Casting of Frank Stone, The Review (Xbox Series X)

STAFF REVIEW of Casting of Frank Stone, The (Xbox Series X)

Friday, October 4, 2024.
by Chad Goodmurphy

If you’re a fan of Dead by Daylight and its universe, which is seemingly full of slashers and related lore, then you’ll be familiar with Frank Stone. He’s the titular character in the latest game from Until Dawn developer, Supermassive Games, and the result is something different from the multiplayer horror that its namesake is known for.

Much like Supermassive’s other games – which also include The Quarry and several games under The Dark Pictures Anthology umbrella – The Casting of Frank Stone is a narrative driven horror game wherein characters can die. It all depends on the decisions you make, as well as the actions you undertake. It’s possible to save them all from peril and doom, but it’s not always so easy.

Needless to say, there’s a pretty great pedigree behind this game. After all, Until Dawn was fantastic and The Quarry was also quite good. The Dark Pictures Anthology started out pretty well, but was always a step behind, and that step became larger with its third entry, which was set in the Middle East. I didn’t get playing the last one, but have come close to buying it a couple of times. I’d like to play it, as it seems to deal with a slasher, and it’s also a game I need to cross off my list to say that I’ve played all of this developer’s games. After all, I did once call Until Dawn my Game of the Year.

The Casting of Frank Stone is sort of an introduction to the character, or an origins story if you will. That said, he’s not as big a part of the game as you’d expect, and that’s a downside of a story where not enough happens. As such, this is most definitely not Supermassive’s best game, although it’s also certainly not their worst. It’s far better than The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes, that’s for damned sure.

This particular campaign begins in the year 1963, as a young cop heads to a local steel mill in order to investigate the disappearance of a baby. There, he meets the drunken security guard, before going in to investigate himself. This isn’t the only timeline found in The Casting of Frank Stone, as the game bounces between a few of them. There’s this first one, then the year 1980 and lastly, 2024.

In 1980, we play as a group of friends who are making a slasher movie and get caught filming inside the now derelict and condemned mill. Then, in 2024, we play as a young woman named Madison, who is invited to a mansion in the middle of nowhere Britain, and comes across an unlikely hitchhiker on the way there. Both timelines are tied together by the movie, and it’s all tied back to the opening.

The storyline invokes the supernatural, just as it does typical slasher motifs. As such, you’ll find yourself dealing with both in an attempt to survive what it has to throw at you. The problem is that there’s just not enough of it, and that a lot of the game – especially the first several chapters – involves a lot of wandering around, exploring and talking. Sure, you get some choices, but there’s only a bit of tension outside of the conclusion of the opening segment. Then, out of the blue, the game gives you a choice that will either kill a character immediately, or cause them to survive. What you won’t know is that it’s possible to fight, but only if you received extra money in an earlier scene and chose to spend it all on firecrackers. As such, it kind of differs from the traditional Supermassive formula in this way. I don’t remember the others really having much in the way of combat, and this one does, although it’s very basic and won’t be memorable down the road.

This time around, smaller choices tend to add up, and bigger choices seem to be more limited. You’ll wonder if it’s possible to lose anyone for a while, but then you’ll be faced with a choice that can kill off a likeable character. Meanwhile, you’ll hate having to listen to one specific guy in the 2024 timeline, and will wish him dead immediately.

Those who take their time will also be rewarded, as The Casting of Frank Stone has some hidden goodies for those who look. It’s got collectible figurines, and it also has these reliks, which hearken back to the original Dead by Daylight game. You’ll also find other bits of hidden lore, and nods to the game’s universe; many of which I likely missed, because I’ve never played it and went into this one cold.

For the most part, though, you can expect what you’ve become familiar with if you’ve played lots of these games: lots of walking around, a good amount of dialogue choices, QTEs – some of which are pretty quick – and a task to keep as many people alive as possible.

You’ll also get the opportunity to explore The Cutting Room Floor, which I believe is limited to the more expensive versions of the game. At the very least, instant access to it is. This allows you to see a web of potential decisions, and follow yours along. If you wish, you can also use it to return to a previous moment and change the direction of the story.

While The Casting of Frank Stone isn’t Supermassive’s best game, it would’ve been hard for it to top Until Dawn or The Quarry. It kind of falls into the middle, and is decent but unspectacular. There’s too much downtime, it repeats the steel mill location far too much, and Frank Stone isn’t in his own game enough.

At the end of the day, this is a game that fans of the genre and fans of Dead By Daylight will find the most value in. I guess that goes without saying, though, doesn’t it? Anyone who’s new to things should play Until Dawn or The Quarry first before deciding whether to spend any money on this. Those who want to buy it would also be better off waiting for a sale, as it’s nothing spectacular by any means.

**The Casting of Frank Stone This review was provided by the publisher and reviewed on an Xbox Series X**

Overall: 5.5 / 10
Gameplay: 5.5 / 10
Visuals: 8.0 / 10
Sound: 7.6 / 10

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STAFF REVIEW of Casting of Frank Stone, The (Xbox Series X)

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