I have been addicted to playing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre game since it launched into Xbox Game Pass on the 18th of August, so much so that I have dumped around 50 hours into it so far. Having a pretty good grasp on how and how not to approach the family, I thought I’d share some general tips for playing the victim. Developed by the same team that brought us the Friday The 13th game which is soon to lay to rest, Sumo Digital has done a slap-up job putting together another Dead By Daylight competitor. The setup is three killers versus four victims and makes for a nice change of pace from the other asymmetrical horror games available which of course means different tactics and tips which I’ll go over from my own experience with the victims, next!
Play Your Role
Right out of the gate players have access to five different victims; Julie, Sonny, Ana, Leland, Connie, and they each come with their own abilities that demand a different approach in tandem with the other victims. Connie’s ability for instance is ‘Focused’ and allows her to quickly open a locked gate in a matter of seconds. ‘Life Saver’ is Leland’s ability and allows you to shoulder barge and knock down members of the family and Sonny is capable of tracking any nearby noises with his ‘Heightened Senses’ ability. All of these of course come with varied cooldown periods so don’t be too hasty with that right bumper.
You aren’t allowed to double up on the same character, so you won’t be able to have four Connie characters running around unlocking gates super-fast. Everyone must play as a unique character, that is why it is so important to know your character’s strengths and weaknesses and play to them accordingly.
I’ll list each character as simply as I can below. These tactics/tips can vary depending on whether or not you are playing solo with randoms or with friends.
- Connie – She’s your locksmith. Utilize her. There’s no need for someone like Leland to take ages opening a locked gate when Connie can do it in seconds. When starting in the basement, try to find a toolbox and grab yourself two lockpicks. Then, find a door and unlock it, DO NOT open it, as this awakes Grandpa. Go and grab another lockpick and then go back to open the door. This is helpful as it saves you from having to try to avoid the family members and find another lockpick when you get out of the basement. Connie isn’t great with combat and the best play with her is to stay hidden and stay quiet. The most important piece of advice for Connie is to make use of her ‘Focused’ ability at the right time. It’s counter-intuitive to use her ability right off the bat to get out of the basement only to find yourself in a pinch later on near an exit and in dire need of it, trust me, it happens. Sometimes obviously your hand is forced but, it’s a useful skill to save for the final locked door.
- Julie – Comes built for stealth and can make a quick final dash for an exit with her ‘The Ultimate Escape’ ability which temporarily reduces her stamina drain. Of course, this is best saved for one last sprint toward an exit but can be useful when caught in the middle of a bad situation. Being built for stealth, a good option with Julie is to find and keep a bone knife handy as you can stealth-attack an unsuspecting family member and give yourself or a teammate some much-needed breathing room. She doesn’t pack a lot of strength, however, so maybe leave the generator kicking to Leland. With the right perks and depending on your build, she can be quite handy with unlocking things. She’s no ‘Connie’ that’s for sure but with my current build she’s become my go-to if Connie isn’t available.
- Sonny – Could prove a useful asset to any team of victims trying to escape Leatherface’s clutches. Equipped with his ‘Heightened Sense’ he can inform his teammates if there’s any nearby movement around an objective you are heading towards. Being the second strongest member of the group he’s also well equipped to tackle the generators blocking and exit or barging down doors in a hurry. He doesn’t pack a lot of stamina so, you’ll want to keep out of eye-shot. I haven’t completely worked Sonny out to his fullest as of yet, but he has his place in a well-organized group.
- Ana – Sits most in the middle-abled out of all of the victims. She’s a decent all-rounder and can molded to preference with some attribute placement (we’ll get into that shortly) so she’s not to be sneered at. ‘Pain Is Nothing’ is her unique ability and lets you take less damage from falls and attacks for a short period of time. It also grants you immunity from Sissy’s poison. Ana is one best to mold toward a specific category I find. If you want her to be stealth-focused like Julie, put your points there, or dump them in strength if you’re planning on doing most of the team’s heavy lifting.
- Leland – The strongest of the group is a great treat until you realize he comes at the cost of being able to do well… just about anything else the others can do efficiently. He’s big and strong and not much of a stealth fan but he’ll be handy to have around if a family member stands between you and the exit as his ‘Life Saver’ lets you barge an enemy, knocking them down and stunning them for a short period of time, giving you time to make an escape. Leland is best to play once you have a grasp on the basics, and then some. Personally, I would always keep a bone knife handy playing as Leland because when paired with his large stamina bar, makes him the perfect person to venture in and stab grandpa or help out a teammate in need with a shoulder barge, as he can put a lot of distance between himself and his enemies and fast. Again, like most of the other victims, Leland’s ability is one best kept for a crucial moment. I’ve had multiple encounters where I think I’m on the home-stretch, only to be met by the Hitchhiker hiding in a bush next to an exit gate and, being able to barge him out of the way and escape is handier than you think!
Generally, just try to work with your team as best you can, get to grips with one character at a time, and learn what they can and can’t do. Make sure to play around with the skill tree and allocate your attribute points as you see fit and don’t forget to upgrade your character-specific ability too, as and when you can. Pick two or maybe even three characters right off the bat that you like the sound of and work on those. You must all play as different characters so you might end up with the short straw sometimes, as Connie and Leland are quite popular among players at the moment. You don’t want to spend your entire free time backing out of lobbies because you’ve only been leveling up one character. Have a couple you can switch between so you’re not caught short.
General Tips/Tricks
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is quite an intense game, I can’t sugarcoat it. Especially when you first dive in, it can be hard to work out what to do or where to go. Arm yourself with the knowledge that you are going to die, die again, and die A LOT before you start feeling like you are getting anywhere with it. You might have a couple of flukes and pull off a super cool escape without understanding how (trust me, I did) but you’re not going to be strutting your stuff during the first few games. Enjoy the horror and the tension and just take it easy and you’ll have a much better experience, Dying is part of the learning curve, it’s no biggie.
