Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle review

Friday the 13th Killer Puzzle has the beloved masked murderer, Jason Voorhees, on the loose again. However, this time, Jason goes beyond Crystal Like. He’s taking his murdering rampage on a world tour as Jason invades not only Crystal Lake, but a prison, a ski camp, the beach, New York; among other areas.

Friday the 13th Killer Puzzle is a quirky puzzle game where players, as Jason, need to kill every NPC on a given map. But, unlike the 2017 asymmetrical multiplayer game, Friday the 13th The Game, your movements are limited. Jason will walk in a single direction until he hits an obstacle or dies because of a hazard; bear trap, water, etc… You can also use victims as getting next to them will scare them to move run elsewhere on the map. Prior to killing them, you can use them to stop your movement and find ways to reach previously unreachable spots on the map.

Given Jason’s limited movement, each level is a unique puzzle in itself. Once you’ve killed every teen or counselor (killing cops is optional), a final girl (or boy) appears on a pre-determined block on the map. You have to set up kills and scares so that once everyone is dead, you can reach the final target. It’s tougher than you might think. Jason can kill with a bevy of weapons or scare victims into the water, bear traps; Jason can also ring a phone to distract the NPCs.

Thankfully, if you make a few false moves, you back go back by pressing X or Y to reset the puzzle. You can also ask for Pamela Voorhees’ head for a hint. She’ll give you the first hint to get yourself started and then you have to figure out on your own. If despite the hint, you are still struggling, you can ask her to show you how to solve the current puzzle. You can also skip it, but you’ll have to finish at some point.

The various levels unlock progressively. Each new area requires a set amount of kills before unlocking. It happens naturally and aside from the final boy/girl, you can’t miss any kills. Obviously, optional kills such as cops are recommended to do, but not mandatory. As the kill count increases, you’ll rank up. Every time you reach a new rank, you have a wooden box to open which gives you four additional weapons ensuring Jason has enough toys to play with.

Unfortunately, going on a Jason rampage isn’t as perfect as you’d want. First off, the weapon variety is ok at best; you’ll often unlock the same weapon through various tiers, but aside from a visual aesthetic, there’s nothing different. You’ll end up with a few axes, crowbars, etc… The other problem is the non-sensical kills. While most weapons are used properly such as an axe to the head, there’s a guitar that can be used… to cut enemies. I was baffled the first time I saw Jason cut a victim with a guitar; it’s ridiculous and makes no sense.

Friday the 13th Killer Puzzle features a colorful and unique blocky visual. Jason and the victims have an over the top cartoonish style; which reminded me a bit of South Park, but if the characters were in 3D instead. Each area has its own visual style to make different from one another and every level is uniquely designed with increasing difficulty. The soundtrack is very Friday the 13th-ish with a bit of a cartoonish tone; especially when the final boy/girl appears.

Friday the 13th Killer Puzzle is definitely a surprise game for me this year. I’m not a huge fan of puzzle games, but I love the Friday the 13th series so I was a bit wary of it; turns out this is definitely one of the best games I’ve played this. It’s fun, addictive and easy to pick up and play. It’s the perfect game to play to relax. Despite the limited weaponry and odd kills for some weapons, I highly recommend Friday the 13th Killer Puzzle if you’re looking for something different.