Video Game / The Casting of Frank Stone

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The Casting of Frank Stone is a single-player cosmic horror game from Supermassive Games in collaboration with Behaviour Interactive, and is a Spin-Off of the multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight, taking place in the same universe.

A group of friends in Cedar Hill, a town where notorious serial killer Frank Stone committed his gruesome crimes, end up delving into the depths of the Cedar Steel Mill. As they journey into the abandoned mill, they uncover horrific secrets and draw the attention of a dark force...

Similar to Supermassive's previous games, The Casting of Frank Stone puts you in charge of the group and forces you to make decisions that will determine how the story plays out.

The game was released on September 3rd, 2024 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.

Previews: Reveal Trailer, Gameplay Trailer, Murder Mill Trailer, Launch Trailer

The Casting of Frank Stone contains examples of:

• 555: In the Drug Store, Chris can find a Face on a Milk Carton where anyone identifying the missing person is advised to call 364-555-0142.
• Abandoned Area: The Cedar Steel Mill, which has been condemned since the days of Frank Stone's killings. Sheriff Green makes it a nearly obsessive habit to ensure that no-one steps foot inside it again.
• Accidental Time Travel: Chris is pulled into a portal within the steel mill and sent from 1980 to Gerant Manor in 2024. She can choose to either stay in the manor with the others until the ending of the game or return to 1980, though not doing so properly will make it so that only her corpse will make it back.
• Advertising by Association: The game is “From the world of Dead by Daylight”.
• Alternate Self: If Chris successfully travels back to 1980 using the film projection, she will walk right into the original filming of Murder Mill from earlier in the game, coming face to face with herself.
• Alternate Timeline: A central part of the overall story:
  • Augustine has spent a great deal of time and effort gathering different versions of Murder Mill from the omniverse in the hopes of gaining enough pieces concentrated with Frank Stone's essence to manifest him in the present day. It is also implied that she has been using the horologium inside the manor to transport alternate versions of herself from these timelines in order to achieve her goals.
  • The Sam Green encountered in 2024 is from such a timeline, strongly implied to be the one seen in 1963. Linda doesn't recognize him as the Sam she knew when the memories he recounts don't match with her own and he doesn't appear to be the correct age to match the events she experienced either. In certain circumstances when the group are gathered to watch Murder Mill, he will openly admit that he is an alternate Sam.
    • As if to further back up the above point, Sam can fail to save the baby from being murdered by Frank Stone in 1963. While it's treated as if he did save them in 1980 and 2024, a newspaper Linda can find inside Augustine's archive says that he failed to do so. The baby is also revealed to be Jaime and Sam will eventually admit if questioned that his version of Jamie was killed by Frank.
  • The version of Murder Mill that is shown to the party always shows Bonnie dying at the hands of Frank Stone, despite both Linda and Madison knowing this never happened to the Bonnie either of them knew. It's also possible to have the versions of Sam and Linda within the film die as well.
• Anachronic Order: A bit of an odd example. While the game does differentiate the 1980 and 2024 segments, Sam describes the events of the 1980 timeline as if they are happening simultaneously with the 2024 timeline. Though, he also describes them as happening "then," as if they've already come to pass. The argument could be made that Sam is trying to simplify the explanation for the others, as it might be difficult to interpret for a normal human who doesn't usually go on dimension-hopping adventures. Ultimately, it's unclear.
• Ancient Conspiracy: The Black Vale, a cult dedicated to worship of the Entity, of which Augustine is a member. First mentioned in the backstories of both survivors and killers from Dead by Daylight, they are an organisation of powerful individuals who are responsible for orchestrating events to feed the Entity with new souls and are implied to control governments and act as multinational enterprises.
• Ancient Order of Protectors: The Imperiatti, an organisation that the Sam Green of 2024 is allied with. They helped him to understand the concept of the omniverse thanks to their leader Logan Chen, which Linda can learn from Sam if she chose to read his diary earlier. They are in direct opposition to the Black Vale and, by extension, Augustine's plans.
• Arc Words: "A higher calling" crops up a few times: Sam describes Tom's night watchman job this way, Linda says it about filmmaking, and Augustine said it about Frank's murders in order to manipulate him.
