Not only do we have a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie to look forward to (it reaches the Netflix streaming service this Friday, February 18th), but there’s also a Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game that’s coming our way from Gun Interactive (the company that previously brought us Friday the 13th: The Game) and Sumo Nottingham. We’ve heard that, just like in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie (watch it HERE), Leatherface wouldn’t be the only killer set loose on “victim” characters in this game – in addition to his family members The Cook and The Hitch-hiker, the game’s developers have even created new family members for players to choose from. In the latest update, Gun Interactive has now revealed that multiplayer games of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will be pitting three killers against four victims – very different from the set-up of the Friday the 13th game, which has Jason Voorhees hunting down seven counselors (plus Tommy Jarvis, if he gets called in).
Gun Interactive’s Wes Keltner said,
Everyone at Gun prefers to innovate and push the genre forward. How do you do this? Well, when it came to the design of Texas we knew that 3vs4 was different. All the mechanics and features are built around this fundamental rethinking of asymmetrical multiplayer. Additionally when you look at the ‘74 film, you’ll note there’s an entire family to deal with, not just Leatherface. So it felt natural to have three killers chasing victims. … We love a good challenge, and there are massive amounts of balance required to make three killers feel and play uniquely, while still providing exciting gameplay. When you have three killers and four victims running around a gamespace, you spend a lot of time on level design. Creating shadows and items to hide behind, mixtures of open rooms to move slowly through, while hallways become natural choke points that players can move quickly through to find the next hiding spot. With three killers chasing you around, it can be overwhelming. It was also our responsibility to assure that each level creates exciting moments drenched in terror, but ample spots to catch a reprieve and make your next move.”
The article on TXChainsawGame.com adds that
3 v 4 was the structure the team found most enjoyable for the experience in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This match structure allowed us to keep the Family feeling powerful, but not overpowering and the Victims feeling somewhat helpless alone, but dangerous if organized. The asymmetrical aspect in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre became a part of the moment to moment design of the game, more than just a bullet point in a design document.
Gun and Sumo’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game is “an asymmetrical multiplayer horror experience for PC and ninth generation gaming consoles”. Fans can follow TXChainSawGame on Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for news and to interact with the community.
I’m not much of a gamer, but I have played a lot of Friday the 13th matches against just one killer and that can get intense at times. Having to deal with Leatherface and two of his family members in every match of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is going to be crazy. I can’t wait!
Kane Hodder is doing the motion capture performance for Leatherface in this game, just as he did for Jason in the Friday the 13th game. He has hinted that the actors doing motion capture performances for the other killers have a history with the Chainsaw franchise.