The Texas Chain Saw Massacre may have to pay tribute to its sequels to stand out from the pack

‘Sally, I hear something… stop… stop…’

Gun Media has reiterated the release date for its upcoming The Texas Chain Saw Massacre — noting that the down ‘n’ dirty multiplayer title will launch August 18 on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X as well as reminding Xbox Game Pass subscribers that they will be able to dive into the action day one.

Adapted from Tobe Hooper’s magnificent 1974 picture, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre will pit a party of hapless survivors — all hippie hair and booty shorts — against the terrifying Sawyer family, consisting of members either directly pulled from, or inspired by, Hooper’s seminal horror classic.

The survivors, (or “Victims” to use the game’s lexicon), will be required to complete objectives and gather key items from several recognizable locales while staying one step ahead of family members The Cook, The Hitchhiker, and, of course, the horrifying, chainsaw-wielding Leatherface. All new original characters, including “Johnny” and “Sissy”, have also been created to… flesh out the roster of cannibalistic killers.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is clearly hoping to carve itself a piece of the assymetrical horror pie established by titles such as Behavior Interactive’s Dead by Daylight and Illfonic’s Friday the 13th: The Game. These releases were, in turn, followed by Illfonic own Predator: Hunting Grounds, Saber Interactive’s Evil Dead: The Game, and the currently in-development Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

*chainsaw revving noises* do you guys hear that too?@txchainsawgame is coming Day 1 to Game Pass pic.twitter.com/jJVAm0cVen

— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) April 21, 2023

It’s admittedly something of a risky proposition, given that Dead by Daylight has all but completely cornered the market on multiplayer horror movie mashups, but developer Sumo Digital will be looking to capture the distinct (and suspicious) flavor of the original movie to provide an experience that — aesthetically at the very least — will be quite unlike its contemporaries.

My curiosity for this plucky release is piqued, just add Stretch as a playable character, (complete with Caroline Williams providing the voice), and I’ll be buzzin’. I think, for the title to have legs among its kin, it might have to paint itself as a full tribute to the entire franchise, eventually adding locations, characters, and “skins” (no pun intended) from the film’s scattershot sequels, spin-offs, and remakes.

But I’m perhaps jumping the gun a little. Let’s get the title through the steel-shuttered door first.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre launches August 18 on PS5, PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Game Pass. A “technical test” is currently scheduled for May 25.