• Baby Talk: When Jaime, Linda and Chris recount the events between Sam Green and Frank Stone at the steel mill, Jaime says he was just a baby at that time, prompting Chris to address him like a mom playfully does to a child and say he's "still just a baby" while holding his face. Bonnie also addresses Jaime like this if he makes an unconvincing attempt to Blackmail her for money while pinching his left cheek.
• Back from the Dead: Frank Stone. Twice. The plot of events in both 1980 and 2024 revolve around Frank being resurrected following his death in 1963. Both times, he is brought back as something obviously inhuman but no less deadly than his crimes would suggest he was in life.
• Belly Mouth: Frank Stone gains one upon being manifesting in 2024. His missing jaw from when he was killed in 1963 has now expanded into a giant toothed maw that takes up the majority of his torso. He uses it to consume and absorb one of the group at Gerant Manor to gain enough strength to fully free himself from the film.
• Bittersweet Ending: For the 1980 timeline and their characters. Bonnie dies no matter what the player does, but the other characters can survive and agree to separate the film that has Frank Stone trapped. While there is some ambiguity whether another version of Augustine will try to get their pieces or bring the Entity to their world, ultimately these characters are free to live their lives and don't suffer the same horrific fate as the 2024 timeline.
• But Thou Must!: You pretty much have to deliberately do so, but it is possible to fail to open the grate with the crowbar as Sam in 1963, prompting Tom to help you open it. No matter how many times you fail the skill check, unlike most of the skill challenges in Supermassive titles, the game will simply make you repeat the action until you open the grate and continue onward, with no immediate penalty otherwise.
  • However, the crowbar being broken might change some possible options during the 1980 portion of the game later on.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: A few of these are possible throughout the game:
  • If Chris chooses to return to 1980 using the horologium but fails to complete certain actions to use the machine properly, she'll return to the mill having been turned inside out in the process, with organs outside her bones and skin now hidden beneath exposed muscle. What makes it worse is that Chris manages to survive for a few seconds before falling dead, the camera panning in to show her eyeballs staring inside her own head.
  • What happens to the unlucky individual who Frank absorbs upon reappearing in 2024. The victim is consumed by the large mouth in Frank's body like they're being eaten alive before their face presses against Frank's skin from inside him, all the while screaming about how much pain they're in and begging for help.
• Dashed Plot Line: The game starts in 1963 with Sam killing Frank Stone inside the Cedar Steel Mill. It then hops between Cedar Hill in 1980 with a young Linda Castle helping her friends make Murder Mill, and the Gerant Manor in 2024.
• Double-Meaning Title: "Casting" something is the process of making an object through the moulding of molten metal, which ties into the game's signature location of the steel mill. But it also means the assigning of parts to people during the production of a play or film, which references the Murder Mill crew. Both definitions apply to Frank Stone himself more than anyone. Not only did he work at the mill when he was alive, but Augustine "moulded" him into a killer for the sake of summoning the Entity. By the end of the game, Frank finds himself a part of the "cast" of killers the Entity has already gathered.
• Downer Ending: For the 2024 timeline at least. No matter who manages to survive in either 1980 or 2024, the Entity devours the world. Any survivors from the present timeline find Meg, Claudette, Jake and Dwight at a campfire, having become trapped in the Entity's realm as its newest survivors while Frank Stone (now 'The Champion') prepares to chase them into a Trial.
• Face on a Milk Carton: In the Drug Store, Chris can find a missing person advertisement for Benny Baker. Anyone who can identify him should call 364-555-0142.
• Fauxshadowing: During Madison's dream-within-a-dream, she interacts with a picture with her mother's face scratched out. Soon thereafter she finds her mother sobbing on a log, and after approaching, her mother looks up with blackened, empty eye sockets and a blackened mouth and screams before being pierced by one of the Entity's claws. We follow Linda later as she explores Lieber's archive and views a portion of film with Bonnie acting that ends with her having the same face from Madison's dream for a jumpscare. No further background explanation about Bonnie and the significance of these images is provided.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Madison has a nightmare at the beginning of the game where she wanders through a dark forest, leaving glowing scratches on the ground as she walks before seeing a vision of her mother being taken by the Entity. If she is able to survive until the end of the game, this is the exact situation she'll soon find herself in as a new survivor within the Entity's realm.
