The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Video Game)

"A game based on true events."

― The game's tagline

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a multiplayer horror game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Gun Interactive, who produced Friday the 13th: The Game. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a third-person asymmetrical horror game experience based on the 1974 horror film of the same name.

The game was opened up for a public Technical Test with limited access on May 25, 2023, and released as a whole on August 18th, 2023 (matching the 50th anniversary of the events of the first film in-universe) for PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.

Synopsis

"Take on the role of one of the notorious Slaughter family, or their victims, in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, a third-person asymmetrical horror experience based on the groundbreaking and iconic 1974 horror film. Experience the mad and macabre for yourself in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre."

― STEAM

Characters

The game presents the opportunity to play as both a group of victims and the members of the Slaughter Family of the first film along with two new original members created specifically for this game. There are also other characters in the game that have a confirmed presence though they seem to not be playable.

Slaughter Family

Killers

• Leatherface
• Hitchhiker
• Cook
• Nancy
• Johnny
• Sissy
• Hands
• Grandpa (Unplayable)

Victims

Victims

• Ana Flores
• Sonny Williams
• Julie Crawford
• Leland McKinney
• Connie Taylor
• Maria Flores
• Danny Gaines
• Virginia

Attributes

Family

Family Attributes fall into three categories: Savagery, Harvesting, and Endurance. These Attributes differ depending on the Family member you are playing as, and can be tuned to your liking by unlocking Attribute points within the Skill Tree and assigning them to one of the three categories. On top of Attribute points, certain Perks within the Skill Tree will also buff an Attribute category by equipping it, but more on Perks once we cover the full metagame. For now, let’s talk about the main three Attribute categories.

Savagery: This Attribute directly affects the amount of damage you deal with melee hits, but should not be seen as simple strength. Think of Savagery as a proficiency level for killing in game, used in conjunction with Endurance as a way to determine the full potential for damage dealt.

Harvesting: Harvesting affects the amount of blood you gain for Grandpa when interacting with Victims. It does not, however, affect the amount of blood gained from buckets around the map. Melee hits, grapples with Victims, and executions are the specific interactions that can fill your blood vial, dependent on your Harvesting stat.

Endurance: Similar to the Victims Attribute, Endurance affects the stamina drain and recharge rate. On the Family side, however, melee strikes also drain stamina, making the Endurance Attribute important for dealing damage as well as mobility.

So you see, these Attributes all work together to make up the type of killer any given Family member is. Considering you cannot attack without any stamina left in the pool, Savagery and Endurance are tied together in interesting ways. Mix in the fact that your Harvesting rating will affect how much blood you will walk away with after each altercation and you can start to see how the balancing shapes up with our cast of cannibals. -Written By Matthew Szep

Victim

Character stats are broken out into five main Attribute categories: Toughness, Endurance, Strength, Proficiency, and Stealth and while each Victim has a base value for each Attribute, these values can be tweaked by way of the metagame and that Victim’s unique Skill Tree. Stashed among the various perks within the Skill Tree unlocks are Attribute Unlock Points. Snagging one of those will award a point that can be used to raise the value of any Attribute the player chooses. This is just one of the options players can use to build their Victim loadouts in unique ways. Of course, the base values play an important role in this, as pumping up a low base value will cost more Attribute Unlock Points than leaning into a specific Victim’s strong suits. More on the full metagame later. For now, let’s cover what these Attributes really are.

Toughness: Toughness is NOT to be confused with Strength. True Toughness is fortitude, built from character, and in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre it’s not simply a health pool. While Toughness does help you sustain more damage before becoming incapacitated, it also shortens your recovery time, giving you a higher all around survivability.

Endurance: Similar to Toughness, Endurance encapsulates more than just the stamina pool. Endurance in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will help with the overall stamina while also speeding up your stamina regeneration rate, getting you back to full speed faster.

Strength: Strength determines how effective a Victim is at confronting Family members. Strength can alter the stun effect duration for actions such as sneak attacks, grappling in close encounters, and bursting out of hiding spots. Strength also assists Victims in certain interactions like escaping restraints, opening crawl spaces, and turning off the generator.

Proficiency: Proficiency is the gauge we measure a Victim’s ability to accomplish skilled tasks and interactions, such as lock picking. While higher Proficiency Victims can pick locks more easily, lower Proficiency Victims still can pick locks, they just might struggle a bit more with the interaction.

