Saw Video Games: Are They Canon to the Franchise, Where to Buy

It's Halloween which means that once again it's time for Saw.

The latest Saw film, Saw X, released to the best review scores in franchise history. It is the only entry in the franchise to be Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a current score of 82%. The Audience Score was even higher at 90%. For comparison, the highest rated franchise on Rotten Tomatoes was the original with scores of 50% and 84% respectively. The film takes place between the first and second films following John Kramer as he tries to find a cure for his cancer.

With the revitalized interest in the franchise at a high, and a special post-credits scene that surely signals the end for Saw is nowhere in sight, fans might be just finding out for the first time that there are actually two survival horror video games published and developed by Konami and Zombie Studios.

They're not genre defining by any means, and there are definitely worse movie tie-in games, but fans of Saw might want to try both games.

Where to Buy Saw Video Games

Here's the first bit of bad news. Both Saw and its sequel, Saw II: Flesh and Blood, are both extremely difficult to come across. They are both not available on any console service including PlayStation Plus, Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass. To make matters even worse, they're not on Steam or Epic Games either.

Players who want to play the game will need to purchase a hard copy from somewhere online. Both games are available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Are the Saw Video Games Canon to the Franchise?

Well, this is where things are opened up to interpretation. Not only do we have to take into consideration if the games are canon to the movie franchise, but which ending of the original is canon to the sequel.

The first Saw game takes place in-between the first and second film, just like Saw X. Players take on the role of David Tapp after surviving the gunshot wound from the original film. Both Leigh Whannell and James Wan were brought in to work on the game's storyline and traps so it has that similar feel. Tapp in the game is healed by Jigsaw himself to partake in his own game. The game features two separate endings as well. Without spoiling the endings, one is canon to the sequel and one is not. The sequel, Flesh and Blood, follows Tapp's son, Michael.

Fans of the franchise consider the games canon considering nothing on-screen has contradicted what transpires in the games. Some might even considering the first game canon, but the second game not. Plus, the franchise is notable for those long flashback scenes at the end that reveal something viewers had no clue was happening. That might change now considering Saw X shows where Jigsaw and Amanda are in-between the first two films, but also they could've exacted the plot of the game and Saw X before Saw II.