Note. As of November 2020, the game's servers are no longer live and online play is only available via peer-to-peer matchmaking.
Much like the film franchise from which he arose, Jason Voorhees has had a very inconsistent run of quality in video games over the years. He had some okay-ish outings on the NES and the Commodore 64, but he’s mostly been resigned to the odd cameo here and there (including a stint in Mortal Kombat X, of all things). But, two years ago, the hockey masked horror finally got his due with Friday the 13th: The Game. The asymmetrical multiplayer concept might have failed the likes of Evolve, but on paper it suits the simple hunt and evade tactics of a slasher film to a tee. As a counsellor at Crystal Lake, you need to keep yourself from succumbing to fear and escape the clutches of Mr Voorhees. As Jason himself, you need to satisfy your mother’s internal ranting by murdering everything that breathes across each semi-open-world map.
As you might expect, playing as Jason in the Switch-optimised Friday the 13th: The Game - Ultimate Slasher Edition is the best way to experience this murder simulator. The nigh on invincible force of evil can be a little slow to move, but over time you’ll gradually unlock new abilities that empower him. For instance, you can Morph across the map, enabling you to cross huge distances in no time at all, or Sense the sounds and overall fear of the survivors left on the map. You’ll start off with an axe, but eventually you’ll unlock more implements of death, as well as special signature kills and all manner of grisly environmental murders. Players controlling counsellors can even fight back, but you’ll always rise again. When controlling a counsellor, you can attempt to sneak around Jason, set traps to slow him down or simply run around screaming until he grabs you and throws your head in a campfire.
If you’re playing Friday the 13th for the first time you might not realise just how far the game has come since its rocky 2017 launch. Two years on, developer Illfonic has tried hard to iron out some of the kinks that weren’t as endearing to fans as the infamous ‘Chad Face’, while introducing new elements that were sorely missing at launch. The introduction of an offline mode, complete with AI bots, serves as a brilliant way to get your head around how the game’s multitude of elements work (such as working out how best to start a car, setting traps and disorientating Jason with firecrackers). Sadly, the AI is utterly thick and you lose the hilarious teamwork (or lack thereof) when Mr Voorhees suddenly appears. It is, however, a great way to really understand how best to maximise Jason’s deadliness.
Where Friday the 13th really shines is in its online multiplayer. Because, let’s be honest, nothing is going to be as fun as playing as a lumbering killing machine that can warp across the map and appear from nowhere to bury an axe in your head. But playing with your friends, attempting to find a car battery while that ominous music herald’s Jason’s imminent arrival as everything goes to pot is so much fun. You can see why it’s proved such a hit on streaming services, and with multiple layouts of each map you’re always scrabbling as things inevitably descend into bloody chaos.
Why it’s taken so long for someone to take the brutal stalking of a slasher and combine it with an asymmetrical multiplayer game is anyone’s guess, but here are in 2019 with not one, but two such games dragging immortal bloodlust onto Nintendo Switch. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if you often confused Friday the 13th for its very similar looking (and similarly playing) cousin, Dead by Daylight. Both games involve in a one-versus-all setup, with ‘survivors’ tasked with attempting to escape an area before one player eviscerates them. However, while screenshots might suggest they’re largely the same game, Friday the 13th has some murderous ideas up its gore-soaked sleeves.
Unlike Dead by Daylight, Friday the 13th supports more players in a game at one time - almost twice as many in fact, with up to eight players (1v7) per session as opposed to the five (1v4) for its competitor. Dead by Daylight has a greater number of killers (a total of 16, including plenty of famous horror faces including Ghost Face, Michael Myers and Leatherface), and a larger number of maps (27 across 12 realms) - however, all of the seven maps in Friday the 13th are based on locations from the franchise, and each one has multiple layouts thanks to the randomisation of the map designs.There’s also a lot more variety in the moment-to-moment gameplay of Friday the 13th, with multiple means of escaping Jason (Dead by Daylight only as one way to gain freedom) so matches are often a lot more fun as you find new ways to elude your hunter or dispatch your prey.
Illfonic has also done a decent job of bringing its incredibly popular asymmetrical multiplayer affair to Nintendo Switch. Many of its mechanical quirks are still there - such as clunky controls and often completely unpredictable physics - and it still takes far too long to actually get a turn at playing as Jason considering matches can last up to 20 minutes or more. The frame rate mostly holds true, although it can get a little giddy when there are a lot of counsellors on-screen at once. However, there’s very little texture pop-in and or any of the other presentation issues that dogged the game at launch two years ago. The online sessions we played during our review all ran without a hitch, which is a good sign for a game that’s already had its fair share of server woes.