  • When Jaime, Chris and Linda discuss the death of Frank Stone, Jaime says he doesn't know anything about it since he was just a baby. If Sam Green fails to save the baby from being dropped into the furnace by Frank Stone, a newspaper Linda can find in 2024 reveals that he didn't save the baby despite everyone else claiming he did in 1980 and 2024, and the baby's name was Jaime Rivera, which was further proof for her of the existence of AlternateTimelines.
  • There seems to be something going on with Frank's mouth prior to his encounter with Sam in the mill, as we can find the lower cut-out piece of Frank's mask covered in blood, and we later see Frank's mouth covered with blood. His artistic choice to cut the lower portion out of the mask, and how he comes to rest after falling off the balcony in the mill, hints at how we should expect him to look when reintroduced later in the game.
• Guide Dang It!: Keeping all of the playable characters alive, particularly during the final chapter, can get very unintuitive.
  • The first possible death has Jaime getting bisected should he attempt to rescue Chris and not completed a VERY specific chain of choices leading to him picking up a pack of firecrackers earlier. This sets up that its best NOT to attempt a rescue of other characters and instead let people fight for themselves. However, during the final chapter, should Linda abandon an unconscious Madi to escape in an elevator, both are immediately killed. This is then flipped AGAIN later in the chapter, as if Madi attempts to help Sam, she is immediately killed. This type of inconsistency makes it very difficult to rescue everyone blindly.
  • Additionally, during the final chapter, Frank Stone will come through the projector screen. What is not known to the player is that Frank WILL be killing somebody, whether that's Sam, Linda, Chris, Madi, or the unplayable Stan, the latter three of whom may already be dead (or not present, in the case of Chris, and Stan and Chris being absent are mutually exclusive). The correct option is to let Stan be the victim, as in most cases he is the first potential option unless already dead or Madi is possessed. However, there is no choice of whether to save Stan or run, but instead just a QTE. Pass it, and you're locked out of the Golden Ending. Frank will move on to his next victim (likely Linda) and only then will Sam be given the option to sacrifice himself or let them die.
• Hate Plague: Murder Mill's reputation is not for how scary it is as a horror movie, but for supposedly being a 'cursed' film that causes normal people to turn into bloodthirsty rioters when seeing it. It is strongly implied to be because of Frank Stone's essence being trapped within the filmstrips that make up the movie.
• I Want My Mommy!: In Chapter 14, Frank Stone grabs Stan, and if failing the quick time event, he will yell for "mommy" in terror. If Madison is consumed by Frank, she will call out, "Mom! Help!"
• Lampshade Hanging:
  • When Madison and Linda approach Augustine's manor, Linda remarks that it's on the nose, and Madison agrees that it's like something out of a horror movie.
  • If Sam Green inspects the Trickster's doll, he'll quip, "Another killer, I assume."
• The Load: Stan talks a big game, but it becomes abundantly clear he lacks any real skills and competence that could be useful in the situation the cast find themselves in. Tellingly, the most constructive use the player can get out of him is to sacrifice him to Frank to save everyone else.
• Morton's Fork: Regardless of player choices, a lot of outcomes to events in the game are pre-determined, with only certain details changing depending on past decisions:
  • Bonnie will always be killed by Frank Stone via a hook in the mill. This ends up being a key detail to explain the multiversal nature of the plot near the end of the game.
  • The same is also true of Stan. No matter what steps are taken to save or protect him, and while the specific cause of death can vary between playthroughs, he is destined to always die by the story's conclusion.
  • Chris will always be sucked into the portal from 1980 and transported to 2024, regardless of whether Jaime tries to save her using the firecrackers, is killed by Frank Stone, or runs away.
  • Regardless of whether you are given the chance to confront her in the horologium and potentially shoot her, Augustine will always survive until the ending sacrifices where Frank then kills her as an offering to the Entity.
  • The overall ending of the game itself counts as this. The Entity consumes the world no matter who is sacrificed or escapes, Frank Stone is taken by it to become its newest killer, and the only detail that changes is who manages to make it to the campfire within the Entity's realm.
