Killer Frequency Review

It's whistling night, the annual day of the year where Gallows Creek remembers the notorious serial killer, The Whistling Man, though late-night radio host Forrest Nash may just find out he is more than a legend tonight. Killer Frequency is an exciting experience that doesn't really fit into any of the contemporary genres. Its quirky and unique style means you won't experience another like it in a long time. So, should you tune in to this experience?

Take control of Forrest Nash, a formerly famous late-night radio host that has lost his previous fame and is now part of a show in a small town in the mid-west USA. Prepare to go live on the radio, get the music going in quiet times, and take calls from the residents of this sleepy town... that is, until the next caller that faces a life-or-death situation.

As night beckons and the phone rings, the 911 dispatcher calls to tell you that the sheriff is dead, the deputy is tied and locked up, and there is a killer somewhere in the station, whistling ominously as a previous serial killer did once years ago. How will you help?

Killer Frequency puts you in the forefront of a late-night host that fills in for a 911 operator as she goes out to try to get back up. Every phone ring could be a resident, a prank, or someone facing serious peril tonight, and it is up to your actions and decisions to keep them alive.

Although the game masquerades itself as a horror film with slasher themes, it's worth noting that many — even the weak of stomach — should be able to enjoy this. Each decision you make can save or kill your various callers throughout the night, but their performance isn't that of true, gut-wrenching terror but instead oftentimes comical and humorous. Save anyone ranging from a woman that's too much into jazz to a virgin, or even a drunken man that calls The Whistling Man to a duel — though, you could just let them perish.

Each call presents you with a new puzzle to overcome, and it'll be up to you and your wits to outsmart the killer tonight — Peggy, your producer, won't be much help. That said, as long as you know how to read a manual, a map, or use logic, the puzzles in Killer Frequency might not even be puzzles at all — they are simple and don't have a time limit. I made this same comparison in my preview, but its gameplay is very much akin to Firewatch minus the drunken romance and instead surviving a horror film. And that's not bad.

First and foremost, Killer Frequency is a comical title above all else, and it shows in the areas it most excels at — its humour. The callers are quirky, the characters are funny, and the dialogue choices are nothing short of hilarious, which is dissonating when you hear the screams over the phone after you "make" the wrong choice (because sometimes... sometimes murder is tempting).

The narrative isn't long and can unfold relatively quickly depending on your decisions, how well you perform, and even your exploration of the office space, but that also means that you can immediately jump into the game and go for the killer run — let's be honest, we all want to do a killer run. What the game does best is make its dialogue enjoyable and hilarious, and simple gameplay elements aside, it is the only thing it needs to be.

Killer Frequency is a title that pretty much anyone can pick up and play; whether you're squeamish about murder, afraid of horror games, or can't solve puzzles, the game has you covered in terms of simple gameplay. Instead of heart-pumping fun, you'll get laughs and great dialogue, and, at the end of it all, who knows how the night will end?