When is the Texas Chain Saw Massacre game release date? We played the TCM tech test recently, and if you weren’t already aware of Gun Interactive’s Friday the 13th successor, then you might be here following the social media popularity of the beta. Unfortunately, there is still a painful wait until the release date – some might say akin to being left on a meat hook – but we’ve got all the gory details you need to keep anticipation high.
The asymmetrical horror game is a booming genre right now, with the popularity of Dead by Daylight resulting in other franchise-themed killer versus survivor games like Evil Dead The Game and even Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed. But you may also know of the ill-fated Friday the 13th game, which is now just a few deserted private servers thanks to licensing issues. The reason we’re telling you all this is that the upcoming The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is made by some of the minds behind F13, so we know we’re in for a good – if terrifying – time. Keep reading if you dare for everything we know about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre release date, gameplay, trailers, future betas, and more.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre game release date
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre game release date is Friday, August 18, 2023. The game is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series consoles. Given the success of the recent tech test, this is quite the wait, so we’re hoping for another open beta in the meantime.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre story
Naturally, the game is based on the classic 1974 film, so you might think you know the story of the game already. You’d be partly right, as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre features the movie’s family, including the Hitchhiker, Cook, and Bubba himself, faithfully recreated. However, the victims are an all-new cast of characters, and there are two new killers, too.
Our story starts with a cut scene of the chase and subsequent death of Maria Flores, who – as the voice-over tells us – is a young university student who has disappeared, and her sister, Ana, has gone looking for her. Ana is one of the four playable victims, while Maria’s body, sadly, can be found in Bubba’s basement during gameplay.
The rest is as you’d expect from a Texas Chainsaw story – four teenagers are trapped in the family’s house and have to do everything they can to escape, while three of the killers try to hunt them down – and, thus, we have The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre gameplay
In case you’re new to the asymmetrical genre, we’ll start with the basics first. If you’re a hardened vet, jump ahead to the next paragraph, because you’ll know this bit. From the launch screen, you can choose to play as either a killer or a victim, and each of the lobby’s seven players is a real person. Choose your victim, and you and your teammates will go head to head with the other team, the family. We recommend playing at least a few matches of both to find which side you prefer to be on, and knowing the other side’s abilities will help you in your own methodical plays, be that as a killer or a victim.
Choosing to play as one of the members of the family, you must seek out the victims and kill them, simple as that. Each killer has their own unique ability. For example, Cook isn’t the best killer and he’s quite slow, but he can listen closely for noise and seek out victim locations. Leatherface, meanwhile, is undoubtedly the best killer – well, since Grandpa is out of action. Speaking of the old guy, Grandpa makes a cameo in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and is one of the best bits about it. Sitting in his chair, Grandpa spawns somewhat randomly on the map, and the family must feed him blood to trigger his own ability, all while keeping an eye out for those pesky victims. Voice chat is key to success when playing as a part of the family.
Entering the game as a victim, meanwhile, you start in the basement where you are tied up. Wiggle free and explore the area for the tools required for your escape. Unlock tools allow you to open doors and gates, bone scraps let you tackle any killers that get too close, and medicine bottles heal you up. Aside from Grandpa, one of the best things about this game is its realistic health system. If you’re injured, you can’t just magically patch yourself up – instead, you’re always bleeding out. Medicine simply slows the process. While keeping an eye on your health (and the killers’ whereabouts), you must try and escape through one of four exits, either using the fuse box, water pump, generator, or car battery. Get out alive, or die trying.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre trailers
There aren’t many trailers showcasing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre just yet, but the unrated gameplay trailer further up this page gives you a pretty good idea of how terrifying it will be to survive the family. The voice lines from both Cook and Hitchhiker demonstrate how loyal the game is to the original film, and, yes, if you recognize that voice, Edwin Neal does reprise his role as the young Hitchhiker.
Other videos on the official Gun YouTube channel include the official soundtrack to slaughter, and the The Old Slaughterhouse video above gives you a glimpse of the vast Slaughterhouse map – our favorite map from the tech test.
Watch the next one with caution, as the Kills trailer shows off the kill animations by each of the five killers, including new characters Johnny and Sissy. The latter’s is quite beautiful, if you can call it that, as she cradles her victim’s face in her hands while singing to them softly, perhaps an insight into her personality.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre betas
There are currently no scheduled betas for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The tech test that took place in May is now over, but hopefully there will be more open betas between now and the horror game’s release date. The tech test was so successful that the developers extended it by 24 hours due to popular demand, and with over two months until we’re reunited with Leatherface, there’s plenty of time for more beta testing – we’ll let you know as soon as anything gets announced.
That is everything there is to know about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and we’ll be adding more information to our guides hub as we get closer to the release date. In the meantime, some of our other favorite survival games might help with the wait, and if you really can’t wait to get impaled on a meat hook – weirdo – take a look at where Leatherface fits in our DBD killer tier list, as well as our Dead by Daylight codes, as that’s another game that takes a lot of inspiration from Texas Chainsaw.