#saw the videogame

[starrykatamari]

Saw Lore Contained Within SAW: The Videogame

Hello! My name is Kris and today I am going to be going over all the lore bits you can find through collecting case files in the third-person action game that was made for the Saw franchise. I will only be covering the actual plot of this game very briefly, since it is basically just a gap filling narrative that ties into the movies.

I will be making a second post for Saw II: Flesh & Blood, the second third-person action game made for the franchise.

Walk with me! I wanna play a game...

TW: Sui mentions, descriptions of canon-typical violence, drug use mentions, basically it's about Saw so be careful I love you.

The first game is set directly after the first movie-- detective Tapp has been kidnapped and treated for his bullet wound, and now he has to play one of the Jigsaw Killer's games in order to let go of his obsession. Along the way he runs into some familiar faces and ultimately either ends up admitted to a mental hospital (I know. It sucks. I know I hate it too.) or taking his own life in his apartment.

There are some fun nods to some of the more popular traps in the Saw franchise– those will be included and labeled as well throughout the post. Disclaimer: I will not be covering any material that is not directly relevant to the movie franchise this game is based on. If it’s in the game and you don’t see it here, it’s skippable, I promise.

WARNING: Both this and my next post about Saw II: Flesh & Blood will be LONG. Settle in for the ride and enjoy the lore!!

Quick note before I really get into it here, and really just a fact that I personally really love: the main menu screen of this game is a 3D render of the bathroom from Saw (2004). If you navigate to the audio options menu, adjusting the volume of any of the settings causes the sound of chains rattling and someone (likely supposed to be Adam due to the dialogue used) shouting things like ‘let me out!’ or ‘I didn’t do anything!’. It’s both a hilarious and ineffective way of presenting this.

Trap Reference: The Reverse Bear Trap

Tapp wakes in a bathroom (note that this is simply a bathroom, and not the bathroom) with a reverse bear trap on his head. That’s the reference– they blow that load literally right away.

Trap Reference: The Venus Flytrap

Here we briefly see someone killed by the same trap that was featured at the beginning of Saw II.

Going to take this moment to briefly touch on the fact that Amanda is in this videogame as a non-playable character. She is being tested (again, I know) and Tapp has to save her from her test. Suffice to say that her use here is boring, extremely out of character, and just a very thin grab at a character anyone would recognize. So I won’t be getting into any of her escapades here.

Trap Reference: Razorwire Maze

Just a quick walk-by scenery element, really, this guy behind a window seems to have gotten the ol’ Paul Leahy treatment.

Case File: Partial Medical File

This seems to be a partially redacted medical file on a patient whose name is not revealed. We are obviously meant to assume that this is in reference to John Kramer– it’s just the age that gives me pause. However, we’re meant to believe that man was fifty fucking two when he died in Saw III, so it’s probably just an inconsistency in the game.

“NAME: [BLACKED OUT]

PATIENT ID #: 825-361-3127

DATE: April 14th, 1998

CONSULTATION

DOCTOR’S NOTES - Upon initial assessment, [BLACKED OUT] presents as a well-spoken man with a firm grasp upon reality. Patient 34 years old. Married for 2 years. Wife 4 months pregnant.

Denies necessity of psychological treatment, but has kept appointment at the request of his wife, who insisted on visitation due to a concern over growing isolationistic tendencies. 

Patient displays high degree of verbal acuity and is very observant. Initial tests suggest a very high IQ, with an extraordinary ability to recall facts. [BLACKED OUT] expressed pride at his intelligence and knowledge. Exhibits need to point out the weaknesses in others. Insists the behavioral changes are that of his wife who “no longer understands” him.

Patient is polite and cordial, but non-compliant. Seems to take pleasure in obfuscating answers and attempting to trick questioner. Patient’s demeanor is calm and controlled. Shows disconnect with the emotions of other individuals and general lack of empathy toward humanity. Verbally expresses true affection for his wife and expectant child, but does not outwardly display so when discussing them.

After initial consultation [BLACKED OUT] does not feel a need for future visitations. Have scheduled a follow-up appointment with the option to cancel with 24 hours notice, just in case he changes his mind. 

Patient displays tendencies towards depression and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.”

Case File: Jigsaw Survivor Found

A newspaper clipping discussing Amanda.

“Until now, the Jigsaw Killer has never left anyone alive. Amanda Young is now the first and only known survivor of the Jigsaw Killer. Details about Young are forthcoming, and she has yet to make a statement regarding her capture.”

Case File: Jigsaw Survivor Speaks

Another newspaper clipping involving Amanda.

“‘He saved my life.’ These were the words spoken by Amanda Young, only known survivor of the Jigsaw Killer, at a press conference on the steps of City Hall yesterday morning. A police spokesperson stopped Young from revealing too much from the case, but let Young talk about what she felt during that desperate time.”

Trap Reference: Shotgun Collar

Pretty straightforward! This guy begs us to get the thing off of him and then it works as intended.

Actually, we see it again just after, but this time Jigsaw has knocked Tapp unconscious and put a shotgun collar onto him as well.

