The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game garners bloody good reviews

Made and developed by Gun Interactive and Sumo Digital, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game was launched last August 18.

This is the same day in 1973 that the fictional Sally Hardesty and her brother and friends were brutalized and murdered by a masked, chainsaw wielding serial killer and his wicked family. Forever after known to horror aficionados as “Texas Chain Saw Massacre Day.”

Tobe Hooper may have directed the first installment almost 50 years ago, but it would endure in pop culture and enshrine Leatherface as an iconic monster beyond his 1974 horror film.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game in 2023 by Gun Interactive

The new videogame based on the mythos and characters of the movies is now an asymmetrical third-person multiplayer-only online horror experience available on consoles like Xbox One, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and also on PC via Steam.

Basically, what asymmetrical means is that players take the role of either captive victims trying to escape or killers trying to prevent the victims from escaping. Up to three people can play as one of the in-game Slaughter family members, hunting down your hapless victims with weapons and special abilities (like, say, a chainsaw) or as one of the four terrified victims, desperate to escape the clutches of the murderous family, yet not as helpless as they seem.

From the excited playthroughs and critical response, looks like the game has been a hit so far. It’s currently at a score of 72 on Metacritic from 19 reviews from both mainstream and videogame media.

And more than 25 million matches have so far been played on servers by August 23, as claimed by Gun Digital.

https://twitter.com/TXChainSawGame/status/1694083032720810151

Despite the inevitable bugs, glitches, and crashes that a videogame of this size, franchise history, and collaborative requisites has, plenty of critics have lauded the game for its intense, gory gameplay and representation of the movie’s essence done in so much good faith that they painstakingly recreated the Sawyer family house, right down to its basement of horrors.

Central to this is the feel of playing Leatherface, the most recognizable villain in the franchise. As the hulking maniac, you can use the chainsaw to bash through walls and deal huge damage to the victims trying to escape.

The rest of the Slaughter family have their own special abilities too. The Hitchhiker can set traps that can hobble victims and a new character called Sissy can exhale a cloud of poison gas to stun and cripple the already terrified teens.

Looks like what the creators at Gun Interactive knocked out of the park is bringing to life the grit and frights inherent in Hooper’s Chainsaw universe, one that inspired copycats and homages aplenty in the following decades.

From my brief playthroughs on Steam for PC, the jumpscares and sustained fear as Ana or one of the victims trying to escape the homicidal family was a constant adrenaline rush, while playing as Leatherface or one of the family was a great chance to let out my aggressive tendencies and cackle when I brought down one of the teens who had the impudence to try and make a bid for freedom.

Two things I do wish for to extend the re-playability and shelf life of this game include: an offline or solo player story version, plus more arenas to play in rather than just the current three levels. Other gamers and critics have already voiced these same sentiments. Gun Interactive and Sumo Digital would do well to heed these suggestions. They’re good advice.

All throughout the vibe of the setting as well as the gameplay perfectly replicated the Hooper universe as a ride of either thrill kills or harrowing escapes. Small towns in Central Texas at night won’t ever look the same again after playing.

Have you played the game? Let us know what you think in the comments!