Summary
Set to release just next month,The Texas Chain Saw Massacreis a new entry in the online asymmetric competitive survival horror genre. A faithful adaptation of the original trailblazing 1974 film of the same name, this uniquely visceral experience has a lot of reverence for its source material. The genre may be relatively recent and niche, but the massive success ofDead by Daylightsince its release in 2016 proves that now may be the perfect time forThe Texas Chain Saw Massacreto strike.
It is a bold move to experiment in such a volatile pocket of the industry that has seen titles likeVideo Horror Societycome and go with little fanfare, but this isn’t publisher Gun Interactive’s first outing. Launching back in 2017,Friday the 13th: The Gamewas similarly supported as a contender in the asymmetric horror space. Between legal battles and competition fromDead by Daylight,the troubledFriday the 13thwould unfortunately end up being canned leading up to its upcoming delisting at the end of 2023.
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Dead by Daylightmay have come to offer an array of classic licensed horror characters over the course of its lifetime, but there hasn’t been another experience dedicated to one IP in the vein ofFriday the 13th: The Gameuntil now.Dead by Daylight’s Trapper killeris actually inspired by Jason Voorhees himself, and the game’s avoidance of the official license makes a lot of sense in retrospect. With legal disputes between creators of the originalFriday the 13thfilm (which didn’t even feature Jason as the killer), it’s no wonder the series’ game adaptation has seen a similar fate to the movie franchise at large.
Friday the 13th: The Gamemay have had many similarities toDead by Daylight’s formula, but the inherently licensed title was able to stay truer to its inspiration.Nine playable Jason Voorheesesrepresented all of his major appearances throughout the franchise, all offering unique ways of hunting down and taking out the counselors as they scramble to escape Camp Crystal Lake. The asymmetric multiplayer genre has a baked-in problem in the form of its intentional imbalance, andDead by Daylighthas had to work around this to thrive, whileTexas Chain Sawseems to effectively lean into it.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’s Official Support is Highly Promising
While Jason could straight up murder opponents,Dead by Daylight’s killers are usually forced to hang survivors on mystical meat hooks for a period of time, in line with the contrivances of the game’s scenario. Magical power generators and escape hatches similarly help give survivors objectives under The Entity’s control,but theraw experience ofTexas Chain Sawhas bucked all of this in favor of staying true to the film. Leatherface and his family alike can all kill victims in a brutally faithful and familiar showing of the movie’s violence thanks to the support from the series’ IP holders. Victims, on the other hand, find engaging gameplay through the most simple and intense objective available: escaping the dilapidated Slaughter family house through one of four means.
Texas Chain Saw’s core formulaalready has potential to take its niche genre to the next level, and its license’s lack of legal disputes coupled with developer Sumo Digital’s clear dedication to the title paints a promising picture. Featuring crossplay for the 9th generation edition and even a dedicated companion soundtrack album based on carefully constructed background lore,The Texas Chain Saw Massacrehas the potential to bring both itself and the broader slasher franchise it adapts into the spotlight. With new, original Slaughter family members already carefully crafted for the title, the latest in asymmetric horror could bring variety to the genre for years to come.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacrereleases May 25, 2025 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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