The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an upcoming horror survival game based on the series, and it’s being developed by Sumo Digital, and published by Gun Media. The build I had a chance to play was a timed access technical test, so there are features that were left out or are still being worked on.

The game focuses on a three vs four gameplay, and players will either take the role of Leatherface and two of his family members, or they’ll be one of the four unlucky victims. Each match will start with the four victims hung up in a basement, and they will need to free themselves and start gathering items to get out of the basement.

Up until one of the basement doors has been unlocked by a victim, the only major threat players will have is Leatherface. He is the only killer that starts in the basement – the other two are locked upstairs until the victims are free of the basement.

While Leatherface is hunting down players in the early game, the other two killers can be preparing upstairs by placing snare traps, padlocking doors, or collecting blood to feed Grandpa. Grandpa is always present in the level, but he won’t be in the same place each game.

He is not a physical threat to players as he just sits in his chair, but when he is fed, he gains power, and when he groans loudly, it enables a sort of tracking ability – if a victim is moving during the groan, they will be pinged and all killers can see exactly where they are. If you can keep grandpa well-fed and level him up to max, the groans are much more frequent, and at max level, it will mark players even if they are not moving.

Every character has a unique skill and perk, including the victims. They have their own strengths, that when used together, support everyone. Connie, for example, can pick locks faster than the others. Leland, on the other hand, can disrupt the killers by charging into them with his shoulder, If the victims stick together, they have a greater chance of survival. As we’d expect, Leatherface is strong but slow when moving, and he’s ideal for the basement segments as it is short and closed in.

The Cook has the skill to padlock doors and can hit in a short combo that deals some damage, but he runs like he desperately needs to go to the bathroom, and the last killer is the Hitchhiker. In terms of damage, he is the weakest, but he’s the fastest of the trio, and he is the only killer that can access paths that are normally only open to the victims.

The build I played was fairly stable. There were a few bugs, like getting stuck in a wall or audio loss, but that is what the weekend was for – to test it out. I’m hoping some extra graphical details are added to Leatherface in the final release, as he did seem to be missing some textures.

I’m also hopeful that some more gore gets added in. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is shaping up to be an amazing horror game to play with friends. It is scheduled for release on the 18th of August 2023 and will be released on PS4/5, Xbox One, Series S/X, and PC, and will be available on Game Pass.

Written by: Shane Walsh