In short
Hands-on impressions from Summer Games Fest 2026 of Saw Genesis, a Bloober Team multiplayer game inspired by the Saw IP, featuring a 3v1 asymmetrical “judge vs accused” setup in early World War I-era torture-puzzle scenarios.
Guest backgrounds
No specific guests named in the transcript; the host speaks with representatives from Bloober Team.
Key claims
The “Judge” is the main antagonist (not Jigsaw), and gameplay centers on tension and cooperation among escapees while the judge can be killed by savvy players. Communication may rely on pinging rather than guaranteed voice chat.
Notable examples
Traps that can sacrifice body parts (eyeball/hand/foot) affecting vision and movement; two-person heavy doors requiring hands; escapees must coordinate to solve puzzles and counter the judge.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOPreview of Saw Genesis: A Unique Multiplayer Experience
0:06 to 4:05
An in-depth discussion on Saw Genesis, its gameplay mechanics, and thematic elements.
“Bloober Team is making their first multiplayer game, which is a 3v1 asymmetrical multiplayer game.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:05What's good, everybody? We're here at Summer Games Fest 2026, and I just got a chance to check out Saw Genesis, and that joint is a banger I am very, very excited for. Bloober Team is making their first multiplayer game, which is a 3v1 asymmetrical multiplayer game. It's going to be really fun because you have two teams. You have the judge and you have the accused. So the accused are looking to escape from these torture chambers, which are almost a little mix of a puzzle room and an escape room. And also then you have the main protagonist, which is the judge. The main baddie is a guy called the judge.
0:39So if you know anything about the movies, you know, the main one in the movies was Jigsaw. This is not the case in this game. It is taking place in early World War I, a little bit after World War I. and you are now kind of taking on that role of finding these folks who have something wrong with them. Have they been a person in the lore that has done something that's probably a little bit naughty and this person is kind of judging them and putting them in these really messed up scenarios where they have to try to escape. But what I like about this game is that there is a push and pull between those two sets of characters.
1:14The main set of folks who are trying to escape are not only trying to find smart ways to get through puzzles and find ways to get out of traps that the judge is setting. But they're also trying to find really smart ways to do these things cooperatively in a way that, you know, when you think about the movies, there was always this really interesting push and pull between the characters in the scenes where they were like, well, I can kind of help you or I can kind of figure out a way to try to get out myself. We don't know anything about the story yet. It's a little bit early for that. But I like the fact that they are using that as a gameplay mechanic to not only figure out ways to keep that balance and that tension between the judge, which you can kill if you are smart enough and savvy enough, and find really interesting ways to kill your opponents.
2:02One of the scenarios that they talked about was, you know, you may be in a trap and you might have to sacrifice a part of yourself. And what does that mean? It could be an eyeball. It could be a hand. It could be a foot. And that changes the way that you as a person who's on the escape side is able to maneuver through the space. So you may be a little bit slower. You may have some of your vision changed. You may be able to have to not be able to open certain objects in the world. They have these heavy doors that are two-person objects that you have to move. And if you don't have a hand, you won't be able to move those doors anymore.
2:37So I think it's going to be really fun to be able to see how the game progresses, how they use the IP, and then how do they kind of figure out those lore moments where you're going to be able to find out the backstories of why the judges put these people in these compromising positions. And that's always been my favorite part of the Saw movies is that Jigsaw is not a killer. He puts people in scenarios where they want to kill themselves. And that's always kind of the best part of, you know, if you're a horror fan, you know, it's not usually hack and slash stuff. It's more like a psychological killer in that way.
3:09So you have a vulnerable killer is the way that they kind of spoke about the judge and finding good ways to be able to to balance that out with you know hopefully some uh abilities for players to be able to communicate we talked to them a little bit about is there going to be voice voice chat in the game and they said they're thinking about it and it's going to be something there but they'll have a ping system where you'll be able to kind of look through those moments and use that as a way to kind of get through the map but it's still early on um and it's still really cool to be able to see bloober not only think about multiplayer in a new way but think about this IP in a different way.
3:41So I'm very excited for what this game is going to wind up being. Super hyped for what is coming from them as a fan of their work. And I think you're going to be really excited for it, too. So hopefully we'll have some footage for the game coming up soon. And we'll be talking about it more once we get a chance to play it somewhere down the line. So much love to the folks over at Bluebird Team for letting us check out Saw. And hopefully we get a chance to see my homeboy riding around on his bike in a little bit somewhere. Hopefully get some footage of him as well. So we'll talk to you soon. with more conversations around all the good games here at Summer Games Fest, and we'll see you in a bit.
4:13Peace.
From the publisher
At Summer Game Fest 2026 I stopped by Saber Interactive's booth and went hands-on with a stacked lineup — and it might be the most fun I had on the floor.
First up, Hellraiser — gory, gritty, and exactly what horror fans want. Then Stuntman, a genuinely fun revival of the classic arcade stunt-driving game with big set-piece energy(think Knight Rider and Back to the Future). And Turok is back, with co-op, a third/first-person blend, and class options (healer, melee, run-and-gun) that make it a blast to jump into. Fast, pick-up-and-play fun across the board.
