The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ARG is an alternate reality game or ARG that serves as a prelude to the release of the 2023 video game The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Game. The events depicted in this ARG focus on Maria Flores.
Overview[]
Like most ARGs, Gun Interactive used transmedia and multimedia storytelling, using out-of-game materials like Instagram accounts for fictional characters, fake newsreels on YouTube, and a free itch.io game made in Unreal Engine 5 to form a narrative that would end with the reveal of two playable killers created specially for the new game via collaboration with Kim Henkel.
The Game[]
Following the reveal that the story in the game centers around the disappearance of Maria Flores, an instagram account that served as tribute for the disappearing fictional woman was discovered. Serving as a memorial for Maria, who went missing in 1973 on a road trip through Texas while she was sending letters and photos to her family. The account existed to post some of her photos along with the letters she sent, these letters started off as innocent but they soon revealed that Marina was being followed by someone at the same time her car died down.
After the account uploaded a higher-resolution image of the newspaper that described Maria's disappearance, various users took note of the newspaper's five-digit date of printing: April 27, 1973. This date also doubles as a zip code: 42773. On top of that, there was also a small font next to the printed date that gives the users the exact coordinates. Entering the coordinates (20.173189, -99.341959) into Google Maps gives us Hidalgo, Mexico. Going to the precise coordinates within Hidalgo gives you Ricardo Flores School, which is a real place.
Around that location there was also a wall that read "ESC.TV 417" next to a different wall that features Google and YouTube logos on it. If you look up the location's precise coordinates plus the other numbered clues on YouTube, you'll find a bizarre video titled 42773_20.173189, -99.341959_417 that was published by an account called ESC TV 417.
The video is an aged recording of a retro news broadcast sign off that mentions it's final news about a woman with a knife that is the prime suspect of a series of recent murders. Close to the end of the video there is a glitch for a moment that reveal a URL: petalsgame.com.
Once on the website, one can download and play the game Petals. At first glance, the game appears to be a normal first-person photography game. However, as it goes on, it becomes clear that it is intended to act as a prequel and teaser for the main game. Following the story of Maria Flores' disappearance, Petals marks the reveal of Sissy and Johnny.