Yesterday, Gun Interactive announced in blog post that they would be taking a drastically different approach to asymmetrical horror in their upcoming multiplayer video game, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which will feature 3 versus 4 gameplay structure. In the blog post, Gun Interactive’s President and CEO Wes Keltner further explained the team’s decision to stray away from the traditional asymmetrical multiplayer structure that implements only one killer against many survivors, stating, “We never want to make the same game twice.”
Gun Interactive first worked with the asymmetrical multiplayer structure in their 2017 game, Friday the 13th: The Game, where Jason Voorhees was the sole killer against seven camp counselors. In The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Gun Interactive wants to give the killer slight advantage by adding two more killers to play alongside, explaining that “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 “Family” that Gun Interactive refers to is Leatherface’s family of cannibals who work together to trap and torment their captives. Since The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is based on the original 1974 film of the same name, Gun Interactive is working hard to keep the game as close as possible to the movie franchise. This means implementing a multiplayer gameplay structure that replicates the family dynamic between Leatherface and his relatives.
“The team at Gun have always taken a “franchise first” approach to the titles we work on, every design decision being made with that franchise in mind. Said simply, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is more than just Leatherface, and the asymmetrical structure should reflect that.”
Although there hasn’t been much information yet regarding which of Leatherface’s relatives will be making an in-game appearance as playable killers, it’ll be interesting to see how the three killers versus four survivors gameplay will feel for players from both killer and survivor teams.