Saw: Genesis is a Compelling New Take on Asynchronous Horror Multiplayer
Set nearly a century before the films, Saw: Genesis turns the franchise’s iconic traps and moral choices into short, intense online multiplayer matches.
You'd be forgiven if you never played or heard of the official Saw: The Video Game developed by Zombie Studios and published by Konami in 2009 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Generally speaking, it wasn't well-received, but the newly revealed Saw game seems far more compelling.
On paper, the franchise premise seems like a natural fit for multiplayer horror, but Saw: Genesis is not simply taking the brand and applying it to a familiar killer-versus-survivors structure as you see in games such as Dead by Daylight or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Instead, Broken Mirror Games and Anshar Studios are building a 3v1 online horror game that tries to capture the specific psychology of Saw: planning, pressure, manipulation, and consequences.
Published by Bloober Team and developed in collaboration with Lionsgate, Saw: Genesis is set in 1920s England, nearly a century before the events of the films. Rather than placing players directly in the era of Jigsaw, the game introduces the Judge, a precursor figure shaped by the aftermath of the First World War.
In each match, one player takes on the role of the Judge while three others play as the Accused, a group of kidnapped characters trying to survive a shifting maze of trials.
“One player is The Judge,” a developer spokesperson explained to me at Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles. “They’re the master of the location, moving around, observing, creating situations, preparing traps, isolating the accused, and striking when the time is right. They have access to different perks and tools, such as even an accomplice NPC, that can help you move around to orchestrate the entire situation.”
That framing is key to what makes Saw: Genesis different from many other asymmetrical horror games. The Judge is not designed to be an unstoppable brute. The role is built around preparation and misdirection rather than raw strength.
The developer compared the fantasy to playing as Jigsaw himself: someone who wins by shaping the environment, controlling information, and forcing victims into impossible situations.
“It’s like playing as Jigsaw,” the developer said. “He needs to go for planning pressure and not brute force. He's the weaker side, in terms of physical strength. The accused can actually fight back, win, and kill him.”
That totally changes the expected rhythm of the genre. In many asymmetrical horror games, the killer or monster is a dominant physical force, and the survivors are largely focused on evasion, stalling, or completing objectives under pressure. Saw: Genesis keeps the pressure, but shifts the source of power. The Judge is dangerous because of what they have prepared, not because they can simply overpower everyone in a direct confrontation.
“One of the major differences between Saw and other asynchronous horror games is the vulnerable enemy player,” the developer said. “In other games they’re usually unkillable, but here you’re actually quite vulnerable and must use your cunning and preparation to punish the accused players.
On the other hand, we have the accused. They’re trying to survive together and are experiencing the constant pressure of time, the constant pressure of the judge, and they need to explore to complete challenges to gather equipment, coordinate, and finally escape. Each character has a set of perks and differences, so they need to win via cooperation.”
Each character has their own perks and differences, making cooperation central to survival. According to the developer, the goal is not only to escape the Judge but to survive the chaos of a match where the environment, objectives, and player behavior can shift quickly.
“There’s also the rehabilitation trap, which is an iconic part of Saw,” the developer said. “A lot of the game hinges on that, so these are situations players can be put into in which they must do something like sacrifice a body part, which could severely limit them for the rest of the round if another player doesn’t help them.”
The rehabilitation traps appear to be the clearest example of the team translating Saw’s cinematic identity into multiplayer systems. These traps are not just instant fail states or scripted gore moments. They are meant to create gameplay consequences that can reshape the rest of the match. A player might survive a trap, but at a lasting cost that affects how they play afterward.
The developer gave the example that in one scenario, you may end up cutting your character's hand off, but that doesn't end the game or result in a fail state. It continues. Instead, you have to live with the consequences and still try to escape.
Check out all of the intricate details they put into their booth design at Summer Game Fest as well. I almost expected someone to ask me if I wanted to play a game:
Saw: Genesis is releasing first on PC via Steam with an Early Access window targeting Fall 2026. Sign up for the playtest here, which starts in early July.
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