Conclusion
Friday the 13th: The Game - Ultimate Slasher Edition serves up a bloody feast that’s a treat for schlock horror fans who want an authentic Jason experience while taking that tricky asymmetrical multiplayer template and making it truly enjoyable. With a ton of extra skins, weapons, signature kills and more this complete edition couldn’t be any more stacked with DLC. Sure, it’s still a little janky, but with servers that are seemingly holding and two years of refinements straight out of the box, this multiplayer gem still knows how to make an entrance on Switch. Mrs Voorhees will be pleased.
Comments (49)
Whoah, bashed on steam, acclaimed here ? How comes?
They abandoned the announced DLC because of some lawsuit thing, that's why people hate them now.
I think it's because this game was a turd when it was first released @SenseiDje. But this version has all the newly added modes and DLC that have released over the past two years. And many people think it's 100% better than the originally released game that most those reviews are probably based on. You should read the dates of the steam reviews? Well if steam reviews have dates on them that is.
Me and my friends still really enjoy this on PS4 despite it still being full of glitches (the add new ones in every patch xD)
It has flaws but I think it also captures the feel of Friday the 13th perfectly. With friends this is a real blast and I'm tempted to get this on Switch so I don't constantly hog the TV playing anymore...
Woah, an 8/10? I was expecting a 5/10. I’m glad it runs well on Switch. Looks like we got another solid port.
Another prime example of releasing a game in an unfinished state and then patching and adding content to it to make it the game it should've been at launch
If this was just a port of the vanilla version of the game it no doubt would've gotten no higher than a 5/10
@BacklogBlues , it’s funny coz’ This one was on my steam whishlist for ages... but the users review freaked me out. So I miss everything about patches and DLCs.
Thanks for pointing it out for me !
Cool. Might check it out if it goes on a digital sale.
But really that NES Friday the 13th game is by no way “ok-ish”. It is worth a laugh though.
I wanted to like this game, but back when they gave the game with PS Plus, online was dead on a arrival. Took forever to find a match. I wanted to see this addresed somehow in this review, even if post launch. Dead by Daylight, on the other hand, is alive (pun intended) and kicking. And the game actually gets continuous content updates, unlike Friday 13th
I still play this on Xbox with a group of guys on a regular basis. It's a blast with friends. I probably won't get the Switch version but recommend more people actually PLAY the game and not rely on outdated reviews. There are still glitches, but they really just add to the charm at this point.
Guess I'm buying this, my son wanted me to get it for him three years ago. I'm glad I didn't because now I can get it on the switch and in the process place my vote as to whether these types of games belong on the switch.
I was psyched for this when it was first announced a few years ago. Held off on getting it in hopes it would come to Switch. With the kids running around, I did not see the point in getting it on my PS4. Now the Switch? Well, I can hide the screen from them! Crossing my fingers for a decent Halloween sale.
Jason for Smash
I'd wait for metacritic user reviews to come in before buying!
It's one of those games where the online mode will dry up very quickly and your left with a broken offline mode. I'm not sure this is worth an 8/10 even with all those fixes!
Still play this game a lot on ps4. Me and the friends I discovered while playing this game have and still make great memories on it. The review is on point for someone who sees the game for what it is fully and not with the lawsuit attached. Its fun, challenging(when people are over level 100 and know how to get things done) and rewarding(catching the t-baggers and stopping cars). If you like the movies, they put in a few good nods. My big question for this version is if there's voice chat. The game strives with communication and if so the plus is that people can't party chat and talk to Jason in a private party. That will determine if this is the superior version or the worst.
40 bucks ain’t worth it
@SenseiDje because Nintendolife mostly always gives their reviews one or two points higher than everybody else
I love watching this game, but I know I'd have no fun with it as there's no one to play with
I am glad they have the offline mode because it is fun being Jason and go after the ai bots.
Just pre-ordered two copies, I think this looks like fun.
I have read that it is only possible to play as Jason in Offline mode, is that true? My concern is that the player base is very small and the offline mode is very limited..
@Mgene15
That’s pure nonsense
According to Metacritic:
“On average, this publication [Nintendo Life] grades 9.4 points lower [equal to about 1 point lower on this site’s grading scale] than other critics.”