• Mythology Gag: As a game set in the world of Dead by Daylight, these appear all throughout the story:
  • When Stan is explaining his knowledge of Murder Mill's cursed reputation, he remarks that the Léry Memorial Institute was a place the CIA did "enhanced interrogation" using the film. This is where Herman Carter, aka the Doctor, worked at before being taken by the Entity.
  • There are references to numerous killers from Dead by Daylight scattered throughout the game. Some of them are environmental details, such as the rabbit mask normally worn by the Huntress within the Curiosity Shop, while others are collectibles in the form of dolls resembling the killers (Relliks), as well as statues of their add-ons (Trinkets). A Rellik obtained at the game's conclusion is of Frank's new form as The Champion, being the Entity's latest addition to its roster.
  • Early in the game, you can find a piece of torn sheet music titled "Survivor Theme". When you play it on a piano, it plays that exact theme from Dead By Daylight and opens a hidden passage in the room.
    • Another similar puzzle has Madison using a hidden key to play a music box, which not only plays the same theme but features a figurine of The Trickster inside.
  • One of the paintings in Gerant Manor is for Archie MacMillan, who is referred to as "Archibald MacMillan" here, the father of Evan MacMillan who is better known as The Trapper.
  • At a few points in the game, the characters have to find parts to fix broken generators into order to power up something such as a piece of machinery or an exit. The generators in question look identical the ones survivors have to repair in Dead by Daylight to open the exit gates, complete with the same sound effects.
  • When Frank is resurrected in the final chapter, and if Madison earlier chose to take the pendant for herself, Augustine begins to whispers some sort of incantation that causes the pendant to hypnotise her into offering herself to Frank. The incantation itself appears to be made up of Akkadian words, the language that The Plague speaks when reciting her prayers or using her power.
  • At the end of the game when the surviving characters reach the campfire, Augustine narrates how killers and survivors alike are the Entity's playthings in a game where even "death is no escape". The game ends with the chime heard five seconds before a trial starts in Dead by Daylight. Depending on how many people survived in the present timeline, the four original Dead by Daylight survivors can appear at the campfire as well.
• Neck Snap: If Madison or Linda tries to help Sam when he tries to distract Frank Stone, their pursuer will punish their stubbornness by grabbing them by the neck and snapping it.
• Paranormal Mundane Item: The camera used by the Murder Mill crew. Given to the group by the shopkeeper of the curiosities store, it ends up being crucial in fighting Frank Stone when he comes back to life as he can only be seen and warded away through the camera's lens. The camera ends up trapping Frank's essence inside the film reels, giving rise to the cursed properties that would create Murder Mill's reputation.
  • Both the pendant and mirror can also count as this. Their true supernatural abilities are made apparent if characters attempt to use them in the wrong way, often with deadly results.
• Poor Communication Kills: Sam is very tight-lipped with the other characters despite having a lot of intel about what's going on and the severity of the situation since we can discover through Linda that he made contact with the Imperiatti
  • Attention is called to his youthfulness despite it being 2024 by several characters, he makes ambiguous comments about how he doesn't keep track of years anymore and talks about the past and present simultaneously, and completely dodges the question when Linda calls out how old he should be and how he's not her Sam Green.
  • When encountering Chris in 2024, he recognizes aloud, "This kind of thing... It can happen... Sometimes" but doesn't bother to elaborate.
  • He vaguely references a mission ("There's no reward for me when I've done what I gotta do...") but never makes clear what he's trying to accomplish.
• Protective Charm: Inverted with the pendant and mirror. Clues can be found that suggest talismans offer protection to the bearer, but they're planted by Augustine to influence the main characters to pick them up- leaving them vulnerable to her.
  • If Madison chooses to take the pendant, she will be hypnotised by Augustine into approaching the restored Frank Stone, leading to her either being absorbed by him or sacrificed in the finale.
  • If Chris takes the pendant, or the shopkeeper/Augustine earlier gave her the mirror, she will burn up if she attempts to return to her timeline using the film projection.
  • If Stan is allowed to take the pendant, and isn't absorbed by Frank, he will immediately try to use it to defend himself when trying to escape. It doesn't work.
