Jason Takes Nintendo as the adorable and violent Friday the 13th Killer Puzzle heads to the Switch.
How do you follow up a fantastic puzzle game that is a celebration of 80’s slasher movies? Well, picking up the license for the most iconic slasher of that decade is certainly a step in the right direction. So in the wake of the excellent Slayaway Camp, Blue Wizard Digital has enlisted the help of Jason Voorhees and his colorful history for spiritual sequel Friday the 13th Killer Puzzle.
As with Slayaway Camp, Killer Puzzle sees you complete a simple objective on small, tile-based. maps. that objective is appropriately to murder anyone and everyone you possibly can. It’s obviously not quite that simple as there are obstacles to avoid and optimum paths to discover whilst helping Jason fulfill the dearest wishes of his beloved mother Pamela. It almost sounds as sweet as it looks.
Killer Puzzle maintains some of the adorable art style of Slayaway Camp, albeit with a more defined shape to the character models. It’s a genuine highlight seeing the various versions of Jason Voorhees commit Pixel murder in such a diddy form. The kills are fun to watch as before because the ridiculous sight of these dinky victims being eviscerated in a variety of ways is like some sort of Nendoroid nightmare turned catharsis.
That’s only a small part of the appeal because the puzzles are the real draw here. Without a solid set of puzzles, all the cutesy fan service means very little. If you’ve played Slayaway Camp, you’ll know that Blue Wizard Digital is pretty damn capable in this department and Killer Puzzle continues to prove that, even if some of the formula’s freshness has worn off now.
Killer Puzzle offers up 100+ areas to guide Jason through. He can only move up, down, left or right, and will keep going unless stopped by an obstacle or when he crosses the path of a potential victim. So the puzzle is in figuring out how to slay your victims and reach the exit without getting stuck or bested. Obstacles include Jason’s greatest foe, water, as well as cops and fire, and as you progress, the game will throw different mixes of these problems at you to keep you on your toes and move limits get added in later too so you have to make every move count (though the rewind feature is a help here).
You’ll no doubt get stumped at some point, and Mrs. Voorhees’ severed head is always on hand to give you a hint if you need it, but there’s clear logic to every single puzzle and happily, nothing ever feels cheap. The only real issue is that if you’ve put plenty of hours into Slayaway Camp already, this can feel a tad underwhelming unless you’re a Friday the 13th aficionado (which you are somewhat likely to be).
For franchise fans, there’s plenty of references, nods, homages, and the like from Baghead Jason and Camp Crystal Lake to Ultimate Jason and space stations. The wealth of fun unlockables is a great incentive to persevere when the going gets tough, and the gruesome hilarity (there’s some excellent slapstick on show) of the deaths you can cause aren’t a bad way to keep the entertainment levels up either. Jason’s ridiculous dedication to inventive killing is a great fit for Blue Wizard’s Slayaway formula and the stream of unlockable weaponry plays into that beautifully.
The Nintendo Switch is easily the best-suited console platform for Killer Puzzle too, as the game is designed for mobile platforms to begin with and it suits short sessions on the go so much better than it does in front of a TV, but it’s nice to have the choice at least.
There’s a criticism to be made for Friday the 13th Killer Puzzle being more of the same with a horror license slapped on top. It’s absolutely true, but in fairness to Blue Wizard, more of the same is a-ok when it was great to begin with, and having Jason and so much of his history packed into a compelling selection of bite-sized puzzles is a huge plus. The addition of daily kill competitions adds a bit of longevity to proceedings too.
With all the uncertainty (and craziness!) surrounding Friday the 13th in recent months, it’s nice to have something that so successfully celebrates Mr. Voorhees’ baby boy attached to a great puzzler.
Nintendo Switch Review code provided by the publisher
‘Friday the 13th Killer Puzzle’ is out now on Nintendo Switch, Steam PC, and mobile devices.
