This past generation, a number of studios took a swipe at the asymmetrical multiplayer genre, with horror games finding much more success than others.Dead by Daylightmay be the premiere asymmetrical multiplayer horror game on the market, but a similar game that has gotten a lot of attention and playtime isFriday the 13th: The Gamefromdeveloper Illfonic.
Friday the 13th: The Gameis a video game adaptation of the popular 80s slasher movie franchise of the same name. In the game, players either take on the role of ill-fated camp counselors or the franchise’s iconic hockey mask-wearing serial killer, Jason Voorhees. Those playing as counselors have to work together to escape Camp Crystal Lake and various other maps based on areas from the movies, whereas those playing as Jason has to relentlessly hunt down the survivors.
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When playing asJason Voorhees,Friday the 13th: The Gameis more of a power fantasy game, with Jason having a variety of special abilities at his disposal that make him extremely powerful, especially when compared to the Camp Counselors. But when playing as one ofFriday the 13th’s Counselors, the game is a genuine horror experience, with players having to do everything it takes to avoid being caught and brutally murdered by Jason.
Friday the 13th: The Gamedoes a great job of building up tension, with plenty of jump scares and unnerving moments. But while the game can be plenty scary, it also has value as essentially aplayable museum for theFriday the 13thfilm series.
While active support forFriday the 13th: The Gamehas ended, it still has plenty of memorable locations from the movies for players to explore, along withJason skins, recognizable Camp Counselors, and various references to the films. Horror movie fans, and especially those who enjoy slasher movies likeFriday the 13th, will likely get a kick out of it. It’s not the most impressive game from a technical standpoint, but there’s a reason whyFriday the 13th: The Gamestill has an active player base long after development ended on new content.
Friday the 13th: The Gamehad relatively strong sales, and so it will be interesting to see if it ever makes a comeback in a significant way or if a sequel is ever produced. Therights to theFriday the 13thfranchiseare a bit of a mess right now, but it theoretically could happen at some point down the line. Meanwhile, Illfonic has continued to produced asymmetrical multiplayer games, most recently tackling another 80s film series withPredator: Hunting Grounds.
Friday the 13th: The Gameis out now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