Stealth: Stealth is everywhere in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and as such, the Stealth Attribute is a bit more specific than the general Stealth that all Victims are capable of. This Attribute influences the Victim’s ability to perform actions silently, generating less noise while accomplishing tasks. This does not, however, affect the general Stealth used in game, such as hiding from Family members and staying in the shadows.

While all of our Victims have their strengths and weaknesses, players have access to the full metagame, which can be extremely powerful in terms of customizing your loadouts to feel unique and play the way you would like to. While metagame will never make a Connie into a Leland, players can tinker with builds to address areas of particular Victims they feel they need to boost.

Speaking of unique elements and our cast of Victims, let’s talk a little bit about Abilities. Written by Matthew Szep

Achievements

Achievements are locked until players complete a specific task from their description. There are a total of 51 achievements available to unlock in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Game across all platforms PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.

Victim Achievements

Name	Description
All Knowing	Track all family members in a single match.
Bring It On	Win 4 close encounters as a Victim in total.
Doing Well	Jump down a well 10 times in total.
Escape Artists	Achieve a perfect victim win (all victims escape) on each map.
Fighting Back	Successfully perform 3 sneak attacks against family members in total.
Fixer	During a single match stop the generator, fix the fusebox and open the pressure valve.
Fully Focused	Use the focus ability to instantly unlock 10 doors in total.
Last Victim Standing	As last victim standing, survive for 3 minutes and escape in a single match.
Nowhere left to hide	As a victim hide in a freezer, locker, wardrobe, trunk and car trunk.
Now it's my turn	Sneak attack all family members in a single match.
Our Hero	Shoulder barge and stun 10 family members.
Purge	Using the Pain is Nothing ability purge 4 poison effects.
Shhhhhh	As a victim escape a level without making any noise from collecting objects, traps, chickens, bone charms, doors.
Team Player	Heal 4 teammates in total.
The Lucky One?	Escape 100 times.
Tread Softly	Avoid being detected by Grandpa for a whole match.
Undetectable	Use the Ultimate Escape ability at level 3 a total of 5 times.

Family

Name	Description
Can't Hide from me	Analyze 5 victim footprints in total.
Can't keep me out	Successfully barge open a total of 10 latched doors.
Dog will Hunt	As Leatherface destroy 10 objects with your chainsaw (barricade, crawl space, door).
Don't Touch	Poison 15 victim pickups (Unlock Tool, Bone Scraps, health bottle).
Executioner	Perform the Gutted Like A Deer, Clobbered, Sliced Meat, Sticky End and Killing Tease executions as Leatherface, Cook, Hitchhiker, Johnny and Sissy.
First Blood	Execute the first victim in a match.
Get Outta There	Drag out 20 victims from inside hiding objects.
Git Back Here	Win 4 close encounters as family members in total.
He was the greatest ever.	Feed Grandpa 10 times in total.
Hung up on you	Execute 10 victims in total on gallows as Leatherface.
I'm comin' for ya	As Hitchhiker use one gap, crawl space and ladder in a single match.
I got one!	Catch a total of 5 victims in traps.
I hear you	Successfully spot 10 victims in total.
Makin' Grandpa Proud	Achieve a perfect family win (killing all victims) on each map.
Mine all Mine	Execute all four victims in a single match.
Powder Burns	Confuse two or more victims simultaneously.
Safe and Secure	Add extra locks to 10 doors in total.
Serial Killer	Execute 100 victims in total
So Close…	Kill a victim within close range of an exit in any level.
The Saw is Family	Reach family bond to maximum and keep it there for the whole match.
Welcome to the Family	Execute your first victim.
You spelt Champion wrong	As a family member kill a victim in under 30 seconds from the start of a match.

Map Specific

Name	Description
Be like Sally	Escape down the driveway after jumping out of the family house front window.
Leaving Home	Escape using each exit on the Family House level.
Off to Market	Escape using each exit on the Slaughterhouse level.
Outta Gas	Escape using each exit on the Gas Station level.

Progression

Name	Description
Behind the curtain	Get your first unlockable.
Lone Star	Reach level 5 with a single character.
Perking Up	Start a match with a fully levelled up ability and three level 3 perks equipped.
Respec	Respec a characters unlock tree after reaching maximum level.
Running, Jumping, Climbing Trees	Spent first points in the unlock tree.
Texas Through and Through	Reach level 5 with all characters.
Totally Texas	Reach Player Level 50.

Other

Name	Description
What will be left of you?	Play 74 public matches.

Gallery