Steam game Shockface gives the horrors of Saw a nostalgic PS2 makeover

Does anyone remember the boom of 'torture porn' movies in the noughties, with the likes of James Wan's original Saw, Eli Roth's Hostel, and Alexandre Aja's The Hills Have Eyes remake putting butts on seats in cinemas?

That genre was nothing new, with 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre arguably setting the stage for what was to come. Video games also went through something of a similar trend, although remember that Rockstar Games' Manhunt came out a year before Saw.

This kind of story largely dropped out of favour in both video games and movies, although Shockface is an upcoming Steam release that harks back to the polygonal psychosis of this era.

Shockface is the ultimate interview from hell

Shockface puts you in the shoes of Chelsea, a down-on-her-luck worker who really needs this job at the ShockFace Media print media company. While the office seems welcoming enough, things soon go awry when Chelsea attends an interview at this oddly sparse commercial office building.

Coming across inaccessible floors, broken elevators, and a parking lot that you could become trapped in forever, Chelsea soon realises this is an actual interview from hell.

As the night goes on, she has to continue exploring, following clues and solving puzzles to escape someone (or something) that knows the building far better than her.

Hoping to capture some of Alien: Isolation's horror, but with even less combat, you'll have to tuck yourself away and wait until the danger passes.

That's right, with no combat at all in Shockface, you'll rely on smarts alone to survive the night.

A suitably atmospheric trailer plays out like if someone put a '00s horror trailer through The Sims, but with Shockface playing up to its PS2-era graphics, it works.

Sure, the voice acting is more than a little hammy, and we don't think Shockface is going to win any awards for GOTY, but looking like a Saw video game if we'd got one back in the day, it's at least a fun way to pass the time.

With a planned release date of August 6, 2026, Shockface is available to wishlist now on Steam.

READ MORE: 18 horror games coming in 2026 and beyond that we already can't wait to play

The Saw franchise isn't dead yet

Of course, horror hounds will know Saw has had several attempts at video games over the years. Way back in 2009, Konami released Saw: The Video Game, which was set between the first two movies and received mixed reviews upon release.

Konami had planned to make Saw its next big horror franchise after Silent Hill, and although Saw II: Flesh & Blood released in 2010, the IP has largely been relegated to crossovers with the likes of Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Dead by Daylight.

That's set to change with Bloober Team's Saw: Genesis, which we've already got to play and described as being much more than just another DbD clone.

Saw is also due a resurgence on the silver screen, with Blumhouse now taking the reins and Wan returning to the franchise for the first time since Saw III. While we wait for all of that, why not give Shockface a go in the meantime?