Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Game – The Cook Gameplay Tips

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Game branches out and gives players the chance to try out other characters instead of the iconic Leatherface. The Cook is one character that was available during the Beta and he comes with some interesting nuances. All the killers in this title come in distinct categories that are each associated with their abilities. In the cook’s case, his main ability is seek. This ability enables the cook to see through walls and locate victims who are sneaking about by listening. Just like the hitchhiker, the cook excels in hunting down victims and licking away their HP.

Besides Grandpa, the cook is the elder sibling of the Slaughter Family. Therefore, he’s a seasoned veteran of the hunt. He has ways to manipulate the map and help funnel victim players into certain directions. His listening abilities aren’t all-encompassing. If you take the ‘eagle vision’ in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, for example, players can see everything around them instantaneously through a push of a button. In the later games, while scouting areas with the eagle, players need to zero in on a particular area and shrink the cursor until it reveals something. The latter is basically how the cook’s listening mechanics work.

On top of that, he can only spot a victim from a certain range. At least, by default. He moves pretty fast, but he’s not as nimble as the hitchhiker, for sure. So, he can lose victims pretty easily during a pursuit. The only way to rectify this is by utilizing his abilities, which is locking up doors. Now, every map comes with doors that have latches in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Game. So, instead of wasting a padlock on these types of doors, simply use the latch. Only save padlocks for doors that don’t have latches.

The Cook’s Abilities

So, whenever hunting survivors, always be sure to lock doors as much as possible. Of course, this can also get in the way of the killers, so be mindful of how to do this. Padlocks can also be removed by the cook and placed elsewhere if needed. Additionally, this is a pretty permanent feature. The victims can’t remove these locks, except Connie. This is depending on whether or not her skill is on cooldown. So, if done correctly, the cook can trap players in key spots on the map, with no other way to escape.

To start, the cook comes with three padlocks to use. This can go a long way if players are smart and distinguish between doors with latches or otherwise. Locking doors is a handy way to bottleneck victims and even slow them down. He can also kick certain crawl spaces and cause the hatches to fall down. Which will limit a victim player’s way of escape. In a way, the cook is very much a “trapper” in his own right. Just from a different angle in comparison of the hitchhiker.

The Cook’s Attributes

Now, when it comes to the cook’s attributes, he definitely comes with the worst endurance out of all the killers. He can only swing his weapon a few times before becoming winded. So, he’s not a good fit to chase down victims out in the open. Instead, trapping them like rats is the way to go. His Savagery is pretty high, right next to Leatherface and Johnny. Even though his attacks are slow and consume stamina, they can do quite a bit of damage. Despite the fact that his weapon of choice is a broken broom handle.

When it comes to Harvesting, the cook is among the best. He can collect blood for Grandpa at a really high rate. With the cook, players can max out Grandpa’s radar abilities pretty early in a match. So, the cook is essentially all about highlighting victims to assist the other killers. He works as a recon, of sorts. With both him and Grandpa at their full potential, the victims will have no escape. Use buckets around the map to collect blood whenever possible to upgrade Grandpa. Of course, attacking victims will help the cook obtain blood more efficiently.

The Cook’s Skills

So, the skills tree in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Game is a semi-permanent feature. Players can unlock certain perks within a skill tree that all interconnect to acquire a certain build. These can be reset if a player feels dissatisfied with their character. As for the cook, it is recommended to add some extra locks to his inventory. This will enable him to lock down entire segments of a map, causing victims to panic and get sloppy. Thus, don’t forget to experiment with his perks.

All the perks in this title are fundamentally universal. With the cook, the obvious choice is to upgrade the ‘Hurt Pride‘ perk. This will enable his endurance to recharge 30% faster for 5 seconds. The thing about perks in this game is that they can be upgraded through Attribute Points. Up to three perks can be equipped with every killer. Which is a good way to tweak some of their weakness. So, with the cook, focus on his endurance and stun recovery. This will let him stay on the tail of fleeing victims and not get so left behind.

Conclusion

The cook in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Game will be an acquired taste for many gamers out there. He’s more subtle with his approach toward pursuing his victims. He is more in the ‘support class’ when it comes to his role in the field. He can do some damage with his attacks, but he’s best used to help funnel victims in certain areas for other killers to take out. The full version of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Game will be available for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC on August 18th.