It’s been a few years since Dragon Ball Breakers first dropped, and as someone who’s sunk hundreds of hours into both the original and Dead By Daylight, I’ve been thinking a lot about what a sequel or a massive overhaul could do better. Don’t get me wrong—turning into a Super Saiyan mid-match to knock Frieza around is pure adrenaline, but after the novelty wore off, some cracks started showing. With 2026 here and the gaming community more demanding than ever, what exactly could Breakers learn from the asymmetrical horror king? Let’s break it down.

First off, why on Earth does a game about fleeing planet-busters not have a proper sprint mechanic? In Dead By Daylight, survivors can burst into a frantic dash until their exhaustion hits, turning a chase into a mind game of resource management. In Breakers, you just jog… and pray. Sure, you can hop on a vehicle or briefly transform, but those are limited and often wasted if the Raider spots you across the map. A stamina-based sprint would add an extra layer of tension. Imagine exhausting your bar to break line of sight behind a cliff, then having to walk while the Raider’s footsteps grow louder. That’s the kind of heartbeat-pounding gameplay Breakers needs to make Cell actually terrifying instead of just a nuisance.

Now, let’s talk about the absolute mess of skills and items. Walking into Breakers today feels like stepping into a garage sale—you’ve got rocket launchers, grappling hooks, transformation pods, smoke screens, and a dozen passive abilities that all swear they’re meta. But do we really need fifty shades of Saiyan? The problem isn’t variety, it’s balance. In Dead By Daylight, perks are streamlined; you bring four, and they define your playstyle without turning every match into a spreadsheet simulator. Breakers could benefit from a similarly tight system. Cut down the filler, make every skill impactful, and stop buffing the same loadout that everyone abuses. Otherwise, half the items just collect dust while you chase the flavor-of-the-month build.

Win conditions in Breakers drive me up the wall. In Dead By Daylight, even if you die, you can feel like a hero if you helped others escape. But Breakers punishes teamwork in emergencies. If the Raider destroys the Startup System, survivors can bail out individually with an Emergency Beacon, meaning some win while others lose—and there’s zero incentive to risk your neck to save the last guy. Shouldn’t a seven-versus-one game celebrate group survival? A rework that offers bonus rewards or a collective ranking tweak for saving everyone would finally make that final minute feel like a true team effort instead of a selfish scramble.

Then there’s the map design. Having the Startup System always smack in the center is just lazy. Dead By Daylight randomizes generator and hook placements, so no two matches feel identical. Breakers forces every fight into the same predictable arena, which turns the climax into a meat grinder. A center-focused brawl might sound epic once, but after your tenth match of getting sniped from the same ridge, you start to wonder: what’s the point of exploring those beautiful, empty valleys? Randomizing key objective locations would breathe life into the larger maps and stop Raiders from just camping mid.

Finally, can we please get some numbers on those progress bars? Both games love their UI bars, but Dead By Daylight at least gives you auditory cues and a clear generator count. In Breakers, you stare at a slow-filling circle with no clue if you’re 10% or 90% done unless you time it yourself. Adding a percentage indicator—or even a “X keys inserted” counter—would let survivors make snap decisions. Do we have 30 seconds to risk a rescue, or should we just bolt? Right now, that guesswork leads to a lot of unnecessary sacrifices, and honestly, I’m tired of dying because a UI designer forgot math exists.
2026 is the year asymmetrical games need to evolve or vanish. Breakers has an incredible foundation—the Dragon Ball IP, the chase mechanics, the power fantasy—but as long as it ignores these lessons from Dead By Daylight’s twelve-year polish, it’ll remain a promising idea that never quite sticks the landing. Here’s hoping the devs are listening.
Comments