One game that I was excited about until the final logo reveal was SAW: Genesis. It was revealed at Summer Game Fest 2026, and it has a very interesting premise. Who influenced SAW? How did that person get turned into who he was? It is these questions that made me interested in the first premise of the game. However, the end logo revealed that it was going to be a 3 vs 1 multiplayer game.
I still decided to take a look after the reveal at Summer Game Fest Play Days. Unfortunately, we did not get any hands-on time with the game, but we did see a gameplay snippet of the game in action.
First, the staff on site talked to us about the game and what made it come about. Bloober team is a name horror fans are getting more and more excited about seeing. They handled the remake of Silent Hill 2 and provided an excellent display. They also managed to make a unique horror hit with Cronos: The New Dawn. They wanted to try their hand on the next rung of the horror ladder, which was the horror multiplayer experience.
Set Up
The year is 1920, and the First World War has just ended. There are two roles to fill in this game for multiplayer. One judge and three accused. The judge is someone messed up from the First World War and aims to rehabilitate the horror of humanity the only way he knows how, pain, agony, and sacrifice.
There are three accused whom the judge has kidnapped to rehabilitate them. The judge is generally frail and can’t actually go toe to toe with the accused, so he has to be clever in causing pain. He has rehabilitation devices set up where he can bring the accused.
For those wondering, but why do we need another horror multiplayer type game like Dead By Daylight? Anshar Studios had an answer; they wanted to make a different kind of experience. Instead of one massive guy that everyone hides from, you have the big bad be the one hiding, trying to trap and hurt those by isolating them.
Playing SAW: Genesis
Each playthrough is different as the map for each session is procedurally generated. There are rules set so that there are three special items the accused need to find before the judge dispenses his justice through pain.
Once the three accused find the three items, they can take on the challenge room. In the challenge room, the accused will need to solve puzzles together and decide how much of their health they are willing to spend to escape the dungeon.
To solve certain puzzles and even to escape the rehabilitation machine in which the accused are placed, they can decide to trust their allies to get to them in time or to lose their health or even limbs to escape it themselves.
A session of gameplay is meant to be 10-15 minutes long. If it runs longer than 15 minutes, the device attached to the accused heads will activate and smash their jaw into nothingness.
SAW?
Anshar Studios was just as surprised as most other individuals, seeing the trailer for the first time, when they were asked to make a horror multiplayer game about SAW. They decided to make it 100 years in the past so it won’t be the cold and calculating Jigsaw of the movies. The judge is the prototype of Jigsaw, and what inspired him to be the way he is. This also allows them to bring in more types of judges in the game. The one in the trailer is known as the Doctor.
Each judge and each accused will have different abilities they can utilize. We weren’t shown too much about the abilities, but the Doctor did have a vial he could throw at players to summon hallucinogenic monsters to attack the accused. They were a hallucination, but the monsters could still damage players and be damaged in return.
Going back to the judge, he has a different mission in the game than the accused. To deliver pain. He has an edge on the accused by having a map of the area, having corridors only he can access, as well as a robotic assistant that can help him carry the accused to the rehabilitation machines.
Escaping From SAW: Genesis
Overall, I do think SAW: Genesis will be an interesting game to keep in my sights. Having the main antagonist be only the strongest in resources, and nothing else, will make the vibe of this game different than the many other Dead By Daylight-type games out there. I always feel like the villain has the upper hand in most of these kinds of games, so it will be interesting if this is the way to balance out that power dynamic. Even if those kinds of games are not my cup of tea, I will continue to keep my eyes on SAW: Genesis just to see how it is received. I enjoyed the initial trailer even if I am still a little hesitant about how it all plays out from a gameplay and balance perspective. It may just be that I like playing single-player games above multiplayer ones.
SAW: Genesis is currently in development for PC via Steam. It is planning for an Early Access release in Fall 2026.
