If you’ve spent any time in the Fog lately, you’ve probably heard that specific, wet clicking sound. It’s unmistakable. You're working on a generator in Greenville Square, and suddenly, there’s this... thing twitching in the corner of your eye. It looks human, but the proportions are all wrong. The skin is stretched like cheap plastic over a frame that wasn't built for it. This is The Unknown in Dead by Daylight, and honestly, it’s the most unsettling thing Behaviour Interactive has cooked up in years.
It didn't just drop into the game; it leaked out of a fever dream of internet creepypastas and urban legends. Most Killers have a clear motive. Myers wants to stalk. Trapper wants to please the Entity. But The Unknown? It’s basically a walking manifestation of "what if that shadow in your hallway actually moved?"
The lore is intentionally a mess because the creature thrives on ambiguity. The more people try to define it—calling it an alien, a government experiment gone wrong, or a serial killer—the more power it gains. It literally feeds on the concepts we project onto it. That’s why its physical form is such a disaster. It’s wearing a human suit that it doesn't quite understand how to fit into.
Making Sense of the UVX Bounce Physics
Let’s talk about the kit. If you’re playing as The Unknown in Dead by Daylight, your primary tool is the UVX. It’s a projectile launcher, but don't treat it like the Huntress’s hatchets. If you try to hit a survivor directly, you’re usually doing it wrong. It’s all about the bounce.
The projectile creates a "Blast Area" on impact. If a survivor is caught in that zone, they become "Weakened." Hit them again while they're Weakened, and they lose a health state. It sounds simple on paper, but the geometry is what separates the casual players from the red-rank menaces. You have to learn how to skip that purple glob off the floor or a doorframe to catch someone looping around a high-wall jungle gym.
Wait. There’s a catch.
Survivors can actually "Stare Down" the Unknown to remove the Weakened status. It’s a high-stakes game of chicken. They have to look back at you while running away, which usually means they’re going to path straight into a wall if they aren't careful. As the Killer, you want to force those awkward angles where they have to choose between getting hit by the blast or looking at you and tripping over a pallet.
The Hallucination Mind Game
The secondary power is where the real psychological horror kicks in. The Unknown passively leaves behind Hallucinations. These are static copies of itself that just stand there, twitching. You can teleport to them at any time.
✨ Don't miss: Why the Crown Zenith Card List Still Defines the Pokémon TCG Modern Era
Here is what most people get wrong: they use the teleport just for mobility. Sure, getting across the map is great. But the real value is in the pressure. If you leave a Hallucination near a hooked survivor or a nearly finished generator, you’ve created a zone of paranoia. Survivors have to spend time "dispelling" these fakes. If they don't, you could pop out of one at any second.
The animation for the teleport is jarring. One second the Hallucination is a statue, the next it's you, and there's no transition period for the survivor to react. It’s instant.
Perks That Actually Work (And Some That Don’t)
Every Killer comes with three unique perks, and The Unknown’s are... a mixed bag. Unbound gives you a speed boost after vaulting a window, but only if you’ve recently injured someone. It's okay, but niche. Unforeseen is the real winner here. You kick a generator, and your Terror Radius attaches to that generator while you go Undetectable.
Imagine the confusion.
The survivors hear the heartbeat coming from the gen they’re working on, so they think you’re right there. In reality, you’re sneaking up behind them from the opposite direction. It’s a top-tier stealth perk that works on almost any Killer, not just The Unknown.
🔗 Read more: Why Hips Don't Lie Just Dance is Still the Best Cardio Workout You Can Have
Then there’s Undone. Honestly? It’s kind of mid. You gain tokens when survivors miss skill checks, and you can spend those tokens to regress a generator. The problem is that high-level survivors rarely miss skill checks. You’re better off running something like Pop Goes the Weasel or Pain Resonance if you want actual gen slowdown.
