A fun little horror romp. It has a fun premise and environment, although it's not as deep as it first appears to be. I was expecting something like Five Nights at Freddy's meets Not For Broadcast but in reality it was more like a series of environmental puzzles. The puzzles that are there are pretty neat, and I really like the premise and most of the execution. I'll have to play through it again but in my first playthrough I saved everyone but one person. I wish it was more dad gamey and there was more to do in the game as well. The biggest strengths of the game are the environment and for the most part, the writing. It is a little cliche but it is funny at times and kept me guessing. One thing it fails to do completely though is be scary; don't worry if you were expecting jumpscares, even though there's a very telegraphed one at the start. Worth a couple more playthroughs, but I don't see myself picking it up again after that.

Recentemente experimentei o jogo Killer Frequency, que estava na minha lista de lançamentos deste mês de junho. Ele me atraiu não por ser um simulador de andar, mas sim pela sua estética, que me chamou muita a atenção.

Falando nisso, Killer Frequency é uma maravilhosa evolução do gênero de simuladores, oferecendo um cenário dos anos 80 bem semelhante com a estetica Stranger Things. A trilha sonora é incrível e o jogo se inspira nos antigos filmes de terror, desafiando os jogadores com puzzles que literalmente são uma questão de vida ou morte. É uma experiência bastante linear e tranquila, e levei cerca de 12 horas para aproveitar o jogo, mas apesar de parecer muito simples à primeira vista, ele é muito bom no que se propõe a ser.

Quando comecei a jogar, sinceramente não esperava muito dele. Fui atraído principalmente pela estética visual. O jogo tem uma vibe única, onde os jogadores precisam explorar, resolver quebra-cabeças e descobrir pontos da história à medida que avançam. No entanto, Killer Frequency adiciona uma abordagem slasher dos anos 80, exigindo que o jogador tome decisões no calor do momento, muitas vezes de forma dramática.

A estética é simples e incrível. Além disso, a história é um verdadeiro slasher, lembrando muito os filmes da década de 80, culminando em uma história maravilhosa. Um ponto que acho que vale a pena mencionar, principalmente em jogos desse gênero, é que o jogo pode se tornar um tanto monótono, especialmente se você jogar novamente. Os mesmos quebra-cabeças e cenas se tornam previsíveis, então, quando terminei, senti pouco desejo de jogá-lo novamente. Talvez a busca pelas conquistas/platina possa ser um incentivo para jogar novamente já que o jogo é bem tranquilo de conseguir, mas como não me importo muito com isso, deixei de lado. Foi uma experiência única para mim.

No geral, Killer Frequency é uma experiência muito legal e diferente. Certamente, se você jogou jogos como Until Dawn ou The Quarry, principalmente em termos de narrativa, vai curtir esse jogo com certeza. E se você adora filmes de terror dos anos 80 com uma pegada meio trash ou até mesmo cômica em certos momentos, certamente vai adorar esse jogo tambem.

Prós:
- Incrível ambientação dos anos 80.
- Os quebra-cabeças são muito divertidos.

Contras:
- O ritmo do jogo é um pouco lento.
- É linear demais.

Killer Frequency
#13
PC - Steam
Beaten June 11th, 2023


A puzzle/walking-sim/visual novel disguised as a horror game (or wearing the mask of one...?) Killer Frequency is about a washed up, blacklisted DJ from the Big City being forced into rural overnight radio... as he's constantly demeaning his new home, a local legend reappears and starts knifing the townsfolk! Can our 'hero' and his plucky producer slash sidekick help out Gallows Creek, or will there be no one left to see the dawn??


The Good -
-Vibeeeeeesssssss man! Set in 1987 we've got the usual Neon 80's vibe, but also the small-town setting, washed up DJ trying to put a fun spin on the local murders (especially if you choose the right dialogue options) really comes together to make something special.
-Shooting hoops during long dialogue scenes, excellent choice by the devs
Playing your own vinyls! Just the amount of buttons really is cool - playing tapes, taking calls, etc. The board feels properly interactive to play with, it would've been easy to just "press A for next section" but they went that extra mile with all the interactivity.
-Voice acting is pretty perfectly cheesy for the B-movie PG-13 horror movie they're going for. Nash and Peggy esp
-Cast of characters is SOLID - well meaning but a bit ditzy producer, Pizza shop who won't stop calling to advertise their deals, RollerRink Guy and his dog, teenagers being dumb, creepy killer... Nailed it, team!
-The main story and its mystery are a bit by the numbers but executed well. Misdirects a-plenty and there's a point where you've got enough clues to legit get one over on the killer if you're paying attention and not just clicking options. 


The Meh - 
-Some of the actual 'gameplay' segments of exploration definitely needed a little more to them. I feel like there should have been some puzzles or something?
-The 'puzzles' for helping people on the phone calls could have been a bit clearer, in a few cases I legit didn't understand why I couldn't save some of the people! I didn't really play around with it though as I wanted the story to progress as naturally as possible.
-Ending is definitely a setup for a sequel but in some ways feels a bit undercooked. I feel like Forest and Peggy (or just the station in general) needed one more scene or something at the end. 



