The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – the game – has a lot of players learning that it’s a competitive experience with a twist of horror and universal terrors. You’ll be playing in the same environment as the beloved movie and have to escape from the iconic Leatherface.
Gruesome and fun, the game is all about survival, which we’ll be discussing in great detail in our guide.
Before we get started, we do want to let you know about great deals going on for Xbox Live Gift Cards.
2 Factions of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Oh, and we almost forgot to mention that you’ll have to choose between two main factions in this game:
- Victims (who we’re covering)
- Leatherface’s family
We’re going to cover how you will transform the victims into survivors with top-tier tips that will help you overcome the many challenges that await you.
Always Talk to Your Teammate
Teammates are crucial to your success or failure in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. If you’re not working with members of your team, you’re bound to fail.
So, what should you do?
- First and foremost, you want to leverage Discord to speak directly to your teammates. Voice chat is one of the most crucial aspects of competitive gaming. Of course, you can choose any voice chat app that your team prefers.
- Next, you need to discuss with the members of your team what each person’s role is when playing. We’ve seen some teams have a sole person who brings healing items and becomes the “dedicated healer.”
- Communicate your needs throughout the game so that everyone understands that they can rely on each other.
Utilizing voice chat apps may feel uncomfortable at first, especially if you’re an introvert who doesn’t prefer to talk to people. But if you learn to communicate well, your team will appreciate it, and you’ll have a much easier time surviving.
Beware of Chickens
Chickens seem innocent. And while it may seem like walking up to them and interacting with them is not harmful, it is. You won’t need to worry about a chainsaw-wielding chicken, but you will need to be concerned about the noise they make.
Clucking and cage-rattling will alert the family of crazies following you that something is amiss.
If you run and hide, you won’t be noticed. Only the chicken is marked, so someone will come out and scout out what’s going on with the chicken. Make yourself scarce and you won’t get killed in the process.
Imminent Danger If Your Screen Turns Orange
Orange screens mean danger. If you’re playing for the first time, you may be taken aback by the orange clouding your screen.
What does it mean?
One of the Family members is in the room next to you. Jump on your Discord and ask for help because you may be on your way to being massacred.
Also, don’t just stand around, even if you call for help.
Escaping should be your top priority.
Beware of Grandpa Leveling Up
Grandpa may seem feeble and weak, but he is an adversary that you need to keep in check. What you need to do is:
- Find the bone piles and pick up the Bone Scraps
- Locate Grandpa and attack him
Why?
You’ll decrease Grandpa’s level and keep him from leveling up. However, you’ll want to be very cautious at this point because the Family will be running in to help Gramps. Attack and escape. Keep up this tactic and you’ll survive to see another day.
Stay Quiet in the Early Game
The early game is a little cumbersome. You’ll need to sit through the highlighting of the four objectives that you’ll need to meet to survive. Of course, the first objective is to free yourself from the room where you’re hanging with other Victims.
Spamming a button may be your first instinct, but it can cause more damage than it does good.
The Family won’t come after you immediately, but you will want to keep a low profile. Once you free yourself, the Family will begin to hear the noises that you make and will come to see what all of the ruckus is about.
Monitor Your Health During a Daring Escape
You’ll need to become an escape artist and learn your way around the environment. You’re trying to escape death, but that doesn’t mean that you want to kill your character in the process.
Before jumping out of a window or down a well, check your health to be sure that you the action will not result in your death. Keeping your health on the higher end is always good practice.
Always Look for Tools
Tools are a lifesaver for Victims, so make it a point to find them. You won’t be able to escape certain areas without them.
Lockpicks are one of the most important tools that you’ll need to get out of the basement or to unlock the fuse box.
Understand the Characters
In Texas Chainsaw Massacre, each character will have its own perks and unique abilities. It’s important to learn their abilities and how to use them in the right situations.
Connie
Connie has the Focused ability that allows her to crack any lock instantly. She’s the right choice for handling lockpicking jobs.
Julie
Julie is a stealthy character, and she’s perfect for making that last quick dash for the exit with her Ultimate Escape ability. It’s useful when you’re in a pinch, but best saved for the final exit.
Sonny
Sonny can tune into the surroundings and detect noise from nearby. He’s especially useful for any team members trying to escape Leatherface’s clutches.
Sonny is one of the strongest members of the group, so he can tackle the generators that are in the way or doors that are hindering your progress. Just keep in mind that he doesn’t have a lot of stamina.
Ana
Ana’s unique ability is Pain is Nothing, which allows you to take less damage from attacks and falls for a short period of time. She also gives immunity from Sissy’s poison.
