Friday The 13th
During PAX East it was teased that Friday The 13th: The Game was changing up Jason's fourth ability to fit in line with Friday The 13th lore, and here it is
One of the things a lot of people noticed during the Friday The 13th: The Game panel during PAX was that there was a new ability for Jason that had yet to be shown off and was different than what was in the beta test. People pointed it out and as is normal, Gun Media and Illfonic made note of it but then gave no new information of hints to it all. All that was known that it was something completely new for Friday The 13th: The Game but would please a lot of fans of the franchise and looking for some new gameplay. Well the wait is over here as now we have been informed on just what this power is and what it can ultimately do in a match. At least if you can master it and keep the counselors around long enough to use it.
The new ability is called Stalk. At first it sounds like something that would make it easier to catch up to fleeing victims in the match, but it does much more to bring the feeling of the film version of Friday The 13th into the game. This ability turns off the music that informs everyone that Jason is close and then boosts Jason's listening range. The idea behind this is to allow for those great jump-scare kills that we see all the time in the films but can't truly pull off in the game due to players being on guard as soon as the music cue kicks in. Now it will totally be a thing to have Jason hiding out in a cabin only to stalk up on a player who has unknowingly just barricaded themselves in with the killing machine. All to make the screams real and not only in the game.
The Stalk ability unlocks for Jason about half way through the match and can vary on length and refresh based on how you are playing with it. If you are standing completely still after activating Stalk then it looks to last for about three minutes. If you opt to turn it on while chasing someone down though, you only get about 20 seconds of the quiet time. Just like everything in Friday The 13th: The Game you'll have to pick and choose your own battles here all so you can set up the perfect jump-scare or kill for those players who always rely on the music to let them know when you are close. Not a horrible little thing to play with here.
Have a look at how this ability looks on and off in Friday The 13th: The Game just below.
OK, so what is it? Stalk allows the Jason player to both mute the music counselors hear when Jason is near AND boost Jason's hearing so he can pick up on counselors footsteps, opening drawers, doors, windows, etc. So let's break this down. First up, muting Jason's music.
One thing I've personally wanted in the game was the ability to sneak up on a counselor as Jason. There are so many moments in the films when the soundtrack dies down, the target has no idea what's about to happen and BAM! Jason appears and kills. I wanted that, badly. However, the way we built the dynamic music system made this tricky. But we spent some time tuning it and made room for this feature. This ability can be used in different ways. First you could find some counselors in a barricaded cabin, break a few windows, get out of sight and then activate Stalk. Now the counselors think Jason has left the area. The coast is clear, right? We can totally climb out this window and everything is great, right? Wrong. Jason grabs and kills. Awesome!
Another way to use this ability is to plan ahead for a jump scare. Perhaps you select a building that you know will be a hot area for counselors. Perhaps a cabin next to the car. There's a good chance there's a car part in there, right? So you morph to that building, go inside, and activate Stalk. Now you just stand there and wait. A counselor enters the cabin, barricades the door and starts looking for stuff in drawers. Muhahaha...It's never a good idea to lock yourself in with Jason. It's hard to describe the glee felt when a counselor turns around from locking the door and you're standing there as Jason. Satisfying, to say the least.
If you stand still (don't move at all) it lasts for 3 mins. If you move around with Stalk active, it reduces dramatically. Meaning if you hit Stalk and then start walking, it will "burn" that ability off in about 20 seconds.
Also there is a visual treatment we apply to the screen when Jason is in Stalk. The world becomes a little more blue in color. You will also immediately hear the audio differences. We drop almost all of the ambient SFX and allow Jason to only hear the sound queues that matter. Doors, windows, and drawers opening and closing. Counselors running, leaping out windows, etc. Get rid of the noise and give the player the tools to be a deadly hunter!
There is still no solid release date for when Friday The 13th: The Game will be coming to the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. "Early 2017" is still the slated time, but the minds over at Gun Media have stated that "Early" is before the end of April. Seeing as the most recent build that Illfonic has put together has been giving its ERSB rating, I have a feeling a solid release date is coming soon. That and there are only so many more days until we move into their version of "Mid 2017" and then see the game in the Summer. Here's to hoping that it will only be a few weeks from now.
What do you think about the new ability for Friday The 13th: The Game that we have here? Do you see the great potential to get some amazing kills in the game or will you be mainly spamming the teleportation powers and attacking? Do you think that we will see a game release by the end of April or will the console certification push it all out to beyond their "Early" signifier? Let us know all your thoughts on this down in the comments and then discuss. Once we know more for Friday The 13th: The Game we will bring it right to you. Keep your eyelids peeled off so you can see it all right here on the site.