The Bad - 
-Pacing is off - not sure if the game should've been a bit shorter (I finished in 5.5hrs, maybe an hour less?) or maybe the office experiences should've been more involved that may have kept my interest a bit better.

The Hmm - 
-We can see Peggy's monochrome model (great perm btw) through the window for most of the game but no reveal at the end???
-Expanding on that last point, definitely felt a lowwwwww budget on this one. Basically no working models at all other than the killer, station is pretty small and underused... It's not bad, just noticeable. 


Killer Frequency is a damn solid B-movie horror presented as an interesting but not mind-blowing puzzler with great vibes and even greater hair. 


Final Grade, very appropriately: B 

Pretty decent decision based game that tries its best to reconnect to 80s slasher films and pop culture.

Pros - interesting storyline, decisions are better than most where you can use items you find around the station to help, there are quick time events that may affect the gameplay or just be progressing the dialogue.

I liked how some small talk ends up foreshadowing the story or helping offer clues. It really takes work to solve the puzzles.

Some of the events have a little forgiveness if you don’t get the option right others are immediate fails. There’s 20+ people to save (or not save if you are going for the everyone dies ending).

Cons- The studio feature could have been better. You have so few albums, commercials, the preset sound effects and other features are really never used for anything helpful. My last play through I was bored enough to get over 125 paper baskets.

Some of the clues are pretty meh. Like one you find a friendship quiz the helps you determine who can help w tasks for your caller. It’s just one of those weird things to find in the radio station for one but deciphering the quiz with the tasks were a bit of a challenge.

Some tasks felt like luck like determining a take out place based on the best beer deal that can be easy to miss Forrest murmuring it to himself especially if you miss asking Peggy for help.

And the fact you pretty much don’t leave the studio makes the tasks repetitive. It can be a little slow / boring to wait for a call / event to play out since you are just listening to events over the call.

Another con is there’s only a handful of voice actors doing several voices. So there’s not much variety other than terrible accents - which I am guessing was a purposeful choice.

Anyway. Since I platinumed the game I found the differences in saving everyone or not affected the story a ton. So I feel the writers really tried to make a complex decision based game. Like I said some of the puzzles were challenging to figure out.

However by the 3rd play through I missed the option to skip the dialogue I already heard and it took me 11 hours or so to beat. A speedrun may take just over 3 hours a play through bc you cannot skip anything.

It’s worth a play through if you like these games. Maybe wait for a sale - would say this is worth 10 bucks.

One of the best voice acting I´ve seen in a videogame. The premise is original and the story is engaging enough to keep you playing till the end. The only things that I didn't like:
- Lacks replayability: Yes, you can save them or let them die, but it does not really change a lot, just a couple of dialogues and that's it.
- It could be more interactable, I mean, it's a small game, but it's very short mechanically speaking, the only things you can do is interact with some objects, get information from those objects, and take some decisions on the dialogues, that's it.

Anyways, this game is fantastic, and if you like the 80s, twin peaks, slasher films, and good voice acting, this is definitely worth a try.

A fresh perspective on campy 80's slasher movies.

Being in first person for some of the sections where you're behind the mic felt like they may be better served as a visual novel of some sort, but when you get to freely explore the station - never feeling quite safe - it's a true thrill!

The story is strong, the acting is exceptional, and the puzzles are exciting races against the clock to save lives.

Killer Frequency is a super neat indie game that puts you in the shoes of a late night 80’s radio DJ in a small town that’s being plagued by murders. Seeing that you’re the only one available and qualified to take calls, you're tasked with answering 911 emergencies when the police department becomes indisposed of. As a rogue whistle-happy killer descends on the town it’s up to you and your producer Peggy to use your wits and quick thinking to solve puzzles, suss out lies, stop the killer, and ultimately lead people to safety as you simultaneously put on an equally killer radio show. The gameplay mostly consists of choosing dialogue options while at your desk, inspecting clues, and occasionally going outside your room to explore the radio station or retrieve an item.

The radio layout is delightfully comfy, and the DJ setup is fun to interact with. I do wish they leaned more into it. Implementing some more radio mechanics and giving more to do than clicking the call button and putting on records would have been ideal. Not to say it should have been a realistic simulator game, just a bit more underlying connection to the actual work of a radio DJ is all. The soundboard was a start, but entirely cosmetic and easily forgettable. What we did get I loved, but it left me wanting slightly more, indie game or not. Even without that though Killer Frequency did a good job of immersing you into the mind and world of late-night hosting. It’s less a dysfunction of the game’s offerings and more so my own desire to get greater engrossed in the world.

