Each turn, players will plan their moves by secretly selecting paths on the board to move along. Each time a player moves, they will reveal new features of the board, called props, which they can interact with to further their objectives or to hinder their opponents.

Survivors are able to utilize many different props to aid in their survival and navigation of the trial. Killers can make use of fewer props—instead, they interact with the Survivors using their attack or their unique power. Each Killer has a different power that will completely change the way the game plays. Both Killers and Survivors have perks which grant them special abilities. Experienced players can customize their characters with various perk configurations, offering even more replayability.

The basic game comes with 7 Survivors, 6 Killers, and 2 maps. The Collector's edition includes 17 Survivors, 16 Killers, 4 maps, and additional miniatures to create the ultimate Dead by Daylight experience.