Leland
Leland has the Life Saver ability, which allows him to knock down a family member and stun them (with the exception of Leatherface). He’s the strongest person in the group, but he’s more difficult to learn how to play.
Each character has their own ability that can help you escape. Make sure that you’re taking advantage of them.
Learn what each character can and cannot do, and play around with their skill trees. Allocate the attribute points as you see fit. Don’t forget to upgrade your character-specific ability, too.
Know Your Exits
Escaping the Family house is a complicated thing, but fortunately, you don’t necessarily need another Victim’s help to pull it off.
Once the escape mission starts, you’ll need to find a way to free yourself from your chains without making too much noise. If the noise meter reaches red, it will alert the Family that someone is trying to escape.
The first step is to find the Basement exit, which has a special white door. You’ll need a special tool to pick the lock unless a Family member leaves it open. As soon as you’re free from your chains, start looking for some tools to get out.
Escaping the Basement is just the first step. Once you get past that, you’ll need to escape another locked door to get to a place where you can really start escaping.
There are four ways to escape:
- Car battery exit
- Generator exit
- Valve exit
- Fuse exit
The first two exits will also require you to lock pick another door and stop the current. But the last two exits will be luck-based.
Car Battery
Escaping the car graveyard is necessary if you want to progress in the game. In the area, you’ll find a gate that’s electrified. To reach the graveyard area, you’ll need to head to the back porch and make your way inside from there.
Next, look for a car that’s connected to the gate. Turn off the battery to cut the power to the gate.
You’re still going to need a special tool to get the gate open, but once it’s done, you’ll be closer to escaping.
Generator
For the generator exit, you’ll need an unlock tool and search for a locked gate that has a big green light on it. Don’t touch it.
Once you locate it, you’ll need to follow the cable attached to the gate and locate the generator that’s powering it.
Interact with the generator to shut it down.
Head back over to the gate and use the unlock tool to open the gate and escape.
Valve
If you want to use this method for escaping, you’ll need to be quick. When you’re trying to escape from the Basement, you’ll see a sign pointing toward the valve door. But unfortunately, the exit will be blocked by a pressure valve pump.
At this point, you’ll need to find an object with a valve attached. Once you find the object, remove the valve and search for a big canister. You’ll need to attach the valve to the canister and start turning it until the pressure starts rising.
With the exit now open, you’ll need to make a run for it. If a Family member is nearby, they may repair the valve, and you’ll be doomed.
Fuse
The Fuse exit is fussy and complicated. You’ll have to go through a whole ordeal, all while keeping the Family at bay.
The first step is to find the fuse and fuse box. Remove the fuse with an unlock tool. The fuse box will need repairs, so open it up and position the fuse pairs in their appropriate places.
Once you find the right position, the numbers will turn green, and you’ll be able to escape.
Head back to the basement escape door before they automatically shut down.
Just like with the previous exit, speed is the most important thing here.
You’re Immune to Damage When Moving Through Walls or Falling Down a Well
If you’re crawling through something – like squeezing through a wall – or falling down a well, you won’t take any damage.
Family members may try to attack you, but you won’t take any damage as long as you’re stuck in the crawling or falling animation.
The only exception here is Leatherface. He can hurt you through walls because he can stick his chainsaw through wall cracks.
Divide and Conquer
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one exception where you should take the divide-and-conquer approach. No task requires the help of more than one person, and if you’re all grouped together making a lot of noise, you’re going to set yourself up for failure.
If a few of you are being chased around, the other Victim is free to pick locks while everyone is distracted.
Stock Up
As a Victim, you’ll be reliant on tools, potions and other things to escape. So, make sure that you stock up on anything you find, whether it’s bone knives, potions or screwdrivers.
Having at least a few items early on will give you an advantage later on.
Know Your Enemy
If you want to succeed as a Victim, you’ll need to know your enemy. If something works in a fight between Leatherface, Hitchhiker and Cook, it may not work against Leatherface, Johnny and Sissy.
Each enemy has a different weapon and abilities.
Make sure that you’re adapting your playstyle and strategies based on who you’re facing and make a plan accordingly.
Wrapping Up
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a fun game, and it’s awesome to be able to play either the Family or the Victim faction. But the game is designed to keep you on your toes, and some aspects take practice to master.
If you want more tips and tricks for playing Texas Chainsaw Massacre, check out streamers and gameplays on YouTube and Twitch to see playthroughs.
And if you want to explore more survival horror games, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Sons of the Forest.