I’m particularly impressed by how Killer Frequency is able to instill a sense of persistent isolation, with all the lone wandering you do around the station ratcheting up the tension effectively. I especially like the pace in which it slowly reveals more and more questionable parts of the locale in an organic way, going from benign to increasingly sinister. All in the purview of a small radio station at the dead of night. Each room is a new place to investigate, even letting you find hidden records and clues early if you look hard enough. In its totality the game is neither big nor a Sherlockian challenge, but it does a great job at making you feel like it is. Barring one exception, the game is remarkably proficient at hitting above its expectation in mood and pacing. We’ll get to that exception in a minute.

The story, writing, and voice acting give light to the rest of the game, making it more of a dark comedy soup than a horror title. The actual mystery and killer themself are given a proper breadth of seriousness, but folks like Ponty of Ponty’s Pizza and jazzy Sandra are there to break it up with some much welcome comedy. That’s to say the game is legitimately superb with its comedic timing, and quite well voiced all around. Every character knows when to be silly and when to be serious. It never feels kitschy or ill-timed, playing perfectly into the 80’s over-the-top slasher aesthetic. The dialogue choices also let you play into the comedy or go for a more straightforward approach, giving you a degree of control over the tone of the story. Of course that doesn’t mean the dialogue options are superficial, you’re just not punished for making light of the situation unless you’re doing so during a time-sensitive choice.

The actual bread and butter of the game, its puzzles, are just the right amount of accessible. One could argue they hold your hand a little too much in finding clues, but you’re just as likely to find them beforehand anyway, and you could always decide to not accept hints for where something is. The puzzles themselves range from straightforward to moderately tough, a scope that works well here. Thankfully, you’ll never be asked to memorize something unreasonably long or constantly make timed choices, but I’d advise reading everything twice to make sure you’re getting the full picture. A lot of choices come with hidden caveats and clues that can be easy to miss, and in a game where every choice may be life or death it’s important to dot your i’s and cross your t’s.

This leads me into the only disappointment I had with the game. All throughout the game there’s a constant invisible threat of the killer showing up on your doorstep. With little to defend yourself with and having to venture out further and further away from your safe broadcast room, it’s all but spelled out this would lead to confrontation eventually. I thought for sure there would be at least one tense situation where you’d have to evade the killer as you sneak from hidden corner to hidden corner. There were more than a few clear moments where this could happen near the end but the time never came. The focus on dialogue and puzzle-solving is fantastic, yet I really think they missed an excellent opportunity to capitalize on the tension building with a little one-on-one traditional encounter.

Nevertheless, when push comes to shove the strengths of Killer Frequency far outweigh its weaknesses. While it won’t take longer than a day to finish it’s more than worth the pickup. I finished it in one marathon sitting around the same time of night the game takes place, no doubt helping immerse myself even more into the world. Truly all you need to have a good time is an appreciation for groovy music, snappy dialogue, and succinct puzzles.

Killer Frequency's concept is unique and honestly, a lot of fun. Dialogue and choices make up most of the game play and offer a pretty intriguing narrative. I loved the campiness of it all - it truly reminded me of 80s slasher movies, an aesthetic that I enjoy a lot.

Yet, the game kinda overstays its welcome. It's clear that the devs were going for more of a comedic tone , silly and comical. After a while, the writing gets a bit annoying, especially because it accepts glaring plot holes in favour of mediocre jokes. People like to call this a horror game, however, there's not a lot of horror in it. Every "scary" moment seems inconsequential and none of the characters have enough charisma to make up for the lack of lack of tension.

Also, the ending was atrocious. It manages to make zero sense, while being highly predictable at the same time. This is the kind of game that's fun for a few hours and then promptly forgotten about.

Killer Frequency places you in the shoes of radio host Forrest Nash. You've been exiled from your job in Chicago, going from broadcasting to tens of millions of people to maybe ten people in the backwater town of Gallows Creek. It's a dark, neon-lit night in September of 1987, there's a killer on the loose, and all 911 calls have been rerouted to you. Try not to get anyone killed.

Killer Frequency is a game I had far higher expectations for, but was still a fun experience. The puzzles aren't too deep, they're usually only guiding people where to go with a map or very simple logic puzzles where you recall a basic set of instructions. It was exciting at first, but since the game lets you save and reload at any time, you don't have to live with your mistakes and can easily go back if you fail. It probably would've been better if I didn't savescum.

Despite being a radio host, the music that the game lets you put on is usually instrumental loops about 2 minutes long, heavy with synths and electric guitars to match the 80s vibe. The main story is what you might expect from any 80s themed horror media, a small town holds a dark secret in an incident from years ago, and some nutjob is out for revenge. The one thing I have only good things to say about is the voice acting. Forrest and Peggy are excellent, and while the voice acting is campy at worst, this is an 80s themed piece of horror media we're talking about. This thing lives and breathes campy.

Also, despite being released on the Oculus Quest 2, the Steam version has no VR support, which kinda sucks because this game probably would have been a bit more enjoyable had I been able to play it in VR.

I would recommend waiting until it goes on a fairly steep discount, but if you need something to kill an afternoon, Killer Frequency isn't the worst you could do.