Film Reference: Adam’s(?) Camera

Pictured below, Tapp will eventually encounter a camera. Written above it is the phrase ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. Picking up said camera will give the player the ability to take a photo, activating the flash and illuminating the room for a precious few half-seconds. It’s a terrible mechanic in-game, and an obvious reference to Adam’s navigating his apartment using the same method in Saw (2004).

Trap Reference: Pendulum

Guys this one really boggles me / makes me quite mad, actually. This trap is an obvious reference to the pendulum from the beginning of Saw V. The blade is oriented at the opposite angle, though, meant to cut Jennings (a character who literally does not matter, trust me) long-ways rather than across, like Baxter. It’s a bastardization, but then I might just be biased as the resident Hoffman liker.

Case File: Negligence Leads to Officer’s Death

A newspaper clipping that is speaking about detective Sing’s death in Saw (2004), pinning the blame on Tapp for his rash actions.

“By Oswald McGillicutty

If it wasn’t bad enough that there is a killer out there mashing up taxpayers into itty bits, now we have the cops to worry about, too. To his own admission, Detective David Tapp completely disregarded process and went rogue, convincing his partner, Detective Steven Sing, to join him in an unwarranted entry to catch the Jigsaw Killer. 

Not only did they break into Jigsaw’s secret hideout without a warrant, but they didn’t wait for any backup either, probably hoping to get all the glory for themselves. Well, Jigsaw got the drop on them, slicing Tapp’s throat from ear to ear and nailing Sing in the top of the head with a double barrel shotgun. 

All of this was confirmed by witness Jeff Thomas, who was in one of Jigsaw’s little traps. He claimed Sing saved his neck, but when Tapp got sliced and Sing got blasted, good ol’ Jeff was stuck in the trap until help arrived.”

Case File: Decorated Detective Discharged

A newspaper clipping discussing Tapp’s discharge from the MPD– this one actually mentions Hoffman being the replacement for head officer on the case.

“By Oswald McGillicutty

Globe Staff Writer

Detective David Tapp, the lead officer in the Jigsaw Killer case, resigned yesterday due to unknown circumstances. The shooting death earlier this week of his partner, Detective Sing, is suspected to be a factor in the detective’s resignation, but Tapp could not be reached for comment.

‘Tapp was a fine officer and defender of the law, and we will miss him,’ was the only comment given by the police spokesperson.

Detective Mark Hoffman, a similarly decorated officer, will be taking over lead position on the case.”

Case File: Partial Medical File (2)

Another medical file seemingly written by a therapist in reference to, again, who we are probably meant to assume is John Kramer.

“PATIENT ID #: 825-361-3127

DOCTOR’S NOTES

[BLACKED OUT] continues to show up to appointments despite questioning need for psychiatric treatment. States that he ‘knows more about medicine and the mind’ than any of the staff. Mocks staff credentials and is often uncommunicative during therapy. Claims traditional psychiatric medicine fails patients by not offering them ‘real choices’.

Patient displays familiarity with psychological / psychiatric language. Patient states that he is well aware of his own childhood history and its potential psychological ramifications. Describes authoritarian, punitive father and absent, passive mother. Insists that his superior intelligence and self-control make childhood history of physical, mental and verbal abuse unimportant.

Patient denies history of his own violent and impulsive behavior, citing memory lapses. Our conversations reveal the [BLACKED OUT] often manipulates others for his own amusement. Patient shows no remorse at negative effects his behavior has on other people. Views others as objects / pawns.

Based on [BLACKED OUT]’s behavior and history, I recommend inpatient treatment. Patient refuses to consider this option.

Raise Haldol to 5 mg / twice daily. Raise chlorpromazine to 50 mg nightly.”

For those who are curious, ‘chlorpromazine’ is Thorazine, a medication used typically to treat conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. ‘Haldol’, or ‘haloperidol’ is also typically used to treat schizophrenia.

Film Reference: ‘X Marks the Spot’

Very straightforward, just writing on the wall instructing Tapp to find the ‘X’ that marks ‘the spot’. Clear reference to one of the tapes’ clues from Saw (2004).

And there you have it! That is all of the relevant lore and a few of the references to the films in Saw: The Videogame. My recommendation is this: if you are a Saw fan, please do yourself a favor and find a nice, no-commentary longplay of this game to watch. It’s hilariously bad, but if you’re a diehard Sawliker you might find some real good laughs there for you.

Thanks for reading, and look out for my post on Saw II: Flesh & Blood– I’ll probably start working on it right after this one is posted! The second game has MUCH more relevant lore about a lot of characters (some of which we don’t get much info on to begin with), so please stay tuned! I’ll link it in an edit of this post once it’s done.

Oh, and if you have any questions or anything funny to share in reference to this game, PLEASE don't hesitate to send me an ask! I'm basically a font of knowledge about these two spinoff games. :)

Have a good one! Remember to cherish your life! <3

EDIT: The post is done for Saw II: Flesh & Blood! Read it here!

