Texas Chainsaw Massacre Review | Family Reunion (PC)

Welcome back! Grandpa is hungrier than ever in the full release of Gun Interactive’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre! Featuring new killers and victims from the closed beta, we finally get to see the full gruesome picture. Overall, it’s been a rough release with bugs and glitches galore but rounding into its first major patch, we see the glory of gore return! Featuring the newest additions to the family, Johnny, and Sissy along with the latest survivor, Julie. 

As you escape the family’s home and slaughterhouse, you’ll learn a stunning set of skills. We’ve updated each character with memorable outfits from films and adaptations. And as a contestant in the ever-popular Dead by Daylight, it serves as a better torch bearer than its predecessor Friday the 13th. Unfortunately, with the product being so similar in the margins, it’s left with limited content that leaves us begging for more! 

Importantly, when it comes to the fun factor of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there’s little else to say than whether you’ll love it or hate it. There’s a fair amount of accessibility in what you do, however, team communication and collaboration are key, something not easily achieved. Fortunately, with the addition of crossplay, there will always be a game to join in this new horror survival title!

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is available now on PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and Steam!

Story – Game of Cat and Mouse

Texas Chainsaw Massacre allows the player to carry out the deeds of the titular leather face and his demented family. While partially based on true events, they have been greatly fictionalized in order to bring action and horror to the franchise. While the disappearance of Julie leads her friends to search for her, the family waits eagerly. Like flies to honey, the friends find themselves captured, tortured, and forced to escape. Unfortunately, while the teens seek freedom, their captors hunt them like dogs fresh on the scent of a kill. They are unyielding, unfathomable in their cruelty, and furious in their resolve to kill you.

In these events, we are able to see a double narrative of thought through the eyes of true trauma. Both as the victim, and as the aggressor, we are offered a window into the mindset of such evil actions, and how to overcome them. It is through the decisions of the players, in how thorough or careful they are that they find themselves truly immersed. Through the blood and gore of fantasy, Texas Chainsaw Massacre remains memorialized for the sake that it is realistic Cruelty. That being said, it is a realistic cruelty that can be overcome through human nature, and the will to persevere!

Welcome to the Family – New Killers

There are two new additions to the family as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre comes out. These two younger members of the family offer Leatherface more versatility in how he handles his victims, and offer the player new abilities! Johnny and Sissy enter the game to add a tracking option and hallucination effect to the game which makes it more unique to experience. Each was removed from the closed test but has had ample hype since they were teased.

Johnny is the first of the two new additions, granting the player the ability to track footsteps. When paired with Cook’s hearing ability, or Hitch Hiker’s traps it makes finding opponents incredibly easy. Unfortunately, Johnny is a large combatant who can’t navigate the area the same way hitchhikers can. His use of a knife makes him have limited range, and his stamina can be kind of crumby. Johnny appears to be a stereotypical young adult sporting a tank top and jeans, however, he is a volatile psychopath. 

Sissy serves as the most fantastical of the family as she comes from a background of cults and narcotics. She spends her time using a special form of hallucinogen in tandem with a chant that confuses victims into acting as though inebriated. Sissy is a young adult woman who wears dresses and attempts to be as sweet as possible. However, when paired with her knife she tends to cut those who let their guard down to pieces. She is powerful on her own or with Hitchhiker as she can force players into his traps by reversing the movement path you input. 

The Friend They Sought – New Survivor

Julie is the newest addition to Texas Chainsaw Massacre‘s survivors and acts as a great addition to the game. With her ability to have a burst of extreme stamina and speed she can leg it away from the family with little difficulty. In canon, she is the reason why the other survivors came in the first place as they sought to find her. During closed testing, Julie was the only survivor. Her surfer-girl attitude is refreshing, and it’s wonderful to see her still around in some capacity. Her outfit consists of a tank top and shorts, with braided hair that is both practical and comfortable for someone trying to escape.

Gameplay – Run, Kill, Survive!

Texas Chainsaw Massacre offers the player two unique game loops across multiple characters and two maps. The gameplay is objective to play as killers, which have the honor of chasing survivors, and the victims who seek to escape. In this, seven players will have to enact a 3 versus 4 matchup where survivors attempt to outsmart their captors. In doing so, you’ll have access to tools, skills, and your ability to hide in order to keep you safe! Each member of the cast has their own unique abilities and strong suits that can be vital when used in a team setting.

While Texas Chainsaw Massacre offers the player a fair amount of customization in character skins and skills. The game has a limited number of maps and characters, which is sure to leave the player wanting more, which is unfortunate considering how good it has the potential to be. Where this game falls short is in the content matter, it feels relatively short and one-tracked. That being said, though the ride is the same, through each person we see different lenses in completing the same goals!

