Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Technical Test Impressions

When I saw the announcement that a Texas Chainsaw Massacre game was coming out, I was definitely intrigued. I had always been a fan of the classic movie and, as soon as I saw the game, I immediately thought of Dead by Daylight. From what I played, it seems I wasn't super far off, but there are key differences that make this asymmetrical multiplayer game feel quite different than other similar games in a much better way.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre - We Keep It in the Family

Booting up the game, I was treated to a small introduction and then plopped into the main menu. From there, I was given the choice of playing as "Family" (Killers) or "Victims" (Survivors). The Family's ultimate goal is to kill the Victims before they escape the map, while the Victims need to unlock doors and open escape routes to survive, while also running away from the Family. Each family member has a different special ability, like setting traps or enhanced hearing, while the Victims can sprint. Both Family and Victims also have loadouts, skill trees, and aesthetics can be customized, though I didn't have access to these during the test.

If you think this sounds like Dead by Daylight, you are correct, but this is where we diverge from the pack.

Starting with the Family, there are 3 of you against 4 Victims. This means working together to kill off the opposing team is essential. As you run around the map, you will constantly have to unlock and lock doors, making it harder for them to escape, as well as check places where they could be hiding. While doing all of this, you will have to feed "Grandpa" blood that you can find in buckets around the map or by slashing the enemy. If you keep feeding blood, "Grandpa" will eventually bestow perks to you that will give you new abilities, like the ability to see enemies through walls.

As the Victims, your goal will be to escape, but it won't be like fixing a generator. Most actions you will use to escape, like finding lockpicks, will require you to balance searching with the noise level you make. This means letting go of the interact key or pressing it in shorter intervals so you don't alert or wake up "Grandpa". You will also be able to interact with certain objects to escape the Family that some can follow through, but not all. You will need to unlock doors and interact with specific spots to find one of the couple different ways to escape the map entirely.

The gameplay loop of Texas Chainsaw Massacre is fantastic though. As someone who loves Dead by Daylight, I loved the changes to both sides which made each match go faster and feel more exciting. I also like the visuals. The brighter colors don't take away from the horror of being chased by a bloodied mad man. I see a lot of potential with the game and I was left wanting to play more. But, playing on the Steam Deck may need a little bit of work.

Massacre On the Go

Playing Texas Chainsaw Massacre on the Steam Deck didn't start off on the right foot, but it started to get a little bit better. At first, there was no option to change any video settings in any menu, so it was stuck at Ultra quality with 20 - 25 framerate on average. But, once I got in the actual game, I was able to change the settings and make the game significantly more playable.

At medium quality settings, the game was able to hold 30 FPS pretty nicely at around 18W drain. This held strong for the most part, only dipping when I was close to the killer and was being chased. I did try to change this to low quality, but the game looked horrible. I could have gone back and changed more settings, but the game still drained around the same amount, so sticking to Medium was the way to go.

Concluding Thoughts

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an exciting asymmetrical multiplayer game that not only caught my attention, but left me wanting more. The Dead by Daylight-esque gameplay that has been modified to be faster paced and more cooperative had me enjoying each match and feeling much more engaged. As Family, I had a blast going after the Victims, setting traps, locking doors, and feeding "Grandpa" the blood he so craves. As Victim, it was cool being able to run around more and not be stuck to a single spot, trying to avoid and come back over and over.

On the Steam Deck, Texas Chainsaw Massacre has some ways to go, but with it being mostly playable at 30 FPS on medium settings, I feel confident that this will change in the months leading up to its release. With some slight optimizations, a solid 30 should be achievable and maybe even 40 or 50 could be reached.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre will be released on Steam on August 18th and you can wishlist now!

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