I feel comfortable talking about this now, because it’s actually going to happen. This franchise is so near and dear to my heart that I din’t want to get my hopes up until it really started to come together.
A FRIDAY THE 13TH game is being developed, and it has the potential to be amazing.
Right now, there is a Kickstarter project in it’s final week, and the funding goal of $700k is almost 90% funded. I would be shocked if it did not reach its goal now. (although you can help it by getting on board here if you’re interested). Check out the intro video:
This game was originally announced in fall of 2014 as SLASHER VOL. 1: SUMMER CAMP, a game that was inspired by movies like the FRIDAY THE 13TH series. It was being developed by Gun Media, and it got an amazing response when it was first announced, both for its aesthetics and for the fact that FX guru Tom Savini and Kane Hodder (the man most known for playing Jason Voorhees) were working with the developers on the game. Here’s the original trailer for that game:
Here’s where the story gets awesome–FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise owner Sean S. Cunningham (who also directed the first movie) was so impressed with what he saw of the early game that he gave the developers the license, and SUMMER CAMP became FRIDAY THE 13th.
Of course, none of that matters if the game sucks, right? Well, from what I’ve seen and heard so far, it seems like the developers are taking the right approach. The game is multiplayer only (for now), and will be one vs. seven. You’ll either play as Jason, doing what he does best, or as one of the counselors, trying to survive the night and escape from Camp Crystal Lake.
From what I’ve heard, the game could have kind of a Left 4 Dead vibe to it–like for example, you might need to gather up parts to fix the car in order to escape. There are a variety of scenarios and possible checkpoint opportunities that could really add layers to the gameplay instead of just “don’t get killed by Jason.” And what if Jason could disable potential escape opportunities–cutting the power, destroying the aforementioned car parts, etc.
How freaking awesome is that? And while the game is starting out with the classic Crystal Lake as the setting, you can imagine future expansions–Manhattan, the ship from Jason X–perhaps even Elm Street?
I will leave you with the teaser trailer for FRIDAY THE 13TH. When the Kickstarter successfully concludes next week (on Friday the 13th, no less), you can expect to start hearing a lot more about this game. In the meantime, the Kickstarter page has a ton of great production videos.