Friday the 13th: The Game

Friday the 13th manages to both perfectly capture the look and feel of the iconic films while also creating a fantastic multiplayer experience. It’s one of the best marriages of property and genre I’ve ever encountered – this is absolutely the most Friday the 13th that a Friday the 13th could possibly be. With only three maps and only half of the possible Jasons, the developer has a lot of room to expand. However, it’s already a great game, and a rare asymmetrical experience that’s just as satisfying no matter which side the player randomly spawns as. It’s been 30 long years since the last Friday the 13th game, and after playing this, I feel like it was worth the wait.

The game is a little clunky in places, with glitches and a shaky lobby, but that barely detracts from the fun of a perfectly recreated, playable slasher flick. The only drawback is that you NEED seven friends to enjoy this. It works with randoms, but the real joy is playing with people you know: all those howling recriminations, the taunts, cheering the kills. [Aug 2017, p.80]

It’s too bad that there’s no challenge mode, but an asymmetric multiplayer game based on a movie is an interesting concept itself.

Feels right on time. [Aug 2017, p.87]

It’s by no means perfect, but Friday the 13th: The Game has a lot of fun to offer when you can get into matches. It delivers the promised tension of the film series, and you can see the love for the franchise in nearly everything.

There aren’t many games that can offer a camaraderie aspect to the survival horror genre, and Friday the 13th delivers in that regard. It could certainly use a lot more fine tuning and adjustments, but for now, it delivers on a solidly campy experience.

Friday the 13th: The Game is a fun but flawed experience. When it is on, it feels great. The feeling of hunting down that last survivor or dodging Jason and escaping at the final moment is tough to beat. However, the technical glitches and lack of launch content drag it down. If you're willing to overlook them, then you'll find an enjoyable experience that should improve down the line.

At its best, Friday the 13th is a compelling multiplayer experience that captures the excitement and terror of going against one of the most notorious movie monsters and (hopefully) living to tell about it. At its worst, the game is a frustrating trial of patience, whether you're waiting out the clock or dealing with numerous technical issues.

When it’s finished this has the potential to be a classic multiplayer horror game, but the state it’s in now the original movies feel like they have higher production values.

It's a pretty cool concept, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired, especially as far as the clunky controls and technical inaccuracies go.

Friday The 13th has a good gameplay concept, but it still disappoints. Counselors' gameplay is quickly redundant, and embodying Jason is cool but too occasional, but above all the game seems really far from being finished, and that's quickly frustrating.

Friday the 13th is a technical horror show redeemed by a fairly enjoyable core multiplayer experience. The nagging problem with that is that the stars have to align for players to achieve that experience in the first place. Time and effort will likely help make Friday the 13th a stronger package in the future, but time may well not be on its side if the player base dwindles rapidly.

A great opportunity gone to waste because of the lack of content, numerous technical issues and terrible servers. It offers great ideas, but they end up at the bottom of Crystal Lake.

Friday the 13th: The Game shouldn’t have been released in the sad state it currently is in. From glitches that make players invincible to terrible matchmaking that had me waiting over 10 minutes to get into a room, it’s putting it nicely to call the end product a mess. It’s really heartbreaking to see since there are still positives that manage to shine through if one can look past the galling lack of polish. The core gameplay, when it works properly, can be fun when played with friends, and there are some refreshing ideas underneath the jank. Several months from now it may become the multiplayer hit it strives to be, but right now it’s an embarrassing release that can’t be recommended.