The actual name of this game is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It has been given a different title on this page for disambiguation from other works of the same title.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a video game developed by Wizard Video Games and released for the Atari 2600 in 1983. The game is based on the first film in the franchise. The player takes the role of Leatherface and must murder trespassers in a large field while avoiding obstacles on the field.
The game was considered one of the most violent games in existence at the time of its release (if not the most violent of all time even by modern standards) and as such, many stores did not stock it on shelves. Any that carried it would keep it behind the counter and offer it upon request.
Tropes featured in the game:
- Crapsack World: The field is full of cow skulls and empty wheelchairs leaving one to wonder what possibly could have happened before the game begins.
- Endless Game: The game only ends when the players uses up all lives.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: When someone is murdered in game, their appearance becomes a dismembered body lying in a pool of blood, making it one of the most violent video game death scenes of all time.
- Gory Discretion Shot: The image of a murdered victim was the single most violent video game image of all time when the game was released! The only thing that makes it less worse is the fact that it's an Atari 2600 game with pixelated graphics.
- Literal Ass-Kicking: When Leatherface loses a life, the screen goes black and a girl runs up and kicks him in the behind.
- Video-Game Lives: Represented by gas tanks on the screen. The player loses a life when they run out of gas for their chainsaw. Killing five victims earns one extra life.
- Villain Protagonist: You play as Leatherface and the object of the game is to kill other people.
