Who would have ever imagined that by writing the review of Killer Frequency by Team17, we would have felt the need to transform it into a dissing between editorial colleagues? Instead, we had to do it in response to the provocations of our Roberto Minasi in the News section who boasts (or claims?) a glorious past as a speaker in ‘one of the worst radio stations in Caracas’ (click here for the first episode). Therefore, our readers don’t want to be annoyed if we refer to him during this analysis: don’t feel excluded, but feel that you are participating in this anomalous ‘discussing’ between colleagues!
In this atypical first-person horror, dear Roberto, you will take on the role of Forrest Nash, a well-known national-level radio announcer who fell into disgrace and forced to direct a rather questionable program called “Guess the Scream”, to enliven the deserted nights of the small and unknown town of Gallows Creek. And just when our reluctant hero is about to choose what to shout into the microphone, a call arrives, indeed, ‘THE’ call that will upset all the plans of the night: a serial killer now considered dead and buried, returns to spread terror and death among the citizens of the placid American town.
And here, Robert, you will have to transform yourself into a 911 speaker-operator who, between one disc and another, will also have to try to save as many targets from the murderous plots of the revived Killer of the Whistle. There is no doubt that the incipit of Killer Frequency enjoys good originality both in the plot and in the setting and will allow you to live an investigative horror experience almost entirely built on the dialogues that exist between Forrest, Peggy and the listeners who need help to whom surreal questions and answers overlap with pizza chefs looking for visibility or advertising launches of little credibility.
The developers have also given themselves a good space for characterization of the characters, which reveal events from their past through the conversations between the protagonist and his assistant director dedicated to this purpose. In short, a mix of dramatic and comic writing that tries to give a more agile pace to a rather static adventure which offers game dynamics that are substantiated almost exclusively in front of the radio console in a very guided and linear way.
The only hiatus offered by Killer Frequency lies in the limited and other-directed exploration of the map in search of useful clues, such as notes or newspaper clippings and the management of the response options necessary for the resolution of the rescue missions that the plot proposes. Sporadically, you will find yourself at having to solve some not particularly complex puzzle. But these gameplay variations fail to lift a mostly staid and much-on-rails pace. The only challenge that the game offers you is to try to save as many fellow citizens as possible and brag about the result once the adventure is over. But beyond that, Killer Frequency poses no particular obstacles in solving puzzles, or reaching particular endings.
Furthermore, there is the possibility to reload some mission highlights, if you make a mistake in answering the various unfortunate people who will call you live. From a technical point of view, Killer Frequency does not shine for polygonal counts but it is not stained by bugs or glitches that could disturb the enjoyment of the adventure and also boasts a VR version for Oculus Quest 2. In particular, the title takes advantage of an 80s aesthetic and a soundtrack that sufficiently evokes the roaring years of American radio.
In conclusion, dear Robert, although Killer Frequency presents itself as a highly guided and playfully static title in its gameplay, it can be appreciated for its narrative component which proposes an interesting and original plot concept and manages to sufficiently represent a radio imagery both in the characterization of the game environments but above all in the drafting of the dialogues between the protagonist and the other supporting actors who animate the events of this atypical investigative horror.
