Asymmetrical multiplayer games are a recent phenomenon that has given horror franchises new life in the gaming world. Instead of having to balance a character fairly, they can finally be the juggernaut found in their cinematic universe. This has worked fairly well, especially with Dead by Daylight merging various franchises, but it can also be somewhat stale. However, the same can’t be said about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Instead of having a single unstoppable force, it ups the ante by giving both sides a team with set objectives to complete. It’s an innovative idea that works perfectly with this particular franchise. With so much to look forward to, does it cut down the competition, or does it fail to stand out?
For better or worse, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is strictly multiplayer. As a result, some unfortunate negatives strongly impact the early game. One of the biggest is how gameplay is explained.
It’s… Better than Nothing
Instead of forcing players to learn the mechanics from a set level, something Evil Dead the Game did exceptionally well, there are video explanations for many topics. As nice as it is to get an explanation of how each character is supposed to be played or how objectives work, it fails in an area this genre typically struggles with. Those who want to play will never watch them and blame the game, with the hardcore players seeking out advanced information elsewhere.
Not only will videos turn some players off, but it also makes learning somewhat frustrating. You’ll likely lose, make mistakes, along with play with others in the opposite situation which can make matches lopsided. On a high note, these issues are not exclusive to the victim side, as a family has similar considerations.
Genuinely Creepy Experience
While these issues will impact the first couple of hours of play, the gameplay experience is surprisingly deep. Since The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has two different teams, both sides have different objectives to complete.
At the start, victims will be in the basement with Leatherface. This can sometimes result in quick deaths, especially if the Leatherface player is experienced, but outside of that, it’s a game of cat and mouse to collect resources, disarm traps, and stay alive.
Where The Texas Chain Saw Massacre succeeds is giving players a sense of dread when performing most actions. Very few options can be performed without making a sound, so there is a constant battle of risk/reward. All of this will occur while one of the players is actively hunting you down and revving their chainsaw.
Teams with enough skill to escape from the basement will have additional challenges to overcome. Instead of having a singular threat in a small location, multiple threats will be spread over a wide area. Even this part of the match is interesting, as competent family teams will disable pathways or establish traps to slow you down. Likewise, incompetent teams can greatly assist victims by leaving doors open or simply forgetting to rearm traps.
All of these little things coming together is what makes the experience great. Not to mention small things, such as each character’s unique specialty. It isn’t enough to know how your character works; you need to know what another one can and can’t do if you want to win. This will give the experience a robust life, assuming the experience is adopted long-term.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Review Verdict
[Editor’s Note: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was reviewed on PlayStation 5, and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.]
