Last Updated on Aug 29, 2026 @ 18:32:13 PM.
For the longest time, horror fans have been waiting for a true-to-character SAW game, after the previous two iterations were… less than. Albeit they featured characters from the titular franchise, they weren’t what the fans were looking for. Now, SAW: Genesis looks to put that right.
In a surprising move, Bloober Team, responsible for the incredible Silent Hill 2 Remake and Cronos: The New Dawn, has set the game one hundred years prior to the events of the films, meaning an appearance of John Kramer is unlikely, similarly to the rest of the cast, but that makes it all the more impressive that it feels like a SAW game, despite the time period change-up.
A 3v1 asymmetrical multiplayer game where three survivors have to escape from the grasp of the Judge, who is responsible for crafting the puzzles and traps in front of those trying to escape. Each map is procedurally created, so no two runs are the same, and each judge is different with different benefits and effects that’ll affect how to gameplay unfurls. Different Judges can do different things, and during my hands-on playing as one of three Accused, I felt the terror of what it was like to be chased by one of them.
The Accused are supposed to work as a cohesive group, trying to escape from the clutches of the Judge who hopes to admonish and teach them a lesson through bodily sacrifice. If you want to escape, you’ll do what’s necessary – the core component of what John Kramer attempts to teach his victims over 100 years after these events.
Each match opens with the three Accused locked in a room, having to unlock their shackles and move about the procedurally generated map, trying to find and complete challenges to escape. All the while, a timer is ticking down in the top left of the screen, ticking down second be second to what ends up being a grizzly demise. If you don’t escape by that timer end, it’s game over for you and the team.
Luckily, or unluckily, if you like, you can extend this time through sacrifice, which in essence means you give up some health in return for extra time. This can also result in you finding weapons or tools, both of which can be used against either the Judge, as he walks around the map attempting to kidnap and trap you further, or in the case of tools, used to damage instruments, open others and more.
While you’re trying to complete two challenges, effectively mini-games, to escape, you’ll have the Judge looming above you, planting traps and making your life difficult, doing his best to stop you completing your objective in some of tje most gruesome ways possible. If he does sneak up on you, he can drug you and carry you away to a trap, something longtime SAW fans will be familiar with. Mechanical contraptions demanding you lose a limb, appendage or something else entirely, you’ll have the hard choice of making the sacrifice and somewhat disabling yourself as you continue, or bank on your teammates turning up to help before the bloody Endgame of the trap occurs. The choice quite literally is yours.
This was an Alpha build of the game I played, so there’s likely lots more to be added, including more Judges, Accused, tools and more. The procedurally generated maps may have more variation in the final build, but in the two matches I played, the map was largely similar, with challenges effectively being ‘find three of…’, and then taking them to a central area to progress. The environments do look great, and the gore is true to form for the franchise, but I do hope there’s more variety in that regard, and map selection itself.
All that said, the teamwork aspect is unique to the genre, and makes it a real weakness to try and go it alone. That’s a guaranteed way to lose and everyone die. And there’s nothing quite like hearing someone screaming that they’re being hunted by the Judge, or his Accomplice, and expecting you to be able to do anything beyond running for your own life.
Once I got to grips with what was expected of me during my time as the Accused, I have to say I enjoyed myself immensely. The horror aspects, the puzzles, the traps and the gore are all top notch, and really feel like you’re being transported into the world of an industrial revolution version of the SAW universe, albeit the absence of John Kramer hits about as hard as it did in the awful eight film in the franchise, but as time goes on and more is revealed, I think we’ll think less about that and more about the absolute panic you feel as you’re desperately trying to escape the archaic and awful games the Judge has crafted for you. By the end of my preview, it had turned into a cacophony of bloodcurdling screams, swear words (both at one another and the Judges, played by the experienced devs), and an odd sort of glee you only find in the most tense horror games.
The genre is stacked, and each competitor of Dead by Daylight has fallen by the wayside over the last ten years, but there’s something about SAW: Genesis that, with some polish, shows it could offer an alternative to those players wanting to get involved in the asymmetrical scene, but not want to fight against 10 years of lore and experience that Dead by Daylight represents. Plus, the head-splitting cinematic you see if you fail never gets old.
What do you think of SAW: Genesis so far? Let us know in the comments below!
For your next read, check out our review on Resonance: The Plague Tale Legacy, or our tips and tricks you’d wish you knew before playing the game.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