• Red Sky, Take Warning: When the Entity's claws appear within the steel mill or during the ending where it consumes the world, they emerge from a red storm of clouds.
• Relationship Values: Your dialogue choices can determine if a relationship value between two characters goes up or down.
• Riddle for the Ages: What exactly was Augustine hoping to gain by summoning the Entity? Her narration implies that she wanted to share in its knowledge as a reward for her actions, but it isn't clear what she thought it would teach her.
• Room Full of Crazy: Frank's hidden room within the mill contains all manner of newspapers, photos, tools of torment and sketchbooks detailing his costume and weapon designs for his crimes. The remains of some of his victims which were never found are also stored there in jars.
• Rotating Protagonist: You get to take some control over the majority of the characters in the game.
• Sarcastic Clapping: If Chris fails to pull off the pole she has to use as a makeshift lever in the horologium, Stan has to help her out. Once they succeed, he expresses his frustration by unenthusiastically applauding her thrice for needing help.
• Sequel Hook: After the credits roll, the scene shifts to the horologium where an alternate Augustine emerges from the sarcophagus to be greeted by the older Augustine who has been masquerading as the shopkeeper for the curiosity shop. The camera zooms out to show a doll of Frank Stone, who is given the title of The Champion, which then comes to life.
• Shout-Out: The achievement for collecting all the Artifacts is titled "That Belongs in a Museum."
• Small-Town Tyrant: In addition to falsely taking credit for the Frank Stone case, there are additional blurbs found by the player that show Kusich's knack for tying up loose ends, to the point that it's reasonable to believe he was either being manipulated or arrangements were made to ensure his help with certain matters around town.
• Stealing the Credit: Sheriff Lloyd Kusich is the one who takes the credit for killing Frank Stone in 1963, despite Sam Green being the one to do so in the prologue. As time goes on, Sam is given the proper credit, though makes it clear that he does not like the association.
• Summoning Ritual: What Frank's killings in 1963 were supposed to be. Augustine orchestrated them with the aim of summoning the Entity, though Sam killing Frank stopped the ritual before it could succeed.
• Temporal Sickness: The Sam of 2024 experiences this within Gerant Manor, seemingly confusing where he is and what he is seeing in a dissociative episode. If Linda chooses to read the letter addressed to Sam from Imperiatti member Logan Chen, the text on the letter warns Sam of the dangers of successfully jumping to an alternate timeline, likening it to the 'hangover from hell'. The letter also lists the symptoms to include disorientation, brief losses of consciousness, and the worst case scenario being something better off unknown.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: How Frank Stone dies in 1963. He gets shot in the head, falls into the furnace where he's impaled by several spikes, with one of them ripping his jaw off.
• Time Is Dangerous:
  • Chris better hope nothing goes wrong when she uses the horologium to return to 1980. If certain choices aren't made properly, then Chris will not survive the journey back to her time in quite a horrific fashion.
  • It's heavily implied is that something is going on with Sam, and that it might have to do with negative repercussions of his traveling. In several scenes he seems to struggle to keep things straight or to get his point across, and at one point he mumbles and trails off about skies folding in again, seeming to reference the game's ending and suggesting this isn't the first time before completely losing consciousness.
• Uncertain Doom: The fate of the surviving characters in the 1980 timeline, or their reality in general, is unclear. While it's unlikely that these versions of the characters would willingly part with their pieces of the film like their 2024 timeline counterparts, it's unknown whether another version of Augustine will try to acquire their pieces or bring the Entity to their timeline.
• Wham Shot: When Madison successfully turns off the horologium to save the person trapped inside, the one who emerges is Chris. This clues in the player that the plot between the two time periods is more connected than it initially appeared, and that the 1980 cast aren't as safe as once thought.
• Whole-Costume Reference: The character costumes in the deluxe edition are all inspired by the classic Universal Monsters; Sam’s outfit is inspired by Count Dracula, Chris’ is the Creature from the Black Lagoon, etc.
• Would Hurt a Child: Frank's kidnapping of an infant boy is what brings the police down on him in the prologue. If Sam fails to get his gun in time, Frank will throw the baby into the mill's furnace.