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Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle (Free) by Blue Wizard Digital is a horror puzzle game that stars Jason Voorhees. If you liked Slayaway Camp, or are fans of horror in general or "Friday the 13th," then this is a must-have title to add to your collection.

While I'm not a big scary movie fan, I do appreciate the classic cheesy horror movies from the '80s and such. I think these resonate well with me due to the campiness of them, and they're fun to watch with others. "Friday the 13th" is one of those films, and we all know about Jason Voorhees, the main antagonist who haunts Camp Crystal Lake in his efforts to avenge his mother's death. I loved Slayaway Camp when it was released, so when I heard that there was going to be a Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle coming out, I knew I had to have it. Needless to say, its surprise release was well worth the wait.

$2.99

Slayaway Camp

Blue Wizard Digital LP

Visually, Friday the 13th is in the same ballpark as Slayaway Camp. The game is rendered in 3D with blocky, voxel-style graphics like those you'd find in Minecraft. The various settings and environments are still packed with plenty of detail, and the gloomy, muted colors emit the sense of horror and suspense that you'd expect from such a game. Jason's character sprite is realistic and doesn't skimp out on the finer details, and there's even multiple versions to unlock in the game. Animations are smooth and fluid, with no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. Even the cutscenes are fun to watch, especially the facial expressions and kill scenes. The music is rather eerie and fitting, and the sound effects are on-par with your typical cheesy horror flick.

If cartoon violence and blood bother you, there is an option to have the game PG, so it's all toned down. Even if you end up turning down the gore, this is still an excellent puzzle game in general, so it's worth sticking around for.

Similar to Slayaway Camp, Friday the 13th is split up into episodes. A new area is unlocked in each episode, and there are about 13 puzzles for each. While you'll be starting out in Crystal Lake, Jason manages to find victims in high security prisons to Manhattan highrises.

At the moment, there are eight episodes that can be unlocked by getting enough kills (shown on episode selection). There are four more episodes that must be unlocked via in-app purchase. You could also unlock the other episodes early by paying as well, if you're impatient.

The goal in each puzzle is to, you guessed it, kill all of the unsuspecting victims. The controls are simple and intuitive enough for anyone. Just swipe your finger in one direction to make Jason move that way. He moves until he hits a wall, object, or gets to his victim, so it's like a sliding block puzzle mechanic.

Eventually you'll have levels with paths that lead to water, sinkholes, bonfires, and more. You'll want to avoid these, since Jason isn't good at swimming and fire is bad (but good for the victims). When this happens, some thinking and tinkering is needed to get where you need to be. And cops can be attacked from the sides or behind, but never from the front, because they'll catch you that way. If you make a mistake, there's a rewind button that you can use to undo your last move as much as needed.

As you successfully complete puzzles, your "Bloodlust" gauge goes up. Once it's full, you'll rank up and earn a loot box. You'll find various weapons in the box, which you can equip on Jason for stylish kill scenes when he gets his victims. You can also trade in unwanted weapons for better ones if you so choose.

When your bloodlust meter is about ready to be topped off and ranked up, the game prompts you to watch an ad to fill it up. It's completely optional and just speeds up the process. The game doesn't throw ads in your face after each puzzle, at least, so I don't mind watching the occasional ad.

Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle is a horror puzzle game where you take on the role of Jason Voorhees.

The Good

Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle is an excellent freebie. The game is a re-skinned Slayaway Camp to just feature Jason Voorhees of the "Friday the 13th" series, but it has fun puzzles to solve. The voxel graphics are campy and the gory kills are fun to watch. The game has its fair share of cheesy horror music and sound effects too, which I love. There's plenty of content with the initial free download, and plenty of weapons to unlock.

The Bad

With Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle being such a good free game, it's hard to find many flaws with it. I mean, there are ads, but they're optional and only when you want to just get the last bit of bloodlust to rank up for more (cosmetic) weapons, as they don't affect gameplay. Perhaps the fact that there are four episodes that can only be accessed after an in-app purchase, but there's still a lot of puzzles included for free. And honestly, once I complete the free stages, I'd probably buy the rest anyway because the game is just that good, like Slayaway Camp.

The verdict

As a fan of Slayaway Camp, it's not surprising that I also love Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle. It has the same puzzle mechanics, obstacles, and graphics, except it focuses solely on Jason Voorhees seeking to avenge his mother's death. It's more for "Friday the 13th" fans, or horror lovers, but it's packed with a ton of good puzzles that everyone can enjoy. It's hard to believe how much content you can play in this one without paying a dime.

Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for free. There are in-app purchases for exclusive episodes.

