Friday The 13th: Ultimate Slasher Edition Review (Switch)

Jason is back! Jason Voorhees is unleashed and stalking the grounds of Camp Crystal Lake! You will have the opportunity to play as Jason Voorhees, the most famous killer in horror. Stalk your prey, ambush them whenever you see fit and strike fear in the hearts of so many hapless victims as you become the legend himself!
Friday The 13th: Ultimate Slasher Edition Review (Switch)

Friday The 13th: Ultimate Slasher Edition Review (Switch)

Introduction

Friday the 13th: Ultimate Slasher Edition comes with Friday the 13th: The Game and all available premium DLC. This includes 10 single player challenges, new maps, characters, counsellor outfits, Jason skins, additional kills for Jason and the complete Virtual Cabin experience. Friday the 13th: The Game started off as a Kickstarter project back in 2015.

Disclaimer: As of 2018, active development and content stopped for Friday the 13th: The Game. A legal claim over the rights of the films caught the game in its crosshairs, and thus development ceased. Servers are still running, it just means there will not be any new content coming to Friday the 13th: The Game.

Friday the 13th: The Game is available for pre-order now on the Nintendo store.

Story

Being such a cult-hit the story of Friday the 13th and Jason Voorhees should be known to most. There is not much story to delve into in the Friday the 13th: The Game however. After all, this is a multiplayer-focused game. Having said that, there is a lot of content that harkens back to the stories of the original films, on which the game is based. In fact, the game features content coming from:

  • Friday the 13th, Part II
  • Friday the 13th, Part III
  • Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives
  • Friday the 13th, Part VII: New Blood
  • Friday the 13th, Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
  • Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
Sack mask Jason from Friday the 13th Part 2 film

Sack mask Jason from Friday the 13th Part 2 film

For those not so inclined to multiplayer,  Friday the 13th: The Game did add a single-player story mode. With the legal status of the films up in the air, this is the latest story content to come to the Friday the 13th franchise and might be the last for a while. The story element comes in the form of “Single Player Challenges” which allows players to play as Jason to carry out gruesome murders in ways inspired by actual scenes from the films. In these challenges, there are multiple ways to carry out these muders. Moreover, with various achievements and unlockables available, there is a great deal of replayability here for players who want to unlock this content.

Gameplay

The gameplay is by far and large the selling point of Friday the 13th: The Game. There are two elements on offer here: playing as Jason and playing as the counsellors. Stepping into the big shoes of Jason, one of the most famous killers in history, you are playing the stalker. This is the real thrill of Friday the 13th. Donning the iconic hockey mask and wielding the mighty machete, the mission is to stalk and hunt down the counsellors of Camp Crystal Lake. This is Jason’s camp now and playing as Jason means you have a variety of deadly abilities at disposal.

Halloween Jason in Friday the 13th: The Game

Halloween Jason in Friday the 13th: The Game

In-depth progression allows the player to unlock new, visceral methods of killing the counsellors. After all, ripping their arms off can get a little tiresome after a while. Thankfully, taking inspiration from the films, there is no shortage of more creative ways to dismember the counsellors. In order to make us of these brutal executions, Jason must first stalk and hunt his prey. To aid this, Jason is equipped with four powerful abilities.

Morph allows Jason to quickly move around Camp Crystal Lake at his leisure. Pull up the map and pick a spot, Jason will then instantly travel to that location. The most enjoyable consequence of this ability is the happy coincidence where Jason can instantly appear right in front of the counsellors on a happy whim. Jason’s heightened Sense ability aids his detection of the counsellors. Sense allows Jason to sense the counsellor’s fear and when they make noise. Like a true hunter, Jason relies on his senses to stalk his prey. Shift is one of Jason’s most terrifying abilities. A counsellor may think they are running away at a safe distance but Shift lets Jason close that distance. Lastly, Jason’s Stalk ability allows him to move silently to sneak up on unsuspecting counsellors.

