Rate The Game Based On Its Eras Of Play

[tyrant666 1,107]

Christmas Beta 2016

8/10

Despite the server issues, the game was brand new, out of the box. It was heavily streamed, the excitement was there, Jason was a force who couldn't be killed, etc. The only downsides being the cop call was super easy without the fuse and the unfortunate meta began to form in the final days of beta. Part 3 spam versus Vanessa spam.

Launch May 2017

7/10

The connection issues, the bugs, the backer code issues were there to start launch. However this was balanced out with the masses getting their hands on the game at launch. With more Jasons, more Counselors, new gameplay elements like knives, traps, the fuse, the kill mechanic, the boat, etc. The game was probably at its height from May 2017 till over the summer.

Halloween 2017

5/10

By now, the content was starting to come in, with the emotes, clothing packs, Part 4, Jarvis, etc. But by this point, many of the core bugs still remained, Jason was already starting to get the nerfs with the force shield windows, meat shielding and godframes removal after stun, etc. Much of the complaining about Jason being too strong at launch ended up with heavy direct and indirect nerfs for Jason over the summer of 2017.

Christmas 2017

4/10

By now, the content started to slow, but the hype surrounding the content was still at its peak with the Virtual Cabin 2.0, the Uber/Grendel reveal, etc. However the results were becoming more diminishing. Paranoia would be cancelled, the counselors would receive a huge buff over this era with the Jason force grab nerf, the camp crystal lake arsenal with shotguns, med sprays and pocket knives seemingly around every campsite and corner. Jason was nearly unplayable during this era and many stopped playing the game during this time frame as well or didn't want to play as him at all.

Early/Mid 2018

5/10

Jason would receive a slight buff during this period. They changed his grab animation, gave him some more knives and a 'speed' increase. Combine that with Roy/Pinehurst and the promise of seemingly more content coming like Uber/Grendel, singleplayer challenges and the game seemed like it could be gaining speed. However this period was marked by the engine upgrade creating more bugs instead of adding anything of note performance wise to the game. All the while the lawsuit killed the future content.

Late 2018/Pretty much all 2019

3/10

With the content pool drying up due to the lawsuit, the playerbase was at its most toxic to that point. People just walked away and never came back due to dissatisfaction with the direction of the game, the bugs, even longer periods in between patches, etc. The rage update was received with mixed reviews at best being kind and marked another turning point for the game.

Current/2020

2/10

The community at this point is probably at the most toxic its ever been. However some bugs were fixed after months of waiting and a pleasant surprise was added with a plethora of custom game conditions to the private match mode. However with content still dead, the news little and the teamers/trolls/tryhards filling up what's left of the game. Its hard to argue another era of the game being the worst outside of maybe Christmas 2017 where even though the content pool was still around, the gameplay itself was heavily one sided.

Agree? Disagree? How would you rate the game by the specific eras?

For me, Christmas Beta 2016 was best.

 

[ExpertDual 28]

At launch the game was really scary. You often died and there was nothing to stop Jason. Still I managed to survive the night the first day vs a Part 7 who was the worse at the time lol. 9/10

I played consistently the next year trying to get the Achievements. I had alot of fun times and cool escapes always looking for an even harder challenge. 8/10

The best period was when Friday the 13th released on PlayStation plus in 2018? I played with all of my friends and rented out a local arcade to play 8 players on my birthday. 10/10

After that I played the game competitively for a whole year practically in 2019. It was really tough and fun. I learned alot about the Meta aka Part 3 Jason, Vanessa, Chad, and Fox. 8/10

There are alot of times where I took a break to play other games and I haven't played it yet in 2020 but I will return to it someday!

[DontZzz34 682]

I didn’t start playing till late 2018 so I’m disappointed I didn’t get to try the other versions of the game. But from what I’ve seen the game has been on a steady decline since the rage update. It was a pretty shitty update that could’ve had more proper buffs instead of a lazy bandaid. Yes, something definitely needed done about the piñata parties that used to exist. But they should’ve gave him a quicker and more effective combat stance, in rage less stun chance instead of complete immunity, 3-4 second immunity to damage and stuns after animations/stuns, etc. tbh I’d rather see the game be more scary with a more aggressive Jason. Sounds like it was more that way at beta and launch. 
 

now the game is just a full meta of the same thing. Mostly part 3s and Vanessa’s with medic, thick skin, swift attacker. This game definitely could use some touch ups. Too bad new content can’t be released and we don’t get better patches that balance the weaker counselor stats like composure and stealth. Even useless Jason strengths/weaknesses and counselor perks could be touched up. 

[Wolledc 177]

@tyrant666 interesting post and I agree: I also see a decline in the gameplay‘s quality over the last 2,5  years ( I only started playing at the end of summer 2017, so I cannot compare to the beta and the very early time)

Back then - as a newbie - there had  been a lot to explore every day on all of the maps, new experiences could be made in each match, a 7/10 or even more for me.

later on, a lot of that became  „known, normal, used to, etc“, so a great part of my decline feeling  will have to be considered and based on that, of course.

