Killer Frequency is an interactive thriller from the perspective of washed up radio host Forrest Nash. Through a series of rather unfortunate events, all the 911 calls have been routed to the radio show and now Forrest must try to save everyone calling in. We won’t speak of Ponty’s Pizza however…
Most of the game takes place in the radio broadcasting control room with the majority of the narrative delivered through voice acted lines of dialogue. Every once in a while, you will be able to pick from two or three conversation options that may effect whether or not the person calling in survives.
While you definitely will be listening to dialogue for most of the game, there are some explorative elements as well. Sporadically, you will run into some segments where you must leave the comfort and safety of your broadcasting room to venture forth into the undeniably unnerving building. You will be searching for clues to help the callers survive as well as unravel the murder mystery set before you. These short exploratory segments definitely feel creepy and help to break up the possible monotony of constantly listening to dialogue. For those of you who aren’t the biggest fan of horror elements, the game doesn’t indulge in it too much. It doesn’t rely on jump scares other than one in the very beginning and maybe one or two more throughout the game; the atmosphere is what helps to create the feeling of constant unease.
The puzzle elements were very rudimentary. It basically involved looking for some key information in some sort of object and then using that information to pick the right dialogue option. There was very little logical deduction happening and I was OK with this for the most part. While I do prefer more mentally stimulating puzzles, I felt that it would have detracted from feeling immersed in the narrative at hand. The game is an interactive narrative first and puzzle elements were secondary.
Going back to the main section of the game play, thankfully the voice acting is pretty solid for the most part. Forrest and Peggy sound great and this works out for the game since these two have most of the air time. Some of the side characters’ performances can be a bit on the weaker side with varying degrees of under or over acting but on the whole, the cast did a great job of creating an immersive experience, if albeit on the hammy side.
There are some sections that do seem out of place but these are few and far between. For example, in the very beginning we hear Forrest constantly sighing about things. Now this does fit in the context of the story where Forrest used to be a big shot radio host in Chicago with an audience numbering in the millions and now is in the middle of nowhere broadcasting to under a hundred people. However, as a professional broadcaster, you really wouldn’t be sighing on air and even if it was happening off air, the lack of professionalism to at least fake enthusiasm felt out of character to me. Thankfully it was only for a short segment and it didn’t really take away from the game at all. It also fit into the context of the game where you could make Forrest lean towards being more of a jerk through conversation options you picked.
There were some sections that also felt out of place with the overall tone of the narrative. For example, the voice acting segments where Forrest introduces a song felt out of place with his previous tone of voice. This could mainly be due to the fact that these sections were recorded separately but it was a bit jarring to hear Forrest go from sounding concerned or showing consternation in one moment to enthusiastically introducing a song the next. Again, this is just a minor and personal nitpick that most people won’t even care about or notice. I don’t mean to take away from the performances at all. On the whole, they were very stellar.
As for the quality of the writing, I felt that it was very serviceable. I oftentimes find the element of mystery as a cheap plot mechanic to help create artificial investment and interest in the narrative by withholding information. For Killer Frequency however, the writing was solid. I wasn’t blown away by the story but there were definitely some very solid plot twists with elements of foreshadowing you noticed afterwards. The story kept you hooked and felt satisfactory by the time it concluded. Also, some of the more humorous bits definitely got a chuckle out of me. Not all jokes hit the mark however. This will differ based on your personal preference obviously.
Overall, I had fun playing through Killer Frequency. By no means is it a perfect game but it got me hooked and I wanted to reach the ending. The game did a great job of feeling genuinely unnerving at parts. The cheesy humor worked in some bits and definitely added a feeling of levity to help break up the gravity of what was happening. With the limited game play mechanics, it is for sure more on the side of being a passive experience rather than an active one. This isn’t necessarily a deal breaker for me because sometimes you just want a more chill experience and Killer Frequency delivered on that front.
Additional Info
Steam Store Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1903620/Killer_Frequency/
Review Score: 95% positive with a total of 888 reviews as of this writing (08/21/2023)
Developer: Team17 Digital
Publisher: Team17 Digital
Release Date: Jun 1, 2023
MSRP: $24.99
I received a free key from Keymailer. Thanks to the amazing person who approved my request!
Time spent: 14.1 hours
Achievement Score: 25/27 (I need to replay the entire game twice to get the save everyone under 4 hrs achievement and get everyone killed achievement)
Ducky Obrien 