Jason brutally killing a counsellor in Friday the 13th: The Game

Jason brutally killing a counsellor in Friday the 13th: The Game

When not filling the giant boots of Jason Voorhees, the flip-side is playing as a counsellor. As a counsellor you have one overriding objective: survive. There are currently sixteen counselors to play as. All counsellors are characters from the original films and have their unique attributes:

  • Adam Palomino “The Edgy Guy” has physicality on his side and is best suited towards fighting Jason and repairing.
  • A.J. Mason “The Rocker Chick” specialises in stealth and stamina, making it easier to escape Jason but lacks physicality.
  • Brandon “Buggzy” Wilson “The Jock” also possesses physicality making him better at taking on Jason
  • Chad Kensington “The Preppy Guy” is the lucky mama’s boy who loses all composure if Jason gets too close.
  • Deborah Kim “The Bookish Girl” has low physicality but possesses high stealth and repair skills.
  • Eric “J.R.” Lachappa “The Nerd” is simiarly skilled at repairing.
  • Jenny Myers “The Girl Next Door” is a versatile character with no significant strengths or weaknesses.
  • Kenny Riedell “The Head Counselor” shares traits in a similar vein to Jenny.
  • Tiffany Cox “The Flirty Girl” specialises in stealth and stamina allowing her to more easily elude Jason.
  • Vanessa Jones “The Athletic Girl” is athletic and thus benefits from high stamina allowing her to have more success outrunning Jason.
  • Rob Dier “The First Victim” is an unplayable counsellor that is always killed at the start of the game.
  • Mitch Floyd “The Stoner” has high composure which makes him well equipped to take on Jason.
  • Fox “The Biker” has high repair speed thus making her skilled at repairing the car to escape.
  • Sheldon “Shelly” Finkelstein “The Prankster” is a versatile character with no significant advantages or disadvantages.
  • Victoria Sterling “The Catty Girl” possesses high stamina and stealth, at the cost of strength and repair speed.

As aforementioned, the objective when playing as the counsellors is to survive. There are a few ways of achieving this goal. First of all, you can outlast the timer. The games last 20 minutes and whilst this may not seem overly long, it certainly is. When Jason Voorhees is hunting the counsellors, 20 minutes feels like an eternity. Secondly, you can call the police. This is easier said than done however as you need to scavenge the parts to build the phone and then survive whilst waiting for the police to show up. Thirdly, you can escape via car or boat. This requires co-ordination and a lot of repairing, all whilst avoiding Jason. Lastly, the counsellors can kill Jason. This is a convoluted process however and is not a recommended avenue to pursue.

Graphics & Audio

Counsellors fleeing Jason in Friday the 13th: The Game

Counsellors fleeing Jason in Friday the 13th: The Game

Friday the 13th: The Game runs noticeably worse on the Nintendo Switch than on other platforms. After all, Nintendo Switch is the weakest hardware that the game has come to. Textures look low-quality and the lighting is also a problem. In all honesty, it really does not hold up very well. The game is not pretty on the Switch; there is no making that fact. Objects in the world look pixelated and to be frank it is a shame. Friday the 13: The Game manages to retain what made the gameplay so enthralling but graphically, on the Nintendo Switch, it leaves much to be desired. The audio in horror games can often make or break the game. The audio must elevate your senses and keep you in impermeable suspense. Friday the 13th: The Game nails this aspect. There’s an eerie sound when Jason creeps near you and the game can often feel terrifying.

Summary
All in all, Friday the 13th: The Game Ultimate Slasher Edition is quite unique, more so on the Nintendo Switch. Playing as the cult-classic killer, the gameplay is fundamentally thrilling. There is plenty of content packed into this edition. Although active development has ceased, this is a package that should not be missed for horror fans. Poor graphics are disappointing but the core gameplay will keep you coming back.
Good
  • Thrilling hunter vs. prey gameplay
  • Tense audio that keeps up the suspense
  • A ton of content
Bad
  • Poor graphically compared to other versions
  • Active development has ceased
7.9
Good

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