The Texas Chain Saw Massacre review: Just Another Massacre?
By Devin Shea
Title: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Publisher: Gun Media
Developer: Sunmo Digital
Platform: PlayStation 5 (reviewed on), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft Windows
Release Date: August 18, 2023
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game was a title that people have been anticipating for a while. After games like Dead by Daylight, Evil Dead: The Game and Friday the 13th, horror movies rights have been hitting the game world like crazy. With so many asymmetrical survival games, there was hope that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game would offer something different in terms of gameplay. However, we aren’t so lucky to have a completely original TCM. So, with this release following the same patterns as other horror titles, what makes it stand out among the others, if anything?
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre takes more nods from the original 1974 movie than any of its sequels. The environment definitely feels gritty and grindhouse, which is preferred. Could you imagine a pristine TCM game? Gag me with a chainsaw. You have the option of playing one of four victims or one of three family members. Each victim or family member has their own special ability that can assist you or your teammates in the gameplay. Whether that be concentrated listening, easier unlocking of locks or shoving your chainsaw into tight spaces, these abilities can change how you play the game, especially as the family. The family must feed grandpa blood so he can give flashes to where the victims are hiding. The more blood you give him, the more you see them.
It’s hard not to compare it with Dead by Daylight, especially because Leatherface is in that game too. At first, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game was considerably more fun. There are multiple ways to escape the family and you have to find the tools to do so. However, after a few hours you will find the game to be monotonous. There are only 5 survivors and 4 family members. The map is all the same with only the starting locations and day/night cycles changing. The traps are the same, the tools are the same, the chickens are the same (yes there are chicken alarms). At least with Dead by Daylight, there is variety. Maybe because The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game is so new, there isn’t much to be had but I don’t believe that. There could have been maps and characters from later games at release.
It looks like this game is going to have the same fate as all asymmetrical survival games: later added content and microtransactions. You want this character? Gonna have to buy it. Content will probably trickle out over time but all the while we need to play the same thing over and over again. Maybe I’m being picky because the game is objectively fun. The graphics aren’t extraordinary but I’ve seen worse and there were no major glitches aside from some clipping. On launch, the game is fine but give it a year and maybe it will be a different story.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (PS5) Score: 5/10
Even though the game is fun in its own way, at launch there just isn’t enough about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to make it anything but mid. Hopefully given time, it will get new content but all we can do is wait and see.
A copy of this game was provided to App Trigger for the purpose of this review. All scores are ranked out of 10, with .5 increments. Click here to learn more about our Review Policy.