Killers – Grandpa’s Hungry

Playing as the killers will leave the player with the task of catching four escapees with their two allies. One player will be Leatherface while two others take on the role of family members. While hunting their opponents, they must also collect blood to feed Grandpa which will make his tracking ability more potent. It’s important to note that as killers, your teammates are greatly important as their individual tasks can keep survivors on the map. The newest additions of Johnny and Sissy grant the player more unique abilities from simple padlocks and traps, and the chainsaw sprint on Bubba is deadly. 

Along the way, you’ll have access to traps and means of obstruction that will keep the victims from leaving the property. It is your ultimate goal to capture and kill these victims before they can escape, if not Grandpa will become angry. Make sure to set traps, use padlocks, track their sounds and movements, and ultimately chase them down. By coordinating as a team you can keep the victims from living another day working alone, and you risk their escape!

Victims – Dying Day

While playing as the victim, you will be forced to escape the grueling torture of the family. There are multiple means of escape, from the basement to the front of the property. In your way are your captors and the twisting maze of hell they’ve created to stop you. Additionally, their demented nature left the properties derelict and broken, forcing the players to fix the problems. With their wits and unique abilities, the young adults in the game are forced to endure, stand strong, and survive. 

No matter who you choose, you’ll be forced to work with your team in order to make it out alive. Working by yourself will result in capture but there are things you can do to ensure survival. By crafting tools and bone picks you can overcome your attackers and incapacitate Grandpa. You’ll have to deal with the worst humanity has to offer through clever hiding and deception. Are you going to get chopped up, or will you live to tell the tale?

Beware the Family’s wrath

Technical Issues – A Late Start

In its completed state, Texas Chainsaw Massacre was hard to get initial footage and gameplay of. With a lack of players and glitches in their anti-cheat system, they had a long way to go. Gun Interactive fixed most of these issues in the first patch, leaving only one. Try Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a crossplay game, expand the player base, and experience a new horror game. Like Dead by Daylight, but with a new world and new maps to explore, it’s bound to be fun!

Best Aspects – Personal Favorites

Honestly, the best part of Texas Chainsaw Massacre is it’s dedicated subject matter. The limitation in itself is a gripe, however, with the sterilized landscape and lack of outside forces from other franchisees, it feels organic. My main issue with games like Dead by Daylight is the sheer amount of extra content that panders to whatever makes it relatable. In Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there is a grounded sense of realism that makes the game feel more at home and like the movies. It has its niche, and it pays homage to it well!

Gameplay-wise, the claustrophobic angles and unique traversal paths of certain killers make the game feel more unique. It’s a definite jump scare when one of the other killers that isn’t bubba finds you, and as a killer yourself playing as Bubba is a power trip. Wielding a weapon like a chainsaw makes the player feel powerful, and makes the victims intimidated. So with explosive force, you can move forward slaughtering your victims with utter brutality! Though every killer has a unique way of handling the difficulties of escapees.

Beautiful scenery and ambiance

Graphics – Clever Space and Lighting

One of the things that Texas Chainsaw Massacre masters in its production is lighting and spatial clusters. The entire game feels as though you are in a hoarding nightmare dreamed up by the demented family. You feel the effects of a turned-on light or a dimly lit path as it can mean life or death. The depth of view and colors give you a sense of dread and instigate an unease which is perfect for keeping both sides of the game alert. Danger can lurk around any corner, and for that, the clever graphics and use of limited lighting is both remarkable and brilliant!

Although the game has an incredible amount of graphical overhaul and good lighting, there’s still a sense of darkness. Even though Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a horror game, its gore isn’t drab. Killing and murder are brutal, so they’re treated with respect. Increasingly, the only trouble is that you’re on a movie set, not in a crisis scenario. Because of this, it’s a lot more approachable and grounded, making the game sort of relaxing. 

Audio – Improved and Integral

One of the main complaints from the preview of the game was the annoying use of the chainsaw. Toning down just enough that there is no longer as much offensiveness to it. That being said, sound plays part of the main mechanic of the game as footsteps and rattling can attract players to each other. Two players have hearing-based Abilities, one per side, and the constant background ambiance offers an uncanny feel to the game. 

-source: Rubhen925

The difference in sound between the basement and the house or outside gives you a true sense of openness. In the cramped cellar, there is a sense of hopelessness and dread that follows you with the sound of rustling dirt and bone traps. Echoes of the chainsaw, very loudly heard throughout every facet, adding to the anxiety. Using a mix of brutal ambiance and serene nature they create a sense of true horror. It all adds to the ambiance of fear that helps propel this game into A+ value!

Texas Chainsaw Massacre was reviewed on PC, with a key provided by Evolve PR.