9.0

OVERALL

Sound/Music 10

Graphics 9.5

Gameplay 9

Replayability 8

Game Controls 8.5

FREE

Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle

Blue Wizard Digital LP

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Thumper: Pocket Edition ($4.99) by Drool is a mix of rhythm and action in a single game. It's an interesting mashup of genres, and makes for a truly unique experience. If you enjoyed recent games like Cytus II but want some rhythm violence mixed in, then Thumper is the game for you.

Even though I'm not the best at them, I like rhythm games because they usually have good tunes, and they're just fun to play. I remember stumbling on Thumper while browsing the Nintendo Switch eShop a few months ago, but I never bit the bullet on it. I was intrigued by the game, but not sure it would have been something I liked, especially with the eShop price. But when I saw Thumper was hitting iOS with a more reasonable price point, I knew it was my chance to check it out. Needless to say, I'm glad I finally gave it a try.

$1.99

Cytus II

Rayark International Limited

Thumper's visuals are stunningly beautiful. The game has some psychedelic graphics that feel incredibly futuristic, and everything is rendered in gorgeous 3D. Thumper's dark background is excellently contrasted by the bright and vivid neon lights of the track and sparks, and the space beetle is super shiny and glassy. Explosions are high-octane and fun to watch while being highly satisfying. Thumper runs at a smooth 60 frames per second, even on my iPhone 8 Plus, so there's zero lag.

The ambient soundtrack is an entirely original work by Brian Gibson, and it's delightful to hear as you play. I thought the music would be a bit more metal because of the "rhythm violence" description of the game, so it's a bit surprising and caught me off guard.

In Thumper, players will find nine epic levels awaiting them. While this doesn't sound like a lot, each level's broken up into multiple stages. These also serve as checkpoints once you clear that part, so you restart from the last checkpoint rather than the beginning of the level. The levels consist of about 15 sections, and you get graded on each one based on your performance. There's also boss battles to face off against, which test everything you've learned so far.

Since I didn't play Thumper on other platforms, I'm not familiar with how the game works with physical controls, but I think the touch controls work okay for the most part. When you see a square node coming up on the track, tap the screen right as your space beetle is over it for it to count. When facing off against boss battles, you'll want to get the timing right so you can throw those projectiles back at the boss to damage it.

There are also curved walls that require you to turn on the track. When you come up to these, just swipe left or right to turn. Longer walls need you to swipe-and-hold to make it. Some light beams also appear, and you must tap-and-hold the screen to have your space beetle dash and break through them. There's also a jumping mechanic, which I assume has you swiping upwards, but I haven't reached it yet. The game introduces new game mechanics as you go.

Again, while I haven't played Thumper on other platforms, I do hear that the controls are great. But the touch controls, while they work for the beginning, get more iffy as you go. This is because the game seems to not be as responsive after certain actions, such as turning, so it may have a delay when trying to register a tap or long press right after. I also experienced unresponsiveness after breaking through the barriers and then having to turn right after, resulting in untimely deaths. For a game that's all about timing and precision, the controls need to be better optimized.

For those who manage to beat Thumper, the Play+ mode gets unlocked. This is basically "New Game+" and features increased challenge and speed. Because you know, the regular mode isn't hard enough.

Thumper is incredibly challenging, but you'll find yourself getting better over time. You're bound to die a lot (you can only make one mistake before you end up dead on the next error), but you'll keep coming back to do better. And once you overcome that hurdle, it's immensely gratifying.

A high speed journey through psychedelic landscapes with rhythmic overtones.

The Good

Thumper is definitely an interesting game, and one that shouldn't be overlooked. It's a rhythm violence game so it requires precise timing and reflexes to survive, and it's super challenging. Plus, the graphics are great and the music is pretty good, though a bit mismatched. While it may not seem like a lot of levels, the length of each one, as well as the difficulty, mean a lot of time is required.

The Bad

The mobile port of Thumper is great, but the controls do need some work. Since fast reflexes and timing are a must here, the responsiveness of the controls must be improved. Hopefully this can be fixed sooner rather than later.

The verdict

Despite the flawed control scheme on the mobile port, Thumper: Pocket Edition is a good way to introduce the game to those who haven't tried it before. The psychedelic visuals are rather mesmerizing, the music is soothing, and the challenge is there. It may not be the best game for those who get frustrated easily, but the sense of overcoming a level you've been stuck on is pleasing.

Thumper: Pocket Edition is on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $4.99.

7.9

OVERALL

Replayability 8.5

Graphics 8.5

Gameplay 8

Game Controls 7

Sound/Music 7.5

$4.99

Thumper: Pocket Edition

Drool LLC

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