Created to be the successor to Friday the 13th, which will no longer be sold until the end of this year, due to the end of its licensing contract, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre maintains the “hide and seek” format, but innovates by perfectly recreating the scenarios of the hit film from 1974 and its successors and adding hints of RPG and more balance to the games.

Asymmetrical horror games have become a trend that has evolved into a genre in its own right. The asymmetrical approach introduced a new dynamism to horror games, expanding gameplay possibilities and providing unique experiences for both players controlling survivors and those taking on the role of ruthless villains.



Since The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was based on the first movie, let's talk a little bit about the story. Two brothers and their friends decide to travel to Texas to make sure their grandfather's grave is intact after vandalism committed at the cemetery makes the news. On the way back, they come across a family of cannibals, who start hunting them mercilessly and extremely violently. The family keeps one of its members, Leatherface, in the basement, because he is the most dangerous of all and it is in this scenario that the game takes place.

Gameplay

You have the option of being part of the Family or the Victims, in a 3-on-4 showdown that pits Leatherface and his sinister offspring, challenging them to eliminate their targets before they can escape. Very similar to the format of Dead By Day Light, but with 3 different assassins in the “aggressor” team being chosen between: Leatherface, The Cook, The Hitchhiker, Johnny and Sissy. Each one with its own skill and attributes that make it easier to locate the victims and make it difficult for them to escape.



The Cook, for example, is equipped with the "Seek" skill, which allows him to track victims by sounds and as a bonus skill, he can lock locks to block spaces and doors, preventing victims from escaping. 

Sissy brings out her "Bane" ability, which lets her create potions to directly incapacitate victims or set traps on interactive objects. Her bonus skill is agility, it allows her to hide and navigate narrow corridors and gaps in the house. The Backpacker (Hitchhiker), has the skill of agility as a bonus, allowing stealth pursuits through crawling. However, it's his main ability "Trap" that provides more fun building traps around the setting.

Johnny and Leatherface, has the ability "Hunt" as a central feature. While Johnny's allows him to track victims through their footprints, Leatherface can use his ability to dismember and tear apart his prey. His special individual abilities also contribute to the gameplay dynamic: Johnny can stun victims, destroy doors and close crawl spaces. As for Leatherface, he is capable of destroying barriers and doors, which makes him a merciless predator.



The victims presented are Ana, Connie, Julie, Leland and Sonny. The game's story revolves around the victims in search of Maria Flores, Ana's missing sister. You assume the role of one of them and with the team of seven players, the game can be started. 

As the victims, your mission is to use cunning and caution to avoid the Kindred and gather the means to eventually escape. In all games, Leatherface must always be chosen, the reason, the basement, where the game starts for the victims, trapped in pairs in separate rooms and who only manage to escape this basement after their grandfather awakens.

As for Victims, each has different levels of Toughness, a trait that dictates a character's fortitude; stamina not only increases your stamina, it also increases how quickly you recover it. Strength determines your ability to fight the Family in close encounters. Proficiency allows you to do tasks like blocks for varying success and speed; and Stealth affects the amount of noise you generate and the ability to silently complete tasks. In addition, each victim has a Star Sign, which works like the Skills the Family has.



Connie has a Focused Ability that allows her to choose a lock much faster than other characters, switching the resistance and her proximity warnings from the Family, to lock the choice without an unlock tool. Although the cost is high, it may be the crucial moment to escape. Sonny has a Heightened Sense that allows his situational awareness to heighten and detect noise from anyone nearby. When used effectively, a player, playing as Sonny, can help the victim's team avoid paths where the Family is waiting.

Leland has a life saving skill that can interrupt animations that happen when someone on your team is captured in an encounter, saving their life. While Leland is fighting, Julie is on the run.  Julie's Ultimate Escape Star Sign allows her to gain reduced stamina while running, which is especially useful when facing slower family members such as the Cook. 

Finally, Ana Flores and the star sign: Pain is Nothing. The leader of the Victims, Ana, is the most fun, she takes significantly reduced damage from attacks, falls and jumping from windows, which makes her practically unstoppable. 

The strength of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre lies in how asymmetrical teams are balanced, with neutralizing abilities and physical barriers. This balance is crucial to ensuring the game works well in 5v3 matches, rather than becoming unbalanced. Though the Slaughter Family has a slight advantage, victims have their own ways of fighting back, even if Grandpa has something sinister about them. 



From then on, several “little tasks” can be performed by both teams. While the victims try to escape Leatherface in the basement, looking for lockpicks, a knife and medicine, the family looks for bags of blood for Grandpa, sets traps, turns on the generator and locks doors so that no one escapes. 

In the basement, in addition to the obstacles of bone curtains, it is quite dark and many times close to the enemies I had difficulty seeing the game well to escape, the alert fog disturbed me a little but there is the option to remove these proximity and noise “sensors” .

Grandpa is a non-playable character and has the role of radar, when fed, he screams, releasing an echo that shows where the victims are and with the increase of this bar of grandpa improvements in the family team are generated in bonuses for players.



Graphics

Each map is a labyrinth, layered with elements from the film arranged in such a way as to keep you constantly on edge, one step away from getting lost. This moves from the house to the tunnels, and retracing your steps doesn't always guarantee the grounding effect it would have in other games. The claustrophobic maps somehow manage to seem endless at the same time and it's very easy to go round and round without knowing where to run.

The Texan setting is a worthy homage to the horror classic, the graphics are visually acceptable, even with some frame rate issues, nothing a graphics update can't fix. The grungy and gloomy setting faithfully portrays the atmosphere of the Sawyer household. While attention to detail is evident, the diversity of maps and characters could be greater. 

On the first day I had some difficulties finding a match quickly, but with time and the active weekend the matches were found on the server. Spending time in lobbies and loading screens is not very pleasant for anyone who wants to play the launch. 

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a game that is likely to have very rich future content. The potential for growth and the resolution of technical issues are promising, and time will certainly play a crucial role in this process. As the developers continue to listen to community feedback and improve the game experience, there is an expectation that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will evolve into an even more refined and engaging state. 



Sounds

The sound effects of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre play a key role in accentuating the intense and terrifying atmosphere of the game. However, just like in the original film, the iconic chainsaw engine also plays a disturbing role. The constant rumble of the saw not only creates a sense of urgency and panic, it can also distort your auditory perception, making it even more difficult for you to try to escape. 

The inability to completely trust what you hear adds an extra layer of challenge and immersion, making every moment of search and escape an exhilarating and fun experience. 

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was played for this review on an Xbox Series S and made available through Xbox Game Pass.