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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Game Announced

Written by Ryan Noble

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre… Heard of it? Of course you have!

This classic slasher franchise has been going since 1974, putting unsuspecting teens head-to-head with the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface and his disturbing family for almost 50 years, and now… it’s getting the Friday the 13th: The Game treatment (although hopefully without the unfortunate lawsuit).

Gun Interactive—known for their work on bringing Jason Voorhees to the world of asymmetric horror multiplayer—are working with Sumo Digital's Nottingham studio to do the same for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, just announced at the The Game Awards 2021 event.

Here’s what we know…

Welcome to the family.

For starters, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game will use asymmetric gameplay in a new way. You might assume, like I did, that the asymmetric gameplay would feature a certain number of players trying to survive—called Victims here—against one singular killer, likely Leatherface. Well, we’re wrong.

Just like in the films, The Family is as important as the hulking lover of human face masks, and the team promises a “deep metagame and progression system [that] give you the tools to pick your place at the family table.”

We don’t yet know how this will apply to gameplay, such as whether you’ll be able to control multiple members of The Family at the same time to catch and kill Victims, but we do know that multiple Killers and family members will be available, including all-new members created specifically for this game.

Here’s what Ronnie Hobbs, creative director of Gun, had to say:

Working with Kim Henkel has obviously been incredible. He has placed an extreme amount of trust in our team to deliver an experience that matches the tone and authenticity of the legendary film he helped create all those years ago. In order to accomplish this task we felt it was paramount to focus on the one key aspect that separates Texas from most any other horror franchise in existence. This is of course the Slaughter family itself.

You see, Texas doesn't feature a singular killer. Texas is different. Texas is all about family. The Cook, the Hitchhiker, and Leatherface all have specific jobs to do and roles to play. Without each other, the family simply couldn't exist and operate efficiently for very long. So when it comes to creating a multiplayer horror experience based on this film, we knew the family dynamic had to be a top priority. How they interact, how they work together, and how they all have specific strengths and weaknesses would be the basis of the killer experience.

Of course, it was quickly apparent that we would need additional family members in order to create the type of team-based multiplayer experience we were after. As interesting as The Cook, Hitchhiker, and Leatherface are, three killers simply wouldn't be enough to sustain the game for long periods of time. We needed more. Luckily, Kim Henkel came through again to help us solve this issue. Kim had several ideas for additional characters that never made it into the 1974 film, but ultimately he allowed us to create new Slaughter family members on our own. This level of trust meant the world to me. I knew each new family member had to be unique and memorable, while at the same time looking like they belonged. To put it simply, they needed to stand out, but not in a negative way. While I can't discuss specific character details, I can say a considerable amount of time and work went into crafting each of the new killers. Each one took well over a year from start to finish, and it's an aspect of the game that myself and the team is quite proud of.

Well, I don’t know about you, but that well and truly got my motor running.

All you need to know, right here.

For all the future updates on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game as they happen, run screaming to Horror DNA, or give the game’s official Twitter a follow. If you feel like embracing the hype further, head to the game’s official website where you can learn about the team’s considered approach to every aspect of game development, currently focusing Conceptual Sound and Authenticity.

One final word: Gun Interactive, for all you do for lovers of classic slashers, you can wear my face anytime.

Click images to enlarge.

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