[temporaltourguide]

so im going through saw the video game's files (so you're probably gonna see a few posts of that) and im just gonna post random models or whatever then probably eventually zip all the soundfiles and put them in a mega.nz folder

(fun fact, this game has a trailer for saw 6, anyway.)

pighead butcher

pighead robed

pighead warpig

pighead greed

pighead doctor

pighead cop

pighead sloth

pighead twin_a

pighead twin_b

[gazkamurocho]

Dangerous pink 💗 Based on this design by @kapperson

[grottomo]

Three's a party!!!

(Engie deserves to join in the fun, after all. Companion piece to this)

[jasonsbruce]

Bruce about John's killings. he really said code? what code? when it came to John.

[sparticus2000art]

I’ve been being a little insane about a new game recently, so I haven’t really made much art…

But!!

Fields of mistria has been super fun, and has super charming art, writing and characters, so I’ve been having a blast.

March is probably one of my favourites so far so I drew him with my farmer…

But if any of you guys like farm sims, it’s definitely got my glowing recommendation!

[kalmiaclown]

Hypocrite

[fernsensei]

i'm finally feeling better!!! here's victory v1

[wanderingaldecaldo]

📸@breezypunk | comm detes

Just got back my latest comms from Breezy and they're all so beautiful! It was hard to pick which ones to post first, but Val in green is always the right choice 😩

[bogkeep]

stars finally aligned for me to watch castlevania: nocturne and oh, i like it so much more than i expected to. i was dragging my feet because i gotta be in the correct Mood for dark and violent shows and i'm not familiar with the games and don't know any of the characters etc etc etc.

anyway. i don't usually have a lot of interest in vampires as monster in and of itself, the whole blood sucking thing just holds no interest to me - the one aspect i DO find very interesting is vampires as immortal former humans. what i like about the castlevania cartoons is that they have vampires from many different eras and cultures, which is Exactly what i want from vampire stories, so i'm sold. what i like about nocturne specifically is that they have made the allegory explicit - vampires as the oppressor class, nobility and slave owners, and set the series during the french revolution. that's so tasty. that's so good. placing a vampire slaying series in a historical context, and a world where vampires are Known entities and not secret monsters is so delightful. i am so glad i'm finally watching this

[ladyluscinia]

Saw Venom 3 today and left feeling entertained but also perplexingly less satisfied than the previous two and kind of like they had carefully set up a tackboard and methodically pinned all the necessary parts for actual stakes I give a shit about but then handed me the thread to actually connect them while giving me an apologetic 🥺

...and then I remembered this one was produced entirely under the MCU formula (including giant CGI fight that can't be bothered to involve the narrative) and it all made sense.

Still the actors were having a blast and the shots were fun and they did go heavy handed on the Symbrock even as they left it hanging so still better than most recent MCU

[tamagotchikgs]

i had no idea seadragons were even a thing i lov this guy

+bonus leafy seadragon i also just found out abt

[temporaltourguide]

his name is skinny mike in the viewer, but lets just say tapp (with the shotgun collar)

these are gonan be LONG posts btw

what the heck is an obi

mandy!!

low poly pig!

low poly rat!

the billy looks off to me in the video game

play me

i call it the reverse bear trap

ahem what do u mean ONLINE game

[gazkamurocho]

I was walking around Osaka and saw a familiar face in a poster…

[videogames-i-wish-were-real]

Videogames I wish were real #37

A cozy and laid back MMO game where instead of the usual battle classes, the classes are all about crafting, gathering or selling products or services. All the combat classes that would normally be available to players (paladins, archers, wizards, etc) are only available to npcs.

You can choose a crafting related occupation, such as the artisan class, and then pick a certain subclass and become a blacksmith or a tailor, or the catering class and become a baker or a chef or open a small café. In order to avoid unfair competition, when setting the price of a product there would a be a minimum and maximum price range for every product. You can also open a shop to sell your wares directly to customers, as well as hire npcs to help you gather resources or to manage the shop while you are away/not playing, although you will need to pay them a fair wage and they'll get a day off a week.

If you'd rather go for a gathering class you can become a miner, woodcutter, farmer, angler, etc, and sell your produce to shops and merchants. Since some of those occupations would require you to abandon the city to gather materials, if you intend to go to a dangerous area you can hire adventurer npcs to act as your guards, or if you want to venture into an unknown area, you could spend money in a map, or pay a cartographer to chart a map for you.

And if you wish for a more adventurous occupation that allows you to travel through the world, you could always pick jobs such as mail carrier, merchant, archeologist, cartographer, etc.

Besides hiring npcs to help you run your store or act as bodyguards when you explore dangerous parts, you can also befriend and even romance and marry them, and if you cultivate a strong enough platonic or romantic relationship with an npc, they might offer you discounts, sell you rare items, gift you stuff or even offer to help you for free.

Player level is tied to the occupation of a character, if you switch to a different job you've never tried before you'll start at level 1. Whenever you get bored of a certain life, you can just switch to a different one or create another character.

Similar games that actually exist: Fantasy Life and Fantasy Life i: The Girl who Steals Time (suggested by @fantasy-life-fan), Palia

[gazkerber]

K-Kazumi... 😳💕

Majima is gonna faint of happiness