Thankfully I’m still here and I’m going to try and help you keep the death and the stress to a minimum with some key points that I learned with my time so far;
- Grandpa – He can be fed by the family and will show your position to them when he screams. Keep a knife handy and stab him, taking him out of action for a brief period of time. Try to avoid letting the family get Grandpa up to level five, as then you have nowhere to hide and if he does, you aren’t left with a lot of options and the family will hunt you down quickly. Ideally, you need to stab him to reduce his level as it becomes nearly impossible to navigate with him in this state.
- Hiding – Don’t be afraid to stay still, very VERY still. Even when it looks like a family member is heading in your direction, they most likely haven’t spotted you and you’ll be perfectly fine. Try to stick to the shadows as much as possible and of course, turn off the many lamps located around the maps (they can be trapped too) as these make for some very dark spots that make you almost invisible.
- Distractions – You’ve got your lockpick, and found a door to leave the basement but it’s going to be noisy, so what is the best approach? Time your approach. If you spot a teammate being chased around, it makes for a perfect time to make your next move. You can even get doors unlocked and leave them shut, timing them with your team to open multiple doors at once so the killers have multiple alarms to tend to, causing them to spread out. You DO NOT want to have all four victims piling into one exit door, it’s a recipe for disaster.
- Choosing An Exit – If you aren’t sure what exit to head for and are still figuring out a plan of action but run past a valve handle or a fuse with no intention of opening those doors, just pick them up anyway. You never know what can happen within the next minute and you might find yourself chased down a well back into the basement right next to the tanker that requires a valve. Of course, if you have a plan of action and already have two items collected, this doesn’t apply but, it’s a good tip to keep in mind and has led me to escape a few times.
- Starting The Match – While tied up on hooks at the very start of the round, the killers will still be watching their introductory cutscenes, Don’t worry about making noise here, so long as you spam the X/Square button as soon as the round starts, you’ll be off the hook rather fast and the killers will be none the wiser.
- Know Your Enemy – What works for you in one match against Leatherface, Cook and the Hitchhiker might not work against Leatherface, Sissy, and Johnny as they all have different weapons and abilities. Adapt your playstyle and tactics depending on who you are up against and plan accordingly.
- Covering Ground – This kind of ties in with the “Choosing An Exit” point. If you stumble across a fuse and find yourself near the fusebox with the necessary tools to get it open and fixed, then you might as well get it fixed! This will open the basement exit which could help teammates out who are still stuck down their being tormented but always provide a beneficial distraction for you above ground. Using the fuse or valve exits isn’t usually a viable option if you’re the person powering them up unless you know for sure a killer won’t be able to get between you and the door. The safest bet is to open it (provided you can do so quietly) and use it as a distraction.
- Character Respec – If you’ve been leveling up a character but want to try out a different one, but also don’t want to start from scratch you can respec any points earned and stick them on whichever character you please.
- Watch Out For Traps – Hitchhiker loves to put traps in front of the most important objects. The generator, batteries, and valve handles are usually this killer’s favorite pick. Keep your eye out so you don’t stumble into one and keep a knife handy, as you’ll need one to disarm it, especially if it’s in the way. Sissy can poison the victim’s pickups, such as valve handles, fuses, and yes, the health pots. Your best bet is to avoid health pickups above ground where she starts in the match unless absolutely necessary, as these could be poisoned and she’ll have a rough idea of where you are if you pick one up.
- Look After Number One – Survival is a team effort, but if there’s one person not cooperating, getting in the way, and generally just making a little too much noise, leave them to it, the family will find them sooner rather than later. Sometimes the other victims can be more dangerous than the family members themselves. This can also be a benefit to you if a player is proving to be a nuisance as they quickly become a distraction.
- Exiting The Basement – Opening basement doors will make noise, awakening Grandpa and alerting the family to your location so it’s a wise move to unlock a couple of doors and open them at the same time with a co-ordinated team to add a little bit of confusion to the families approach. They can’t cover all the basement doors at the same time. This is of course if you don’t have noisy teammates who wake Grandpa up before you get this far.
- Running For An Exit – You’ve made it as far as the generator and need to make a break for the exit but it’s all the way at the end of the Family House’s driveway. Take your time here, don’t start sprinting up the driveway straight away. Try to keep out of sight for as long as possible and save your stamina for when danger is approaching. It’s suicidal sprinting towards the exit as soon as you kick the generator off, as a well-versed Leatherface will quickly catch up and put your dreams of escape to an end. Sprint only if necessary.
- Builds – If a character doesn’t jive with you right off the bat, you can play around with attributes earned within the skill tree and mold them as you see fit, within reason. Need Leland a bit stealthier or Connie to pack more of a punch? Check the skill tree. It’s worth noting you don’t have to start fresh, as you can set up multiple builds for one character and switch between them in the pre-game lobby.
- Know Your Exit – If you’re about to try to get a lockpick out of the box, turn a generator off, or anything else that requires being within sight, know where you’re going to run if the worst happens. If you notice a hatch near a lockbox, get it open before searching for a lockpick. It’s no good trapping yourself in a room when Leatherface is running around the halls.
Good Luck!
There we have it. Hopefully, I’ve covered enough here for you to get a grasp of it a little better and if not to avoid death, maybe I’ve at least helped prolong the inevitable. You can keep up to date with all of the goings on for Complete Xbox over @CompleteXbox on X (formally known as Twitter) and should you wish to keep up with the many gameplay videos and screenshots of this game that I shall continue spamming the timeline with you can catch me over there @BERSERKER_THiiS. All the best and happy surviving!