Overview – from Sumo Nottingham, Black Tower Studios and Gun Interactive, Texas Chain Saw Massacre is an asymmetrical horror experience based upon the original move. Take the role of the cannibalistic family on the hunt, or the victims as they try to escape their captors. This title is available for the PlayStation 4/5, Xbox family and Steam platform, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank the representative at Evolve PR who provided the copy of Texas Chain Saw Massacre, via the Terminals service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting off with the story. I will be covering the core mechanics included in the base game, as there has been DLC and additional content released for this title.
Story – during the 1973, a college student named Maria Flores disappeared without a trace near the town of Newt, but with no physical evidence the investigation has stalled. Two weeks later, Maria’s younger sister and her closest friends set out to find her. However, what awaited this group was a nightmare beyond belief, the events surrounding it would be just one of the many bizarre crimes later known as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Gameplay – Texas Chain Saw Massacre is an asymmetrical 3v4 multiplayer horror game, where players are split into two teams, the killers (the family) and victims. Before a game starts, the player can pick a character based on the side they have chosen. The cast of killers include the Hitchhiker, the Cook and iconic Leatherface from the original film, with the victims being a brand new cast exclusive to this title. Teams consist of 3 killers and 4 victims.
The goal of the game is very straightforward for the most part, as the family, they must hunt down their captured prey. To accomplish this, they must use their unique skills to track down their quarry and execute them before they can reach safety. Assisting them in the hunt, they have grandpa the best killer there ever was. In order to get the help of grandpa, the team of killers can give him blood collected from buckets or victims, powering his sense to track the captives.
There are several ways that the family can keep the victims from escaping, these include locking down the exits, laying traps and monitoring the different objectives. The cannibal killers can also attack the victims with their weapons, dealing damage to them and reducing their health. If the killers are able to do enough damage, they will be able to execute the victim, taking them out in gruesome fashion. If all victims die, the family will gain complete victory.
The objective for the victims is to escape, as a team or alone. To complete this objective, players on the victim team have a few different ways to succeed. The main way to escape from the family is to reach the main road, where the victim will be able to run for safety. But this is not the only route to survival that is open to them. There are additional escape routes that can be taken, with exits in different parts of the property, but they can require items to open up.
Great care must be taken during the attempted escape, as opening locked doors, traps and environmental objects can make noise, alerting the family. All of the victims will start in the same area, with players able to work together or alone, but these both come with their own positives and negatives. Each of the victims has their own set of skills, which can be used to aid in their escape with special abilities having cooldown timers between uses.
While moving around the map, players must use stealth to stay hidden and move through the property. There are shadows, tall grass and vehicles that can be used to conceal the presence of a victim, as well as hiding spots like freezers and car trunks. Hiding spots can be used in a pinch when being hunted, but they are not permanent and are only temporary. As time passes during a match, the victims will start to lose blood having been wounded during their initial capture.
If the captive doesn’t escape in time they will bleed out, leaving blood stains on the ground that can be tracked and succumbing to their wounds if they take too long. There is some hope however, as useful items can be found, including healing items, tools to open locks and bone scrap to be used defensively. A victim can carry two items at a time, but collecting them comes with some risks as victims will make noise if they rush. Escape is the only way to survive the nightmare.
A match will end one of two ways, all of the victims have been killed by the family or escape from the property by remaining survivors has been achieved. When this happens, players will be given experience points based on their performance, with different objective rewards for the family and victims. As experience is earned, players will level up in two ways, one is the profile level and the unique character level which is unique for all playable characters.
The profile level will unlock bonuses for the player to view, including behind the scenes content and more for players to enjoy. Then there are character levels which will increase when playing as each victim and family member. As these characters increase in level, they will gain skill points, attribute points and the ability to use the skill tree. Within the skill tree players can unlock new abilities, attribute points and perks, increasing the power of each character.
Each of the playable characters has a unique skill tree, perks and abilities that they have. These can be customized the as the players increase their level. The attribute points can be used to increase weaker areas of the characters, making them stronger and well rounded. When a player is building their skill tree, there will be branches that go only one way, meaning tough decisions will need to be made. As new skills and perks are learned, they can be added to a loadout.
All of the characters have their own special loadout, which will have their perks and skills attached to them. These can be customized to change how the character is used, giving players additional flexibility in how they want to approach matches. The unique abilities of each character can also be modified, improving the capabilities of the killers and survivors. All of the skills can dramatically change the way that matches play out, so it’s best to experiment to find the best fit.
Players can also earn cosmetic items, which are awarded by completing different objectives in the game. These consist of costumes that can be earned during play, with the survivors having variations that can be obtained by just playing the game. The family lacks any costume variants with the exception of Leatherface, who has three outfits based on his most recognizable looks. Additional costumes for all characters and weapons skins for the family are available as DLC.
The last thing to discuss is the general gameplay experience. This is an online only game, meaning there is no offline or single player, unlike the previous Gun Interactive title, Friday the 13th. Due to this, players will be reliant on others to be able to play and enter matches. When a match is found, players will need to wait until all slots have been filled before a game can begin, potentially leading to long wait times. There is also a private game mode, but I couldn’t use it during my playtime.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the controls for this title are pretty easy to pick up, as the game is a third person action title, the game uses the thumbsticks for character and camera movement. All of the essential inputs are mapped out in a comfortable way, with prompts that appear on screen at interactive points. If players need a refresher of the controls, they can easily find a handy on screen help guide for all of the buttons for the family and survivors.
Difficulty – there is no real difficulty curve to this game, as the challenge is based on the players that found through matchmaking. When starting out, players will likely be matched with opponents way above their skill level, making for what feels like an unfair fight. But as players continue to play, the gap will gradually lessen as players improve their overall abilities. This can be off-putting for new players, especially due to the lack of single player to practice.
Presentation – the visual style tor Texas Chain Saw Massacre has a look that is reminiscent of the film it is based on, with environments and locations taken from the source material. The character models have that distinct 1970s look to them, with the added detail of the Cook, Hitchhiker and Leatherface being modeled on their movie appearances. There is no issue with the performance on the PS4 system, with the game running well throughout play.
The sound is deeply unsettling, with the use of the signature flashbulb from the film being used to great effect. There is a good use of atmospheric sound, with a sparring use of music that adds to the tension that players encounter. There is voice acting for the characters that will occur at times during the course of a match, giving more depth to the presentation. All of the elements come together to create an experience that is authentic to the source.
Final thoughts – having played the Friday the 13th game, I was interested in Texas Chain Saw Massacre as I am a fan of both film franchises and horror games in general. However, the expectation from the previous release led to some disappointment. Due to the lack of single player, the entire experience was frustrating due to it being reliant on matching with other players. When it was possible to get a match going, it was fun but the gaps between weren’t so much.
I am unfortunately unable to recommend this game, as there appears to be a vastly reduced player base from when the game launched, leading to long wait times. The gameplay as both the family and the victims is solid, with well thought out objectives and characters that offer plenty of variety. I could feel the love and passion for the movie that the game is based on, with the attention to detail for Leatherface, the Cook and the Hitchhiker. This experience sadly doesn’t live up to the potential it has.
In the end, I give The Texas Chain Saw Massacre a final score of 3/5. This is a solid and enjoyable asymmetrical horror experience, with loving care and attention paid to the source material the game is based on. However, due to the nature of online only games, the fun isn’t maintained for long due to long downtime between matches. If you do want to check the game out for yourself, a link to the different versions of the game will be below.
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
Link to steam version (HERE)
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