Killer Frequency is a thrilling horror where every choice you make matters.
British game developer and publisher Team17 has added another killer hit to their roster of games with the release of Killer Frequency. Team17 is responsible for games like Overcooked and Blasphemous. Filled with Plot twists that go hand in hand with a storyline that feels like Nightmare On Elm Street and with looks that will remind you of Five Nights At Freddie’s, Killer Frequency is not a game to miss.
Within the sleepy town of Gallows Creek, a dark past lurks. You take on the role of extraordinary DJ Forest Nash as he works what is supposed to be a usual night on KFAM’s The Scream. Naturally, you aren’t the only one working the night shift. Peggy is your producer, but she also creates a sense of comedic relief that helps to turn incredibly tense situations a bit more relaxed.
While waiting for callers to call in for a radio quiz, Forest receives a call he probably wished he had never picked up. His unexpected caller is Leslie, the town’s only 911 operator. You can choose how Forest wishes to respond to every situation, and for Leslie, it could either be thinking it’s nothing more than a prank or reluctantly believing her.
Leslie explains that she is at the sheriff’s office. She has found the town’s sheriff, Sheriff Matthews, dead, and his deputy handcuffed and locked in a cell with the cell key thrown in with her. This is only the start of what looks to be a long night. After helping Leslie free Deputy Martinez, an eerie whistling will start up. This introduces Killer Frequency’s antagonist, the Whistling Man.
You have to help Leslie get a weapon and fend off the Whistling Man; this sets the stage for what Forest’s job is about to become. With the Sheriff dead, the deputy unconscious, and the phone lines to the nearest town mysteriously down, Leslie informs Forest that she is going to drive to the closest town to get help, but that he would have to hold down the fort to speak and take the 911 calls that night. This brings in our first mechanic. Strike a balance between being a radio DJ, the 911 operator, and a makeshift detective as you try to discover what’s going on.
Most of the gameplay in Killer Frequency takes place within the recording booth of the radio station. You have a couple of tools to work with at the DJ station within the booth. The first is a record player along with a box full of records to entertain your listeners with music. Unfortunately, when you start off, your box of records is only half full as the rest of the staff at KFAM like to hoard their favorite records.
On the leftmost side of your soundboard, you’ll find three buttons. These are your call buttons, 2 for callers and the third to call Peggy. Next to the call buttons are your sound sliders; these control the sound of everything in the booth, such as the record player and the soundboard. The last group of buttons is your actual soundboard. While the characters in the story don’t react to the sounds being played, they’re really good at easing the tension, especially if you get the timing right.
The next tool on your desk is a tape player. This is useful for any cassette tape you might pick up in different areas of the radio station. Most of the tapes are just there to play paid advertisements on your show, but some have useful information when trying to help a caller outsmart the Whistling Man.
Tapes aren’t the only thing that can help. Various notes, magazines, and even some garbage can give you the information you need. Some of the tricks you might learn are how to hotwire a car when a caller loses their car keys, running from the killer.
Throughout Killer Frequency, you will need to keep your mind sharp as there will be multiple quick-time options. Every choice you make matters, and if you’re not careful, the lives of your callers can be lost. If you can’t remember what you were supposed to be searching for as you explore KFAM, Peggy is ready to help if you ring her up.
As you save more and more callers or, unfortunately, fail to save them, you’ll get to the point where a caller calls in requesting that Forest play a song. Unfortunately for you, it means leaving the questionable safety of the building for the Dark alleyways as Peggy threw that record out of the window. After you retrieve the record, you will have to find a way back into KFAM, as the door you exited from is unfortunately locked behind you.
Killer Frequency combines the 80’s retro design with old-school electronics. Every room you go to in KFAM is lit in a way that adds to the game’s atmosphere. The ambient music also changes as you move around the studio to explore or grab items needed for figuring out a puzzle. This gives the feeling that even though you have moved to other parts of the studio, there is a sense of urgency to get back.
Waiting in the booth can get a bit boring, especially if you get caught by one of Ponty’s self-promotions. Luckily, the devs added something to alleviate that boredom. Just a little past your soundboard on the left side of the desk sits a pile of paper. Some of it has been scrunched up.
When you look over to where Peggy is sitting in the producer’s booth, you’ll notice a trash can with a basketball hoop over it. Written on the hoop is ‘Killer Shot’. So if you get bored, you can try to see how many paper balls you can get into the basket before the end of the game.
The animations for Killer Frequency are smooth, but it’s not the only thing that’s been done to high standards, as the design of the game is incredibly tasteful, especially when you catch a look at the Whistling Man. From the lighting and shading to little changes visible as you walk through the different areas, everything was accounted for in this thriller radio show.
The dark but gritty style fits the theme of Killer Frequency, as the 80s were all about muted colors and neon lights, well, depending on the crowd you were a part of. Team 17 seems to have blended this all to give that 80’s over-the-top look without it taking away from the storyline. While you can’t see the appearance of most of the characters, you can still see the influence of this style throughout KFAM, and it’s just what the 80s ordered.
Killer frequency is fully voiced, and each character’s voice actor nailed what they needed to do to make their characters come to life. The urgency and emotion of each of the callers as they talk to Forest and Peggy is incredible because as the night wears on, the calls get more urgent.
As Forest unravels the story behind why the Whistling Man is back, you will discover that each of the callers has a connection to one another, and this is easily portrayed by what each caller says about a different caller if they mention them. Even the voice acting for the paid advertisements that you play in-game is done well and geared towards that ’80s sound.
Overall, Killer Frequency is another success that Team17 can add to their list of titles, from a storyline filled with twists and amazing voice acting to keep you locked into the story. There is always something to do within KFAM’s studio, whether you hunt down killer records to add to your collection or just spend a few minutes trying to make that perfect shot.
