Killer Frequency

When people ask me for a horror movie recommendation, the first film I always suggest is a criminally underseen gem called Pontypool. It’s a zombie outbreak film that is told entirely from the point of view of a radio host, so all of the action is left to eye-witness reports from the people calling in and describing the gruesome scene. Believe it or not, this is the exact same set-up for the new game Killer Frequency; only instead of a zombie apocalypse, there’s a serial killer on the loose. This is a high-stakes thriller where we try to help callers survive in between playing the hottest 1980s hits. That’s a cool concept, but is it as good as Pontypool? Find out now when I review Killer Frequency from Team 17.

It's the late 1980s and you play Forrest Nash, a big-time disc jokey who recently downgraded from Chicago to a small, rural community known as Gallows Creek. He’s a DJ who is used to having an audience of 35 million listeners, but at KFAM 189.16 FM “The Scream,” he’s now averaging around 35. Not 35 thousand of even hundred, just 35. Yeah, things have taken a real downturn for the radio host.

What Forrest doesn’t realize is that his night is about to get a whole lot worse after Gallows Creek is plagued with a series of murders. In a panic, the city’s last remaining emergency worker calls into the radio station to let us know that there’s nobody manning the 9-1-1 hotline, which means that all emergency calls are going to redirected straight to Forrest’s early morning radio show. We are the only line of defense as the officer makes the two-hour drive to the next city over in an effort to recruit some help. It’s up to Forrest and his good-natured producer, Peggy, to help the good people of Gallows Creek escape the masked killer that is actively hunting down fresh victims.

This is one of those games where you can’t help but feel incredibly helpless for a good chunk of time. Forrest is a down-on-his-luck radio DJ, not a cop or a fireman or a survival expert. He can barely keep his career alive, let alone callers who are being chased by a serial killer. And with that mindset, the first couple people who called the radio station met what can best be described as a gristly demise. However, as the calls started to pile up, I found my groove and started saving people, giving me a real boost in confidence.

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Typically, a possible victim calls in looking for aid that is specific to their scenario. A good example of this is the guy who finds himself stuck in the middle of the city’s complicated hedge maze. You’ll find a map in the radio station, along with a helpful cheat sheet of landmarks to look out for when navigating your way out of the maze. Following the map and paying attention to the information given, we direct the caller out of the maze and to safety. But watch out, because one wrong move will send him straight into the serial killer’s knife.

Not all of the calls are like that, though most of them revolve around items you can pick up in and around the radio station. We’ll slowly unlock new parts of the building, revealing a mystery that is a whole lot bigger than just a couple small town murders. You’re suddenly asked to piece actual evidence together in order to predict the killer’s next steps, which will force you to confront the city’s seedier secrets. It all culminates in an unforgettable ending that doesn’t let you off the hook for your actions. Whether you save the townspeople or not, the ending is incredibly satisfying, leaving you with a real sense of accomplishment.

That’s one of the things I like the most about Killer Frequency. It’s easy to forget that this is a video game and not a real situation, creating a lot of tense calls where you’re genuinely scared to do or say the wrong thing. That feeling of success when you help somebody avoid certain doom is real and intoxicating, but the realization that your actions led directly to somebody’s murder can be heartbreaking at times. The game does a great job of stringing you along, only to rip your heart out at a crucial moment. This game is a roller coaster ride full of stress and emotions, leaving me with a brief four-hour adventure that I’m never going to forget.

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The reason any of this works so well is because of the sharp writing and strong voice acting. Josh Cowdery is believable as a seasoned radio host and I love Forrest’s banter with Peggy. Their concern for the people in Gallows Creek is always believable and the anxiety in their voices help to sell the stakes of the story. The game is also good about adding just enough moments of levity to break up the tension. There’s an especially funny on-running gag where the local pizzeria keeps calling into the radio in hopes of scoring some free advertising, a joke that made me laugh every single time. There’s a great selection of voices and characters, allowing the game to be both goofy and deadly serious.

Killer Frequency reminds me a lot of Not for Broadcast, a full-motion video game that came out last year that had you manning the control booth at a local television station. This game isn’t as stringent when it comes to you actually doing your job, as the real emphasis here is the story and mystery. For example, there’s a whole bay full of sound effects that you’ll probably never use. The same is true for the volume sliders. If this were a real radio station, we would use the slider to fade out of a song and into a phone call, but you can just stop the song midway through and nobody cares. If you go in expecting this to be a simulator, then you might end up being disappointed with Killer Frequency.

That wasn’t a problem for me, because I found myself enjoying this as much as Not for Broadcast. A lot of the reason for this is because both games manage to scratch a very specific itch – they both give me an experience I’ve never seen before in a video game, all while feeding me an intelligent and captivating story that I’ll keep thinking about for weeks and months to come. I can understand somebody looking at my high scores for both games and being confused, but Killer Frequency is the exact type of new experience that I’m constantly looking for in a video game. I wish all games were as inventive as this.

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Now, there are a few things I could probably nitpick. I wish that we learned more about Forrest’s backstory and what brought him to Gallows Creek. That’s something that is hinted at, but never really addressed. Also, for the game taking place in rural American in the late 1980s, a lot of people seem to have cell phones. This is never actually addressed in the game, but there are so many calls that would be impossible with a standard landline. A perfect example of what I’m talking about is that hedge maze call I mentioned earlier. Here’s a guy who is literally stuck in the middle of a giant maze, keeping us up to date with each move he makes. That’s something you can do with a cell phone, but not a landline. There are a lot of moments like that where we follow a character while they are on the move, way outside of where a cord (or even cordless signal) could reach. This makes the survival situations a lot more exciting, but it’s at the expense of believability.

It's also worth pointing out that some of the puzzles feel more like scavenger hunts than anything else, which can mean searching the radio station for a small item or slip of paper. The good news is that the game usually gives you more than enough clues on where to find what you’re looking for, but digging through closets and garbage cans is not as interesting as engaging callers on the phone. The radio station is definitely cool and interesting, but not as exciting as saving the people of Gallows Creek.

That said, it’s not like there’s another game on the market that takes this concept and does it better. Sure, I can nitpick a few issues, but Killer Frequency delivers on everything it sets out to accomplish. This is a tense and compelling thriller with the right amount of danger and comedy. The puzzles are unique and constantly requiring different skills, and you’re definitely going to suffer some real setbacks while live on the air. And while that can be heartbreaking at times, the thrill of actually saving somebody’s life is every bit as intoxicating as it is satisfying. Few games have made me feel as good as Killer Frequency, this year or ever.