I had this "free" ( as long as you keep those services) on PSN or Xbox Live or whatever I cannot remember but if you can get it for I dunno...£10? And you'll play this with friends and friends only then yeah sure you can have fun but at that price Hell no, it's really not good enough. It is a pure 5/10 game, poor controls and really feels like a fan game, one by a bunch of inexperience kids and they spent 5+ years on it but they didnt have the experience to test it properly or fix what needed to fix.
I know its been patched since release but I last played it March this year and there were issues.
The new kotaku-ish joy/cons section of these reviews is great.
Can not wait to play some multiplayer on this. Got 3 Switches in my house so anything that lets up play together shoots up our list. The review & score was the final thing I needed to see. Def getting this at launch.
So there is wireless play or no wireless play?
They've done just enough fine tuning on this version that I can justify buying it, FINALLY. I like the addition of an offline mode, I just wish we could play as Jason anytime we want. Also, it would've been awesome if Mrs. Voorhees was an unlockable character...
"Ki-Ki-Ki...A-A-A"!
🌲🌲🌲🏃🔪🌲🌲🌲
@whanvee ❓❓❓
Your "reasoning" completely escapes me. How about we as freedom-loving citizens not try to dictate which games belong on which consoles. The Switch has a diverse age demographic and there's certainly room for a wide variety of games on this platform, wouldn't you agree? This game is M/18 rated by the way (NOT intended for children).
✌😉
I thought this game already released. Guess that shows how much I really cared about it.
Can you still kill other survivors? I remember hearing about that in F13th, playing online that could gwt quite annoying
I enjoyed playing DbD a lot but always planned on getting F13th as well and just never didnt cus of everything at launch.. maybe games worth looking into again? Im big horror nerd too but elm street my fav and dbd has freddy ^^ (and ash from evil dead)
I've had a bit of interest in the PC version of this game since they fixed it up and I'll probably stick with that version if I ever get it.
It's good it's on Switch, runs great and has all the fixes, but I have little confidence in the online on Switch; I hope I'm proven wrong, but I expect if it's not DoA, it'll die soon after with long waits for games.
An 8 is generous. A 7 would be better.
After reading this I went and spent money...
Why is NL using the drifty Joy Con? What happened to good old Pro Controller?
Anyway, this game is just a glorified hide and seek game.
I hope people support this. It's cool that it was brought over to Switch!
Is unlimited mobile data a standard thing now? I guess my phone contract is totally out of date. It's just that online-only games like this have never been portable for me on my switch.
Played it tons on XBONE to the point where only the real grindy achievements are left (Play 1,000 matches as a counselor/Jason, 1313 kills, etc.), but suppose the in-game badges and tapes kill time as well (Though only the Tommy tapes remain for me.).
Lower your expectations and its pretty fun. Happy to hear the Switch port is pretty solid but with how much I've played the XBONE version, I'll wait for a sale.
Is the online cross platform?
So no local wireless multiplayer? Wtf
I've been looking forward to playing this as a fan of Friday the 13th and this 1vAll style of gameplay-- It's like Pac-Man evolved
@Tulio517 Friday the 13th can't get anymore updates due to a law suit.
@NintendoFan4Lyf They can still release the game, they just can't add anything now.
Picking a physical version of this up today, looking forward to it!
I returned my physical copy for store credit. The framerate was kinda poor and textures was spawning in while I was running lol. Also the game population is extremely low which means you will run into the same few people often. Barely anyone talked through their headset which was icing on the cake for me to not keep the game. PC, Xbox, and PS4 players say that this game is pretty much dead like all the time, but I was too stubborn to listen. They’re absolutely correct. The only positive takeaway is that the game is a very measly 656mb which takes up little to no space. Outside of that save your money or wait for a Black Friday $19.99 sale. Do not buy this overpriced catastrophe for $39.99. You’ve been warned lol!
This is why we have mass shootings.
it does have its moments, but I'm quite hooked on this game. The love shown for the movies is awesome. It's just fun
I really enjoyed this game when I played it on my PS4; just wish the physics, graphics and hit section were more fluid/realistic. Still- a hoot to play as Jason and exciting online. Definitely grabbing this.
I am loving this game. It's one of my favorite Switch games and I've put over 70 hours into the online alone. It's scary, funny, and fun as hell. The online is not dead like the person stated before, and you can usually get a full 8 person online match going after a 3-5 minute wait. If anyone from NintendoLife wants to play with me, hit me up.
@TheMelodiusRose 3 years later, I have unlimited data but I am also unwilling to pay Nintendo for NSO after already paying someone else for the internet. No chance am I paying Nintendo for something I already paid for! I got this game on PC for peanuts.
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