here I was repairing a generator like I know everything about electronics.

Suddenly Jake’s screams pierced the dark mist as his yellow aura appeared. It looked like he was underground all the way across the arena. It was unusual for a killer to bring someone so far from where they downed them. More time carrying survivors around meant more time for the other survivors to fix generators. As per Jake’s do not rescue orders he had given me earlier, I kept working on the generator.

Only a minute had passed before a heartbeat pounded my ears. Pyramid Head was close, probably looking to see if anyone was working on my generator. That was my sign to run. Before I booked it, I used my aura to call the Entity. Immediately from the ground black, spiny talon-legs clenched the generator stopping anyone from touching it. Now the killer couldn’t smash my work into oblivion. I was heading towards the outer wall of the arena when Pyramid Head came into view from behind a car. He was b-lining it through the center of the arena. Realizing how bad my positioning was, I took a turn towards the gas station. Lots of windows, a pallet I think, maybe some cars to loop around. Anything would help me last longer.

The chase was a very simple game of tag with deadly consequences. All the same rules applied. You, the runner, want to increase the space between yourself and the chaser (or in this case killer). The chaser will take every opportunity they get to shorten the distance. Make a wrong turn? The chaser gets closer. Did the chaser fake you out switching directions? The chaser gets closer. All you have to do as the runner is increase that distance with your environment. Throw pallets, vault windows, hide in cover.

The environment was important, and unfortunately non-existent for me as I was exiting the empty field. The gas station was a couple of steps away, with the killer also now running towards the same destination. He knew exactly what I was trying to do. I panicked, and rather than running in the gas station I ran around. As I rounded the corner of the building there were no cars in sight. Bad choice on my part. The killer quickly rounded the corner and took a swing at me barely missing. Luck was the only thing that stopped me from being sliced open on that one.

I was able to regain some distance between us as the killer recovered from the swing. Without hesitation, I quickly vaulted a window into the gas station. The killer was out of sight. My primal instincts screamed to keep moving but I forced myself to stay still. No point in running outside through the main door if that was where the killer was moving to. I watched the door with increasing anxiety. Suddenly from behind me, the killer tried to swing at me through the window. I jumped back surprised from the unexpected move. Killers were pretty bad at getting through a window quickly, so it wasn’t likely he would try to crawl through.

Except that is exactly what he did, giving me the precious second to increase the distance between us. I ran to the garage of the gas station rather than out the main door as I wanted the safety of the pallet that usually was propped up in the room. Every time you entered an arena, some things stayed the same. The killer’s basement was always present, although switching locations. The gas station was always there. Some wrecked cars always appeared in the same spot. My best chances at survival was hoping this pallet was one of those absolutes. I entered the garage that, luckily, remained the same. If I remembered correctly, a pallet was sitting on the other side of the truck. I quickly whipped around the truck and went to throw the pallet behind me only to be greeted by a sword slashing through my back. Did I forget where the pallet was located? As I rushed away from the killer out of the garage I looked back at the broken pallet on the ground. Someone already used it!

In the time it took me to look behind I had also successfully run right into a wall. A fatal mistake. The sword ripped into my flesh knocking me onto the ground. Barely conscious, I felt Pyramid Head’s grimy hand lift me up onto his shoulder. Although it was a small chance, I figured I might as well try to wiggle free. Unfortunately, he had an iron grip making it hard to move at all, more or less wiggle. It was useless.

I didn’t really wake up until I felt a meat hook pierce my shoulder. Pyramid Head spent a moment looking in my direction (I assume, still can’t see his face) before he walked up the basement stairs. Only then did it hit me: I was in the basement.

“You too Cheryl? That’s rough buddy.” Jake’s voice bounced off the walls as he continuously, desperately grunted. He was holding off the Entity from stabbing him once and for all with its sickly talon-leg.

“Yup,” was all that I could manage. Pain coursed through me as my mind went numb. I could see the other survivor’s yellow auras in the distance through the walls of the hellish basement. Didn’t look like they were willing to risk their lives for us. No one was heading our direction. It was only a matter of time until the Entity picked up and kicked up out of the trial. I couldn’t blame them for not wanting to risk their lives. I closed my eyes and let the Entity stab me, grab me, and pull me up out of the arena.

Another trial failed.