Updated July 27, 2017: A new patch has released for the Xbox One version of Friday the 13th, with bug fixes and tweaks for a majority of issues seen at launch.
Late last week "Friday the 13th: The Game," a survival horror game based on the acclaimed franchise, released across console and PC. With influence from the feature films, the game takes advantage of asymmetrical multiplayer mechanics to pit Jason Voorhees against seven Camp Crystal Lake counselors. Using a similar core concept to games like "Evolve," one player takes control of the all-powerful killer while the remain seven must use the open world to survive by any means necessary.
After acquiring the rights to produce an officially-licensed game, Friday the 13th soon gained a fair amount of traction via crowdfunding sites. Between its Kickstarter and BackerKit listings, the game accumulated more than two million dollars in funding, drawing only more attention to the project going forward. With over twelve thousand backers on the Kickstarter alone, it's fair to say a reasonable amount of people are invested in the project.
Xbox One owners are running an older (and inferior) version of the game
Now the release day has come and gone, Friday the 13th's launch has gone far from smoothly. Server issues have rendered matchmaking useless, a slew of bugs disrupt the core gameplay and at this point, opinions on the game are rather mixed. Even the game's distribution on Xbox One ended up being rather chaotic – going live on the console hours after the expected launch.
Since these launch issues, it's now come to light that Friday the 13th's Xbox One owners are running an older (and inferior) version of the game. As pointed out by a user on the official Friday the 13th forums, both PC and PlayStation 4 versions currently sport different assets and even some minor new features, leaving the Xbox One version as a clearly second-rate version. Founder and Creative Director at Gun, Wes Keltner, has since confirmed the game is yet to receive an approved day one patch, which brings the game up to a state they planned for launch. Although some of these issues may have been out of the developer's control, the game isn't rocking the best reputation right now.
Overall, Friday the 13th has suffered a messy release – and that not even touching on the gameplay it offers. There's an understandable amount of anger in the air from Kickstarter backers, as well as those who picked up the full-priced title at launch. And with the recent news of the Xbox One version, it's probably best to keep your distance until fixes have been rolled out.
Nevertheless, among these issues, it's reassuring to see the official Friday the 13th Twitter account active with status updates and support over the past few days. While some developers essentially go into hiding after a rough launch, it's nice to see a clear line of communication established with fans. This doesn't excuse the launch issues, but at least keeps players in the loop for what's to come.
According to the developer, the day one patch for the Xbox One version is currently undergoing certification from Microsoft. The patch has the potential to bring Xbox One owners onto a version similar to that on PlayStation 4 and PC and should fix several outstanding issues. Server tweaks are also supposedly on the way, which should elevate some of the problems currently plaguing all platforms.
For now, we'll simply have to wait and see how the game changes in the coming days – which really sucks because the game has true potential. But in its current state, Friday the 13th is one to avoid. And while it may be best to hold out for the forthcoming patch, don't forget self-service refunds recently hit the Xbox Store.
