Review Round Up: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Almost a month on from the release of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, we’re loving seeing players and critics alike get their hands on this terrifying 3v4 asymmetrical horror game!
We’re so proud of everyone both in our team and over at publishers Gun Interactive who have put their all into bringing a truly authentic experience to life in a game of stealth, shadows and survival.
Here, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite reviews of the game. Read more below… if you dare!
“a horrible treat that just keeps on giving” - The Guardian
To really set the scene for this game, our team worked tirelessly to recreate iconic locations and characters from the original 1974 film, and their hard work truly paid off! The Guardian’s Keith Stewart called the game ‘perfectly replicated’ and embraced every frightening moment, saying: “[What you get is] an incredibly tense, scary, jump scare-filled face-off between the hunter and the hunted. TCM makes brilliant, knowledgeable use of the film’s setting, characters (several of whom are voiced by actors from the film series) and general atmosphere.”
“When you hear that chainsaw revving, it's like nothing else in horror” – GameSpot
Audio Director Ross Tregenza worked closely with the team at Gun Interactive to create a soundscape that would haunt even the most seasoned of horror fans. Determined to transport players to the world of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, they even managed to source the same vintage make and model chain saw used in the film. GameSpot’s Mark Delaney said: “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre plays, looks, and sounds like its team holds the source material in the highest regard. Faithfully transposing the film's signature terror into a modern multiplayer game is a feat on both ends. […] As one of the year's scariest and best-designed experiences, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has reset the bar for multiplayer horror games.”
“A thrilling horror homage” – PCGamesN
Back in 2020 when we revealed to the team that our next project would be The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, our fantastic flock of fear fans couldn’t wait to get stuck into a genre they loved! Having collectively watched the film thousands of times, the team wanted to create a horror game to satisfy fans of the genre. ‘Asymmetrical horror girly’ Danielle Rose of PCGamesN said: “Gun and Sumo’s homage hits the mark. Whether it’s the sun setting over the Slaughter family house or Cook’s gas station at dark, the landscapes provide the perfect backdrop to hunt or be hunted.”
“Intense and genuinely frightening” – Bloody Disgusting
Our team must have played The Texas Chain Saw Massacre over 5,000 times either against each other in early playtests, against other Sumo Digital teams during a Demo Day event or even against players once it got out into the world, but even after all that time, they still get scared by a figure in the shadows, the revving of a chainsaw or being chased down the long driveway to freedom – that’s how we knew we’d made a truly scary game. Bloody Disgusting’s Brandon Trush said: “It’s not as simple as running in circles – you need to crawl, shimmy, sometimes gambit making loud noises that give away your position in exchange for a quick getaway, and all of it feels not only like a success of asymmetrical horror, but an homage to the feeling I get when I watch a Texas film.”
“Perfectly captures the atmosphere of the 1974 movie” – The Gamer
Despite the story that unfolds in the film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is not a slasher movie filled with blood and murder, it’s an atmospheric pressure cooker of tension to unnerve the viewer! Our team were keen to recreate this unsettling feeling and players like James Troughton of The Gamer enjoyed narrow escapes and bloody ends: “[But] in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the thrill of breaking free and outwitting the family is every bit as engaging as shoving a chainsaw through someone’s stomach.”
“a terrifying experience that will haunt players for a long time” – PC Invasion
Whilst we might be able to play through a game or watch the original film and still be able to get our full nights of beauty sleep, not all players are so used to the terror of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. PC Invasion’s Matthew Kevin Mitchell said: “With its intense gameplay and faithful representation of the movie’s essence, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre game is a prime example of how a horror franchise can be transformed into a successful gaming experience.”
We hope you’re enjoying playing this game as much as we loved bringing you this eerie experience.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is now available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X consoles, Steam and Game Pass.
For more information on the game, please visit: https://www.txchainsawgame.com/
You can follow The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on Twitter/X, Facebook or Instagram, and join in the conversation on Reddit.
For technical support, please visit: https://support.txchainsawgame.com/hc/en-us
For all review code and key requests, please visit: Terminals.io.
