Chainsaws have been part of video games since their earliest days, and with Evil Dead The Game just dropping, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre game later this year, and the unstoppable invasion of Warhammer 40000 video games, this year alone is already jam-packed with them.
We're taking a look back at this gnarly power tool's prolific video game career. The chainsaw in DOOM Eternal kicks ass, but to get there, it underwent many iterations from the original rip-and-tearer in Doom and Doom II: Hell on Earth. Doom 64 gave it a stupid/cool redesign, Doom 3 gave it a funny backstory, and DOOM 2016 gave it a badass nickname. Other shooters like Quake and Unreal Tournament also added chainsaws. The Lancer from Gears of War gave a new meaning to the term "chaingun," and with Gears 6 almost definitely in the works, we'll soon be revving up a next-gen model on Series X.
Meanwhile, on the horror front, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre game from the same developers as the 2017 Friday The 13th game is only the second official game based on the 1974 Tobe Hooper horror movie classic, but Leatherface has been all over. Dead By Daylight featured the killer as DLC, and he also made a special Halloween appearance in Call of Duty Warzone.
Mortal Kombat 11's roster might be more Netherrealm-focused, but Johnny Cage isn't the only Mortal Kombat movie star: Leatherface also did some horrifying chainsaw fatalities in Mortal Kombat X, and Ash Williams of Evil Dead and Army of Darkness fame was heavily teased, but sadly never got to join the fight.
Evil Dead The Game is only the latest of Ash's many video game appearances; he joined Leatherface in Dead By Daylight, the mobile game Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff, and Valve's Poker Night 2. And that's not counting the numerous Evil Dead video games. Evil Dead The Game's gameplay is co-op action survival horror (that can be played single-player offline) but the series has tackled classic survival horror, hack-and-slash action, tower defense, and even infinite runner (in virtual reality, no less.)
Of course, we can't forget Resident Evil 4, which has some of the best chainsaw moments in video game history, so much so that it got chainsaw PS2 and GameCube controllers. Since then, Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil 6, and Resident Evil 7 Biohazard have all featured chainsaw-wielding, bad guys. We haven't seen any Resident Evil 4 remake gameplay yet, but if the leaks and rumors are to be believed, when we finally do, Dr. Salvador the chainsaw-toting Ganado will be looking more terrifying than ever.
Warhammer 40000 introduced chainsaw swords 35 years ago, and since then they've shown up in countless (at least, more than we feel like counting) video games. They'll definitely show up in the upcoming Warhammer 40000: Darktide, Warhammer 40000: Shootas Blood and Teef, and Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2, and there are likely a few rattling around in Warhammer 40000: Chaosgate - Daemonhunters even though those guys seem more into energy weapons.
And hey, we haven't even scratched the surface. Rockstar Games went chainsaw crazy 20 years ago, starting with a blood-soaked bathroom in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that was the location of a secret weapon, and as a boss drop in the later levels of Manhunt. The chainsaw returned for GTA San Andreas, as well as Vice City Stories and Liberty City Stories, but was cut for Grand Theft Auto 4 and 5. GTA Online has added all sorts of ridiculous weapons and vehicles, but no chainsaw. Maybe it'll return for GTA 6?
Speaking of ridiculous weapons, several Saints Row and almost all the Fallout games have had chainsaws, but it's easy to forget since you're also able to equip rocket-powered sledgehammers, flamethrower katanas, farts in jars, and big floppy purple, um. Bludgeons.
FromSoftware's Souls games don't have any power tools, let alone chainsaws - Bloodborne, on the other hand, has multiple saw weapons and multiple chain weapons, but sadly no chain saws. If you want a Soulsborne with chainsaws, you're better off with The Surge.
If you're still reading this, you might just be better off watching the video, because there are a LOT of chainsaws in video games. We didn't even touch on the non-violent chainsaws in various lumberjack simulations, such as Lumberjack Simulator or Lumberjack's Dynasty, and then the most family-friendly all-ages chainsaw of all: the adorable decorative one in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Which, unfortunately, can't actually be used to cut down trees.
