Squishy male characters are all the rage, and Sonny in Texas Chain Saw Massacre continues that trend. Rocking stats that resemble a battered packet of ragu, Sonny will flop over at the slightest of breezes. Thankfully, Sonny, similar to Leland, has a few tricks tucked away in his rather prodigious dome.
Sonny is far from forgiving, making him one the harder characters to pick and play in Texas Chain Saw Massacre. One wrong move and you will be turned into a smoothie for Grandpa, and that’s not something you should aim to metamorph into. In this guide, we are going to break Sonny down and walk you through how to play this chap effectively.
For some more general tips and tricks, check out our how to win more games guide. If you want to know how all the characters rank up, check out our survivor and killer tier lists.
Overview of Sonny in Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Sonny is the brains of the group. Sure, he may be book smart, but he’s also a quick thinker and master of perception. Taking a leaf from the killers, Sonny is adept at picking out even the faintest of noise. This gives Sonny more information than any other character in the game; it’s just down to you to figure out how to use it.
None of this makes Sonny any easier to play, sadly. His stats are tilted in a way that isn’t congruent with a long and healthy life, and his ability requires a fair amount of skill to use effectively. Players who master Sonny, however, are excellent scouts and are very capable escapologists; especially when supported by a willing team.
Sonny’s attributes in Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Right off the bat, we need to talk about the elephant in the room: Sonny’s toughness. Sonny is as stable as a wet fart rocking a stat of only 15. This is the lowest in the game, even managing to pip Leland to the post. If Sonny is ever caught, he is likely going down. Leatherface can take Sonny out in two-to-three hits, and that guy has a three-hit combo.
Sadly, Sonny isn’t the most stealthy of characters either, giving him the worst survival stats in the game. His stealth stat rolls in at a lowly 15, so Sonny is easier to spot and makes more noise. The Cook will have a field day hunting him down, forcing Sonny to play very cagey if he wants to get anywhere near the exit.
- Read more: Is Texas Chain Saw Massacre on Game Pass?
Thankfully, Sonny excels in just about every other field. His endurance and strength are both at 35. This gives him a hefty pool of stamina to work with and enough strength to effortlessly complete any physical task. This is then rounded out by a Proficiency of 25, allowing him to do good work with dexterity-based tasks.
Overall, Sonny is very action-orientated. He can do just about anything at base so long as he avoids the Family.
Sonny’s unique ability in Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Abilities help define a character - more so than their stats - and Sonny’s pushes him towards more of a scouting and intelligence role. Heightened Senses does the following:
Detect noise made by anyone nearby, pinpointing their location and tracking their movements.
This ability has a reasonable cooldown and is very powerful. It gives Sonny more information than any other survivor, and if he communicates this with his team, he can almost operate as an “eyes in the sky” radio operator. Of course, he will still need to pull his weight when it comes to completing tasks, but effective use of Heightened Sense can drastically increase your odds of winning.
Attribute progression for Sonny in Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Despite Sonny having poor survival-based stats, his actual effectiveness in game is very solid thanks to his focus on task-orientated attributes. In an ideal game, you won’t get caught and you won’t get hit, so playing Sonny well will negate his squishiness.
That being said, it’s better to be safe than sorry. We recommend investing at least 10 points in toughness as your first investment. You could even bump it by 15 if you want to be even safer.
- Read more: Best Ana build in Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Once that is all sorted, pumping 10 points in proficiency will bring all your core stats to 35, making Sonny wonderfully effective at doing just about anything. From here, the world really is your oyster. Adding more points in proficiency and strength help with tasks, whereas toughness and endurance will make him a bit sturdier overall.
We would avoid stealth as it seems like a bit of a wasted stat. Heightened Senses can more or less remove the need for a high stealth stat, and in general, stealth feels like one of the least impactful stats in the game. Keep it at 15.
Best early game perks for Sonny in Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Sonny’s perks are very solid and lean heavily towards either task completion or information relay. This lets you tilt Sonny in several directions, but for us, we found gathering information worked out the best. This is especially true with a highly communicative team.
On the skill tree, we recommend heading ‘right’ and following it to completion. Remember, all perks become more powerful as you use them. Stick with the same perks, and you will grow in strength far faster.
Meter Reader
This ability, at first glance, seems good. On second glance it gets a bit naff. Weirdly though, on a third look, it gets pretty darn good again. This perk allows you to see when a generator is being used by a Family member. Not only that, it highlights both the member and the generator for 10-30 seconds.
This is a staggering amount of information to have on hand, especially once it earns a few ranks. Firstly, knowing when a generator is being tampered with lets you know where you need to go to clear an exit. Secondly, if you didn’t know where the generator was on a map, you do now. Finally, the Family member is visible for an extended period, giving you perfect information on a third of the killers in the game.
Radar Detector
Another favourite, Radar Detector lets Sonny see all killers on the map for five seconds whenever Grandpa uses his Sonar ability. As it ranks up, it will gain more charges, letting you use it throughout the match. As far as information gathering goes, this perk grants the most. It’s only for five seconds, but you can glean a lot in that time.
Relay this information to your team and you can work towards multiple escape routes with full knowledge you are safe. Ludicrously powerful in the right hands.
Tae Kwon Door
Since we have two very solid scouting perks and Heightened Senses, adding some survival to your kit can help round out your kit. Tae Kwon Door is one of our favourites. If you slam a door in a Family member's face, they are stunning for 12-16 seconds. This gives you ample time to get to safety, and possibly even escape. Very few effects in Texas Chain Saw Massacre are this good at disabling your opponents, and it works wonders on Sonny.
That’s all we have for Sonny in Texas Chain Saw Massacre. To help you navigate the game, check out our guide covering all maps. You can also have a gander at our tips and tricks for surviving as the survivors.