But, Quickplay lobbies seemed to be less toxic, more teamplay involved and surely Jason was harder to get killed back then, right now it’s getting some kind of let’ s say: monotonous/ sometimes boring.

Example: After some weeks without playing F13, I found the time again to play a few matches, yesterday: usually I avoid playing on weekends (too many teamers, trolls), so I played on Tuesday night: 3 different lobbies = 7 matches, in 4 of them I was chosen as Jason.

Majority seemed to have set their preferences to counselors (as I wasn’t even the last one entering the lobbies) and the lobbies were of course crowded with 80% Vanessas, 20 % Buggzys,  running with - it seemed so - thick skin, medic perks and swift attacker and their first objective (surely Vanessa suck at repair) was always to get Jason killed. 

I didn’t mind the kill squads, I see it as a challenge in the game, but every match? No one going for phone, cars, anymore? It also seems to be a new gamestyle to leave all doors open... 

Never experienced this before, but yesterday, they even succeeded twice in a row in killing me. First one was, ok: I thought better luck next match, then again I was chosen as Jason, de ja vu, same finish. 

At level 150, I wouldn’t count myself to be a perfect Jason player (by far no: blocking is my biggest achilles’ heel), I have some skills and certainly my good, but also my bad times (like yesterday), but the fact that many players do not want to play Jason anymore (I saw newbie ones getting 0/8 kills, been teabagged all the time, who wants to use his rare sparetime with that?) and with the non-Balance of powers which we have right now, I would only give a 3/10 to the game at the moment. Sorry.

 

[SteveChristy 251]

My favorite era was Christmas Beta '16. I hadn't been that excited for a video game in years, maybe even since I was a kid, and to finally have a proper Jason game was riveting. I remember my life going on indefinite hold that entire week while I played 'round the clock to soak it all in. Christmas itself became something of an afterthought. I left my family get-together early to get back and play. Friends came over and we had a ball. 'Was a good time. One of the memories that stuck with me the most was playing a round where someone had, I guess, hacked the game files and replaced Jason's theme with YMCA. 'Was friggin hilarious to hear that playing and get louder as Jason crept up on you. What a festive way to get slaughtered. Beta was a special time.

Post-launch, my favorite era was Halloween '17 when Jason IV was released. Bugs aside, I felt like that was when the game was in it's most playable state for everyone. It was a bit more challenging to play as Jason, and as a counselor you felt like you had a so-so chance to survive most rounds. The balance and overall fun aspect really seemed to peak during this time.

Then it all fell off at Christmas '17 when Jason was royally nerfed. For me, that's when a lot of the fun was sucked out of the game on both sides. It became annoying to play as Jason and too easy to escape as a counselor. The whole feel of it was lost and became a dance party with Jason stumbling around and being made into a pinata. For a team that prided themselves on writing a love letter to the hardcore fanbase, it was ridiculous they let things turn into that and basically cause Jason to become the hunted and made Crystal Lake a breeding ground for trolls.

Presently, I still play because I love the franchise, and I also know it's unlikely the servers will survive post-2020. I still have fun with it, but the peak days are long gone. The "party time" private matches I used to have are pretty well a thing of the past as most of my old crew have moved on. Hell, I'm lucky now to have two other people to partner up with, and of course this leaves us relegated to public matches where encountering shitheads is a nightly thing. Cheating/Jason-teaming is at an all-time high and we're lucky to get one solid match in a night with good players and no B.S.

[Liquid Swordsman 192]

Haven't played during the beta era, but...

Launch May 2017:

Pretty much agree with you. The game turned out solid, but trying to bear with it in an unstable state was the problem. They kind of came in unprepared with the temporary database errors. Then after that was sort out, players have to soon discover matches getting dropped constantly because of quitters and also learn the news for dedicated servers wouldn't come until another few years. Not exactly a great way to kick off a launch title.

7/10. 

Halloween 2017

Server and bug issues still remained. Balance issues were on the rise. However, getting the Part IV DLC was pretty awesome and fun to experience. Not only that, because content wise, it was a step in the right direction of what F13 fans were looking for. The Halloween costumes and dance emotes...not so much and kind of unnecessary.

6/10. Ok...I guess?

 

Christmas 2017

Server, bugs and balance issues, etc remained. New Virtual Cabin and the Uber/Grendel tease were the only positives. Oh btw guys, remember those little blue and black dot mystery images we kept teasing and stretching out for almost year before we finally decided to reveal it as Paranoia? Well, we're cancelling that now because we realized "it isn't fun enough."

5/10

Early/Mid 2018

The new engine upgrade just completely made everything worse. Then the quality just started going backwards the moment they were putting their focus on simplistic things like Roy's coverall changes and adding more emotes while Uber/Grendel was being held hostage long enough for the lawsuit to creep in and lock them away.

3/10

Late of 2018/Pretty much all 2019

0/10

Current/2020

0/10