Ever since the early days of video games, horror has proven to be a popular genre. Having the ability to play within these stories and experience these scares first-hand allows for shocks and an adrenaline rush that many gamers find exhilarating. When studios get the chance to adapt a horror movie franchise, players get to dabble in their favourite films and face off against their favourite horror baddies.
Horror movies have had video game tie-ins as far back as the early 80s, with 1983’s Halloween for the Atari 2600, all the way up to the recent release of Evil Dead: The Game & The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Both of these titles, like many horror games in recent years, have followed the asymmetrical multiplayer formula popularised by 2017’s Friday The 13th. But what if we were to tell you that there was another game based on everybody’s favourite hockey mask-wearing slasher that doesn’t need online servers, and best of all you will always get to play as Jason?
What Is Friday The 13th: Killer Puzzle?
Releasing less than a year after its bigger budgeted brother, Friday The 13th: Killer Puzzle couldn’t be any different from the multiplayer game. You play as Jason, and it’s up to you to hunt down and kill all the campers across 150+ levels. Set from an isometric view, you must move around obstacles and avoid hostile enemies to get to your targets and kill them, then, when the final girl appears, manage to get to them and you will have to complete a timed mini-game to deliver the kill with a cinematic camera angle.
How Does Friday The 13th: Killer Puzzle Play?
The first dozen levels are set at the iconic Crystal Lake where it all began and the game moves through the history of Jason Voorhees, with iconic levels like a prison and Manhattan as well as the spaceship from Jason X, with a few surprises thrown in too. As you progress through the game you unlock more weapons to murder with, as well as over 15 skins for Jason, many of which can be used with or without his mask.
Don’t worry if you fail the level though – the decapitated head of Mrs Voorhees will appear to encourage you to give her boy the chance to go back one time more and restart the level.
As the game goes on the puzzles become more complex, with more obstacles added as well as some very clever traps that Jason can scare his victims into.
But Wait There’s More
Once you finish the main levels of Friday The 13th: Killer Puzzle there are two extra modes that are worth your attention.
Daily Death gives you a new puzzle each day and returning every day gets you a kill streak to unlock more goodies.
Murder Marathon takes away the puzzle element of the game and just gives you those sweet close-up kills, the difficulty here is the timed mini-game changes difficulty with each round, Mrs Voorhees will only allow you one miss, so try your best to get the highest kill streak possible again earning you more unlockables as you level up.
Overall Opinion
What Killer Puzzle does deliver however is a playable love letter to one of Hollywood’s longest running horror franchises, taking elements from over 30 years and 12 movies, these types of projects are few and far between and you definitely owe it to yourself to check it out, maybe pick up for Halloween?
You can buy Friday The 13th: Killer Puzzle now on the following platforms:
