Faisal Ghaffar 
An ode to the genre of horror movies, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre comes with the same promises and joy associated with some friends getting ready to spend a weekend in the woods. The game will take you anywhere around 20 hours or so, but the beginning is not as smooth as you would expect and there are technical issues as well.
Similarities and differences
In some ways, the Texas Chain Saw Massacre is very much like other asymmetrical horror games. A group of four elusive teenagers find themselves being hunted by three powerful murderers. You will find yourself hiding from bad guys that cannot be killed, engage in mini-games for doing things, such as picking locks and turning on generators or deal with quick-time events.
But, you will also find that the game comes with some differences to set it apart from its peers. The biggest difference you will find here is there is not just one psychopath chasing a group of survivors; an entire team of psychopaths bands together for entrapping and eliminating their quarry. It remains lopsided, as there are four victims and three killers, but it has a big impact on the asymmetrical horror recipe.
This is due to the fact that both sides need to communicate and have to work together for achieving victory.
Cooperation
Things are quite balanced in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre because the team of killers is just marginally more powerful and also outnumbered by the teenagers they are hunting. When it comes to open conflict, these baddies remain un-killable and are likely to take down their targets. However, since all that power is not concentrated in just one psychopath, cooperation becomes essential for pulling off a win regardless of which team it is.
This certainly makes things more interesting than usual. There are useful yet modest abilities given to each member of the murder-loving team. For instance, there is a useful vision detective mode that allows Johnny to track footprints. Likewise, the victims have also been granted some unique ways to fight back. For instance, Sonny has the ability of marking members of the murdering team, so everyone can see them through walls.
Technical issues
Unfortunately, even though there are certainly some good ideas to be found, there are also technical issues that bring them down. The biggest technical issue you will come across is when a murderer and a victim are in close proximity and engaging in combat. This is when there is a drop in the framerate and this makes it frustrating to play because there is a possibility you can lose track of someone you are running after. The game also disconnects midway and error messages keep on popping up.
The good news is that every match brings some back-and-forth, where survivors are looking for a way to escape the death trap they are in and murderers are trying to turn up the pressure until their captives are eliminated.
The Verdict
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre certainly has a new take on the asymmetrical horror format, but it needs to work on the technical issues to become truly good.
