LGBTQ+ favourite online video game Dead by Daylight has finally introduced its first trans survivor, with new character Orela Rose coming to The Fog.
Dead by Daylight’s new survivor Orela Rose is a paramedic with supreme healing abilities – which is pretty handy when you’re playing a horror survivalist game.
A synopsis of the new survivor has confirmed that she is also a transgender woman, with Orela dedicating her life to helping those in need after being inspired by her late friend Emily, who helped her to transition.
“Orela majored in hospitality at Lakehead University. Freshman year she bonded with Emily, a girl in her restaurant management class who helped her through her transition,” a still from the game reads.
Further lore about the character continues: “She never forgot Emily. How could she? Emily had helped her through her studies, her transition, and together, they had dreamed of opening a horror-themed restaurant together.”
“She never forgot Emily. How could she? Emily had helped her through her studies, her transition, and together, they had dreamed of opening a horror-themed restaurant together.”
— ƚɘɘvvb (@dvveet) April 15, 2025
A post on the official Dead by Daylight website expands on Orela’s abilities and her relationship with Emily, indicating that she can use her perks to “heal, protect, and scout” to help players’ teams focus on finding generators and living “to see another day”.
The site confirms that Orela is a “calming presence” and suggest she will be able to heal faster the higher the stakes get. Her keenness for protecting those around her also suggest that she will take hits to keep her teammates safe and risk her life to help the survivors get to where they need to go.
“Surrounded by pain, beckoned by death, clinging to stubborn hope – that is when she is in her element,” the post continues.
First look at Angelica Ross as Orela Rose in “Dead by Daylight.” pic.twitter.com/gXhbmAr8A7
— The AHS Zone (@AHSZone) April 15, 2025
“Inspired by the memory of her best friend Emily, who was fatally electrocuted while performing at the interactive Haunted House experience they organized, Orela dedicated her life to saving those in need.”
Orela Rose is reportedly set to be voiced by none other than trans American Horror Story star Angelica Ross. A clip from the game depicts a first look at Orela with a voice sounding remarkably similar to the Pose actress’s.
“It’s always night here. You never know what the night will bring,” she says in the clip.
Though Orela Rose is the first trans survivor in Dead by Daylight, she’s not the game’s first ever trans character. In 2023, the game introduced trans man Tubarão as a cosmetic skin for existing character Renato Lyra, making him the first trans character playable by the game’s countless fans.
Orela Rose is being introduced as part of Dead by Daylight’s new Steady Pulse update.
Online, fans have reacted with elation at finally getting a trans survivor on the game, with one declaring it “the best day ever”.
“I cannot stop smiling, it’s the best day I ever lived in Dead by Daylight: A day for everyone, for intersectional representation, a day we never have to stop celebrating,” the fan wrote on X/Twitter.
“I just wanna reiterate that the new survivor in Dead by Daylight is not only Black, but also a transgender woman. Sexist, racists and bigots suck it and continue to f**king cry about it. We f**king won!!!! Video game representation matters,” a second wrote.
Historically, Dead by Daylight has been noted by fans as being overwhelmingly LGBTQ+ inclusive, with a range of playable LGBTQ+ characters in different roles – and more likely to come in forthcoming updates.
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