Friday the 13th: The Game
Simply put, one of the best movie series tie-in games ever! A real multiplayer masterpiece. Gone but not forgotten.
IllFonic’s asymmetrical stroke of genius puts seven campers in the playground of the mythic Jason Voorhees. The survivors have to escape the lumbering behemoth as he makes use of all sorts of staples from the long running horror IP.
Jumping through doors and windows, laying traps and scavenging for an escape- these were high-stake moments! Just as being Jason, an unrelenting tyrant, exposed the cruelty of a supposed friend. That was really the best way to play; with friends.
The game was released in May, 2017 but it was nearly unplayable. Matchmaking was unavailable and it was only through the Xbox “Looking for Games” system that I was able to play. Even with this extra step, myself and three real-world friends would host game after game all night.
Shouting, laughing and cheering would eventually turn to silence as the game was delisted and subsequently taken offline on December 31, 2024.
This was unfortunately because of expiring licenses with the film franchise.
Friday the 13th: The Game, ironically lives on in Jason’s nemesis’ dimension- Our dreams.
Knockout City
A time when dodgeball dared to innovate the 3rd person action game.
Originally published under “EA Originals” Knockout City would transition to a free-to-play model in June of 2022, shutting servers down in June 2023. A multiplayer game only, it died when the servers were shuttered.
In April 2021, I was able to jump into a Cross-play Beta for free on Xbox with two friends and it was a great time! The game showed great promise and that would be recognized with a nomination for “Best Multiplayer Game” at The Game Awards 2021 & “Online Game of the Year” at the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards!
So, what went wrong?
Mostly, it was having trouble drawing and monetizing an audience. It was one title in a trend of Live-Service gaming. A trend that the gaming masses in general would quickly find exhausting.
Compounding that was the issue of a small developer maintaining the backend components of a Live-Service game. They were simply unequipped and had other desires.
It’s really a shame that the original publisher EA did not find the game worthwhile.
Evolve
Turtle Rock Studios evolved modern multiplayer gaming with the first use of asymmetrical multiplayer.
In this game from 2015, four hunters would attempt to track and destroy a fifth player- The Monster.
Personally, I only have a handful of memories of the game, but its impact was widely felt. The innovation of the asymmetrical concept started an entire subgenre!
The story of Evolve’s delisting and subsequent shutdown is a very long and complicated one.
Turtle Rock had trouble finding a publisher until THQ agreed. Then THQ filed for bankruptcy..
Rights were transferred to Take Two Interactive.
The game would be tumultuously taken offline several times through its life and was unable to sustain an income.
The servers were shut down in September 2018.
The Day Before
JUST KIDDING!
The Day Before was (allegedly) a truly spectacular scam.
May everyone affiliated with so-called developer Fntastic NEVER touch the video game industry again.
Overwatch 1
Be careful what you wish for.
Overwatch in its original form was a blockbuster hit of epic proportions! Blizzard struck oil with this 1st person arena shooter that brought MOBA concepts to new heights.
Teams would select unique heroes with diverse powers to wrestle over strategic points on the map. It was wildly successful and helped bring Esports to the forefront of video game discourse.
I have hundreds of hours of memories, executing plays and defeating opponents with my friends. A rare example of a Live-Service game done well! Profit was flowing and the fanbase was ever growing.
That was until Overwatch 2.0.
It is here where we learn our lesson.
Be careful what you wish for.
The rabid fanbase (myself included) was devouring seasonal content for years. Mastering each hero, we hungered for a new mode- PVE.
The idea was cemented in the minds of fans ever since seasonal contents began teasing a story mode. Crushing NPCs with a squad of friends was the most anticipated feature looking forward to the big new update.
That update was Overwatch 2.0 that stood to change the game.
Change the game it did-
It erased Overwatch 1.0 from existence and stood at the grave, laughing.
Overwatch 2.0 would NOT be getting a story mode or PVE. Instead it would dash our hopes and spit in our comfort food.
6V6 became 5V5. Heroes changed, the maps changed and the atmosphere was forever altered.
Myself and others have left for good. Which is a shame really..
.. “The world could always use more heroes.”
