I always like to talk about smaller horror games that go under the radar, like Mundaun and Fatal Frame, because they can sometimes offer some unique experiences or their own brand of horror. And as you probably guessed from the title of this post, Killer Frequency does both! Released earlier this year in June, I was very surprised by just how much the game managed to grip me and provide a fun mystery with plenty of thrills without having me be directly in the action. As I discussed in last week’s post, Killer Frequency is one of those horror games that can be kind of hard to recommend at face value because it’s hard to really describe it’s brand of horror. Luckily we don’t have to take it at face value because I’m here to let you know why you should give this underrated horror a try for Spooky Month!

So first let’s start with the premise. The game takes place in the late 80s in the town of Gallows Creek. The player assumes the role of Forrest Nash, a once big time radio host who destroyed his career after an interview went poorly one show. It’s never fully explained what exactly happened to Forrest but that’s okay since all you really need to know is that Forrest messed up and currently hates where he is, working the graveyard shift of a local radio station in super small town. The game starts with Forrest beginning his radio show, The Scream, with his producer Peggy who’s in the studio to help him and the player. Things take an unexpected turn however when the first caller of the night is none other than the sole 911 operator for the town. She let’s you know that the Sheriff is dead and the one remaining Deputy is knocked out and it appears the culprit behind both crimes is The Whistling Man! A serial killer from the 50s who plagued the town until one night when he jumped off a cliff after being cornered by the police. It seems he’s back and out for revenge! And to make matters worse that single 911 operator has to drive to the nearest town for help which is going to take all night and she leaves Forrest in charge of helping anyone who calls 911! And that’s when the game really kicks off.

While the set up of a small town in the 80s being terrorized by a serial killer isn’t exactly unique, how you handle the situation is! Killer Frequency doesn’t put the player in direct danger, Forrest and Peggy are both safe inside the radio station with the doors locked after all. Instead, it puts the player in charge of saving everyone who calls in! It’s your job to guide them through whatever crazy situation they are stuck in as they put their lives in your hands. This indirect take on horror isn’t something I’ve ever seen before. The only game that comes to mind is the infamous horror game Night Trap on the SEGA CD which tasked players to jump between security cameras and help save those in the house they are monitoring. But even then, Killer Frequency goes less direct than that as you aren’t even given any visuals on what is going on with the caller. And it’s this game play set up that really cranks up the tension and the horror of it all!

Here’s a look at Night Trap by the way.

The story of Killer Frequency, just like the game play, is great! Plenty of twists and turns with nothing coming out of left field making it very rewarding for the player to piece things together themselves before everything is revealed in the end. That being said, I’d rather not spoil said story so I’m going to be leaving it at that for now and instead talk about the game play for the rest of this review! I’ll talk about about the story here and there when it plays into the game play but that’s about it from here on out.

As I was saying before Killer Frequency takes place entirely in the radio station and primarily in the recording room as that’s where you’ll be taking calls. The game is basically a puzzle game if you want to boil it down to it’s core. Someone calls in needing help and it’s up to you to figure out how to keep them alive. For the first call, all you really need to do is listen to the context clues the caller provides and offer up what you think would be the best option from those clues. But after that you’ll generally need some extra help to save your callers. For example, the second caller of the night is hiding in their car with the Whistling Man stalking around the parking lot looking for them. They dropped their keys when they were running and going out to look for them would most certainly result in their death. So it’s up to you to help her hot wire her car so that she can escape! However, Forrest, Peggy, and the caller all have no idea how to do that and thankfully the game doesn’t expect the player to know how off the top of their head either.

In these situations the game has you go and explore the radio station for something that could help. For this hot wire situation, Forrest brings up the fact that the station has a show about cars and Peggy suggests he goes and looks around for something that could help out the caller. And after looking around the station a bit, the player will find their way to a magazine with an article all about hot wiring! With that in hand, they return back to the recording room to help the caller out. Luckily these sort of sections aren’t ever timed so the player doesn’t have to be stressed too much. It really let’s you take in the atmosphere which is nice! On the topic of things being timed though, there are a few times in the game where you only have a limited time to answer a callers question. When this is the case the game always makes sure you know it so never be afraid of taking some time to answer a question. Something you’re sure to be thankful about once you get back to the caller with the magazine because having the information on how to hot wire something doesn’t instantly fix her problems. Now you have to walk her through it all!

This hot wiring situation is purposely one of the easiest but it does give you a good taste as to what the core of the game is about. And that is listening and processing information! As I was saying earlier, you are never shown what the caller is seeing, you have to go by what they are saying. This isn’t a huge problem when it comes to hot wiring the car as the caller is very clear about what she sees when it comes to the different colored wires and such. The toughest part of this section is easily when she reads off the serial number which is how you’ll know which wire she needs to cut. She only says it once and there are three options to pick from all relating to the string of numbers and their order. It’s these situations where the real horror comes from! The caller’s life is always in your hands. Besides the 911 operator at the start just about everyone who calls you will die if you don’t help them properly. Which, I guess if you’re heartless, might not be a big deal since at least you know you’ll be safe inside the station! Though as you continue helping each caller, it becomes clear that the only way you’ll figure out this entire mystery that’s unfolding over the night, and how to stop it, is by saving these callers. Which is quite the reward since I feel the story and mystery of the game are some of the best parts! But the truly best part is easily the game play and the fun that comes with problem solving.

While the hot wire situation is pretty easy, it doesn’t take long for the game to ramp up that difficulty! You’ll be doing things like trying to navigate a frightened teen through a maze as the killer chases them, figuring out how to contact a frat house so that they can save their neighbor from the killer at her door, distract said killer by calling phones in an office so the one reporter inside can escape. And all while piecing together every context clue you can so that by the end of this long night you and Forrest can finally solve what’s happening!

And while there are a ton of games, and especially horror games, with mysteries to unravel, Killer Frequency easily provides one of my favorites. The characters are a lot of fun, and pretty funny at times as well, and the game play is a real breath of fresh air in a genre that seems to be obsessed with putting the player in immediate danger all the time. The developer of this game is Team17, who are probably best known for the Worms series of games, and this is their first real try at a horror game like this and I very much hope it isn’t their last! Even if a sequel is just more of this problem solving in a new place with new characters I would love to play that since this is one of the most fun and creative horror games I’ve played in a real long time.

If it wasn’t obvious by now, I highly recommend Killer Frequency to just about everyone! Especially those who aren’t usually into horror games. I feel like the lack of direct threat or jump scares can make this pretty easy to pick up for those easily scared who still really want to try horror games as well as any horror veterans who want a new experience with the genre. And luckily the game is available on just about everything. From Xbox to PS4 and 5 to Switch to PC and even to VR devices! The game is just $25 too, making it a real steal so be sure to give it a try!

However, maybe you want something where you’re more involved in what’s going on, where you’re in a bit more danger. Maybe you want something with a higher budget, something higher profile. Well if that’s the case then check out next week’s post as we’ll be talking all about Alan Wake just before the sequel launches later this month! Hope you’ll give it a look as it’s another unique take on horror with an odd story to boot.

But those are just my thoughts, what are some of yours? Thinking about giving Killer Frequency a try? Have you ever played a horror game with a similar premise to it? I’d love to hear your thoughts so don’t be shy!

And thank you for taking the time to read the post! If you enjoyed it feel free to leave a Like or share the blog with a friend. You can also follow the blog on WordPress or on Twitter if you want to stay up to date on new posts. Also if there’s a topic you’d like me to discuss sometime, go ahead and tell me in the comments! Any interaction is appreciated, even just viewing this post, so thanks again for stopping by.