This game could be the next Friday, hope it does these right and is as fun.
To start, I have over 500 hours in Friday the 13th. During the games peak, it was easily my favourite game, in fact my core group of friends today we all meet and started playing together in Friday. No other game has ever quite captured that same level of fun.
I have so many great memories from that time: running loops in cabins to stun Jason with a baseball bat for minutes at a time, or having a Jason who would sing over the proximity mic while chasing us down. I remember one specific match where we went up against a new player as Jason instead of just sweating, we turned it into a bit of a show, dancing around and trying to survive until we finally called Tommy to end the match. Even the chaotic moments, like accidentally running over my friends while playing as Chad and hearing them jokingly threaten to "sue me" in the voice chat, were the highlights of the my time in the game and after that me and my friends made a group called the Handsome Chads we would all play as Chad wearing speedos and then just go around protecting over chads and bragging.
To me, the game was at its best when it did not take itself too seriously. However as the updates rolled out like making Jason immune to attacks after a certain point it felt like that chaotic fun started to get restricted.
If I had to pick features I would love to see return in a game like this, they would be:
- Proximity Voice Chat between Michael and Survivors: This was the engine for so many hilarious moments. As long as there is an option to mute it for those who prefer silence, it’s a must have for building a community.
- Active Defence: I would love to see more ways for survivors to stand their ground. If a player puts in the effort to get good at the game, they should be able to fight back rather than just spending the entire match running and hiding.
- Dynamic Interactions: Bringing back the ability to accidentally (or intentionally) cause chaos with things like the car added a layer of unpredictability that made every round feel different. It was always a great way to keep things lighthearted with friends.
- Balanced Stuns: Instead of making the killer invincible after a few hits, I would love to see a system that rewards skilful play and timing, rather than just forcing a power dynamic where the killer becomes unstoppable.
Friday the 13th had one of the best in game communities I have ever been a part of because, for the most part, we were all there to laugh. I love to see that energy preserved a game that priorities social interaction and fun over the hyper competitive, silent atmosphere that you often see in game likes DBD.
This game has already done a great job implementing features like the arrest mechanic, the ability to actually fight back, and the movement abilities for the killer, I am just hoping to see that spirit of "fun first" carried through even more.
I know not everyone will shares these opinions and that is cool :)