The year is 1987. A killer is on the loose in the sleepy little town of Gallows Creek, and the only one who can stop them is a pair of late-night radio hosts. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that was the summary for a cult horror B-movie, probably starring Barbara Crampton. In reality, that’s the setup for Killer Frequency, a shockingly underappreciated 2023 puzzle game that’s free on PlayStation Plus this month.
In Killer Frequency, you play as Forest Nash, a disgruntled radio DJ sent to host Gallows Creek’s station, The Scream, after being booted out of your job in the big city. As the game begins, Nash grumpily walks through the setup for the late-night call-in show with producer Peggy, which also conveniently teaches the player how to run the show and introduces all the DJ doodads that will be used in puzzles later.
Once the show is on the air, things quickly go off the rails. Nash receives a call from a police dispatcher, who reveals that the sheriff has been killed, and thanks to some incredibly poorly timed vacation requests, there’s not a cop in town to take over. As the only person in town set up to take calls and broadcast to the public, the duty of keeping Gallows Creek falls on Nash’s completely unprepared shoulders.
Conversations are the heart of Killer Frequency. Josh Cowdery (Nash) and Naomi McDonald (Peggy) prove that from the very beginning with their banter, and watching their relationship develop over the course of the game is a treat. But most conversations aren’t so cordial. Throughout the night, residents of Gallows Creek call Nash with their problems, and it quickly becomes clear that a local serial killer called the Whistling Man has returned.
Killer Frequency quickly falls into a familiar groove, as Nash must use what callers tell him and what he can find around the station to help get everyone through the night alive. While the game could have gone further in finding novel ways to use The Scream’s audio equipment for puzzle solutions, responding to callers is still a lot of fun. To help them survive the night, you need to listen closely to their problems and search through the studio for any information that might help them. Anything from an automotive magazine to an ad for a pizza place could be the key, and snooping through the station’s dark offices while you know there’s a killer on the loose adds a sense of tension to even the most mundane tasks.
As the game goes on, Nash begins to take on more of the role of an investigator. More than just keeping the Whistling Man’s potential victims safe, he’ll dive into the town’s dark history to uncover exactly what’s motivating the killer and how they might be stopped for good.
And while all that’s happening, the show must go on. Dealing with callers is tense, both from the need to find the right puzzle solutions and the genuine horror of listening in as they try to evade a killer without being able to physically help them. That makes the breaks between calls an extremely welcome relief from the tension. As DJ, you can choose from a set of records, which you’ll find more of throughout the game, and jam to some thematic ‘80s tunes. In a game all about a radio station, it’s no surprise that everything from the voice acting to the soundtrack sounds fantastic.
Taking cues from
Killer Frequency takes its cues from and replicates the fun, campy tone of ‘80s slasher movies. Even if you’re not a horror fan, you might still be enthralled trying to save the town of Gallows Creek with your trusty turntable at your side.
