Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle [Xbox]
Blue Wizard Digital’s Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle is similar to their previous release Slayaway Camp, only this time you take on the iconic role of Jason Voorhees as he works his way through a series of locations to hunt down his victims. There are three game modes for you to play: the main story mode, consisting of 12 chapters with 13 levels each; Daily Deaths, a single level that refreshes daily (which will score you the Cyber Jason skin after a streak of 13 wins); and Murder Marathon, a mode consisting solely of final kill quick-time-events, that gets more challenging the higher your combo. With Mrs Voorhees’ decapitated head setting you up with the knowledge you need, whilst offering up some funny dialogue and guidance to her deranged son as a twisted, dark tutorial, you’ll be ready to slay in no time!
Able to move only horizontally or vertically across an isometric level, stopping only when reaching a wall or other barrier, you must guide Jason to each of his victims before hunting down the Final Girl (or one of a few other Final variants). Controls are extremely simple, only requiring the use of the Left Stick to direct Jason in which way to go, as well as tapping A to kill during quick time events. Levels can be super fast, if you can figure out the route to killing everyone, but equally can leave you wracking your brain to figure out the solution; which is oftentimes staring you right in the face. Starting off simply, to introduce you to the controls as well as anything to keep in mind (such as not killing cats, and avoiding water), before progressively getting more complex, with some levels requiring completion within a certain number of moves. As a puzzle game, you’ll notice that levels often appear easier than they are, requiring multiple attempts to get it right - as you can easily block yourself from being able to get certain kills due to the order you choose to do things in. Thankfully, there’s an undo button, as well as the ability to request hints from Mom and Skipping levels is an option if you’re truly stuck, so you never have to worry about being unable to progress (and even the most challenging of levels you’ll figure out through a bit of trial and error).
The visuals are great, with a cartoony look that perfectly juxtaposes the brutal killing. You can toggle the gore if you want to make it more suitable for kids, but the violence is hilarious here with a tonne of totally over the top moves; particularly during the final death of each level, utilising a panel for you to time perfectly to achieve your kill. Jason himself is a much chonkier boy than usual, due to his boxy, bulky bod - and the selection of costumes and weapons for him is great, adding a layer of customisation not only to how he looks, but to how he kills, too. Level settings are filled with references to particular movies in the franchise; and while Blue Wizard’s previous game, Slayaway Camp, did have a cool VHS store menu to select from each of the movie-style levels, here it has been replaced with a simpler menu screen, which is a tiny bit gutting. The audio is great, with Jason’s trademark ‘ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma’ able to be triggered at any time via the pause menu, which was a fun inclusion to come across, and of course, the classic, atmospheric horror soundtrack works great throughout the levels - as well as the 80s vibe tracks that are equally as catchy as they are humorous, such as ‘Only The Strong Survive’ by Gnü Truntion (previously heard in Slayaway Camp) and ‘I Can’t Stop Killing’ by The Jasons.
There is a loot box mechanic for you to unlock additional weapons, and these are unlocked via levelling up your Bloodlust meter through successfully completing levels. Kills achieved through Daily Death challenges and the Murder Marathon mode will also add to your Bloodlust, giving you other ways to grind to increase that meter. You’ll also unlock additional Jason skins as you complete each Chapter, changing Jason’s look to correspond with various movies in the series. Weapons can be traded up for better quality ones, if you end up with duplicates from the loot boxes, and trying out different weapons is always fun as it changes your kill animations - so you’ll easily spend a bit of time working through each available weapon to see how it looks.
Priced at £10.74 on the Xbox Store, Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle is a decent price - especially given that it is a few quid cheaper than its predecessor, and it’s an officially licensed title which normally commands a higher price point. It’s entertaining, and the sheer variety of levels as well as the other game modes on offer give it tonnes of replayability - although I do wish there was maybe something else to unlock via the Daily Deaths, as after 13 days - you’ve got nothing else to look forward to aside from an increase in Bloodlust. Overall, we had a great time with Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle, so if you’re a fan of puzzle games - particularly if you enjoyed Slayaway Camp - then I’d highly recommend you get stuck into this.
In the end, we decided to give Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle the Collecting Asylum rating of 9/10.
Have you played Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Blue Wizard Digital for the Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle Xbox review code!