Why the Community is Obsessed with the Voice Lines
We have to talk about the voice acting. Most Killers just grunt or scream. The Unknown talks. But it doesn't talk to you—it mimics the voices of its victims to lure people in. You’ll hear it sobbing, "Help me," or "I'm lost," in a distorted, flickering tone.
It’s an old horror trope, but Dead by Daylight executes it perfectly. When you're playing in a dark room with headphones, hearing a distorted voice ask "Is anyone there?" while a spindly monster lunges at you is genuinely peak horror. It breaks the fourth wall in a way. It makes the game feel less like a competitive math simulator and more like an actual scary movie.
Behaviour really leaned into the "Analog Horror" aesthetic with the Greenville Square map, too. The cinema, the arcade, the grainy posters—it all feels like a lost VHS tape from 1994.
Counter-Play: How to Not Die Immediately
If you're going up against The Unknown in Dead by Daylight, you need to change your brain. Stop looking at the ground.
- Commit to the Stare: If you are Weakened, you must look at the Killer. You’ll see a little meter filling up. Once it’s full, the Weakened status is gone. Don't do this in a straight line, though, or you're just begging for a basic M1 attack.
- Clean Up the Trash: Don't let Hallucinations sit around. If you see one, dispel it. It takes a few seconds, and you’re vulnerable while doing it, but leaving them up gives the Killer too much map control.
- Dodge the Bounce: The UVX has a slight delay before it explodes. If you see the projectile hit the ground near you, move toward where it came from or hard to the side. Most Unknown players aim for where they think you're going to run.
The biggest mistake is panic-dropping pallets. The UVX can hit you over low obstacles and through cracks. Just because there's a piece of wood between you and the monster doesn't mean you're safe from the purple goo.
The Evolutionary Design of Horror
It's interesting to look at how the devs have pivoted. For a long time, we got licensed Killers like Chucky or Wesker. Those are great, don't get me wrong. But The Unknown in Dead by Daylight represents a return to original, weird horror. It’s an "it" rather than a "him" or "her."
It feels like a response to the "backrooms" and "liminal space" trends that have dominated the internet. It’s uncomfortable to look at because it’s almost human, but the neck is too long, and the jaw hangs at an angle that should be impossible.
The lore hints that the Unknown might not even be the thing we see. Some fans theorize the "creature" is just a projection and the real entity is something we can't even perceive. That kind of writing is way more effective than a three-page backstory about a guy who got mad and picked up a butcher knife.
Actionable Tips for Dominating as The Unknown
If you want to actually win your matches, stop playing like a standard M1 Killer.
- Pre-drop Hallucinations: You can force a Hallucination to spawn faster by using your power. Do this near exit gates or powerful loops early in the game.
- The "Double Tap": Try to get the Weakened status on a survivor when they are stuck in an animation, like vaulting or dropping a pallet. Your cooldown is short enough that you can often get the second, damaging shot off before they can find a new loop.
- Abuse Unforeseen: This perk is your best friend. Kick a gen in the middle of the map, go Undetectable, and then use your teleport to jump to a Hallucination on the edge of the map. The survivors will be completely disoriented.
The Unknown is one of the highest skill-ceiling Killers in the game right now. You’re going to miss your bounces. You’re going to teleport to the wrong spot. But once you get the rhythm down, it’s easily one of the most rewarding experiences in Dead by Daylight. It's about more than just the sacrifice; it's about making the survivors genuinely afraid to turn the next corner.
Go into your next match and focus entirely on the UVX bounce angles in the "shack" or around the main buildings. Don't even worry about winning. Just learn the physics of the projectile. Once you can hit a survivor behind a wall by bouncing the shot off a tree, you've basically mastered the character.
Stop treating the Hallucinations as a secondary thought. They are your primary map pressure tool. If you aren't teleporting at least five or six times a match, you're leaving a lot of potential on the table. The goal is to be everywhere and nowhere at once, just like a true urban legend should be.
Check your surroundings. That twitching figure in the distance might just be a statue. Or it might be the last thing your character ever sees. Good luck in the trials.