Alt-Frequencies Review (Nintendo Switch)

Game: Alt- Frequencies
Genre: Adventure, Other, Puzzle, Board Game
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam & Mobile)
Developers | Publishers: Accidental Queens | Plug In Digital
Age Rating: EU 12 | USA Teen
Price: EU €7,99 | USD $7.99 | UK £7.19
Release Date: December 10th, 2020

Review code used, with many thanks to Plug in Digital

Listen to the Airwaves

Alt-Frequencies by developers Accidental Queens and published by Plug In Digital has an unusual premise for a puzzle game. Let’s take a look at it and find out why.

Alt-Frequencies is a puzzle game and it is all about information transferring between prominent radio stations using radio frequencies, kind of like in a “groundhog’s day” setting. The game offers a nice challenge and an interesting story with a science fiction-tinged backstory of an oppressive government trying to fool its civilians into accepting some somewhat totalitarian measures.

Spread the Word

You play your part in a world that is unknowingly part of a 3-minute time loop. Only a small amount of people are aware of time repeating itself, and it’s up to you to help spread the word so people can break the conspiracy and take back control of their lives. So in order to expose the truth, you must listen to different radio broadcasts, record relevant information, and send it back into the airwaves.

Typical Radio Stations

The game sees you sitting in front of a radio, scanning through the airwaves to find information. The stations are all typical, there is a news channel, a college activist channel, a music-DJ channel, a talk show channel, and so on. There is also an underground resistance, led by a man named Winston

Alt-Frequencies is split into chapters, and during each chapter, the radio stations are on a loop of an audio segment. It could be a news segment, an interview, or even a bunch of static with an important sound effect. You can listen to these radio segments as many times as you need because they start over once you get to the end.

Pick the Correct Segment

All the segments are only a few minutes long, and they can be fast-forwarded once you know what you need. The main puzzle aspect comes from finding the correct sentence, such as a question or a statement, and then playing it for the host of another radio station.

The radio stations start by saying they take questions. So, the main riddle is to find the sentence you need and send it to the right host. The hosts make it very clear what they are looking for by saying things such as “only send us yes or no questions about government”, or “we want your questions that relate to lying”.

Press the Record Button

You record the relevant information and then play it back to other stations in the hope that someone can help push the message forwards. If you send the host an incorrect audio clip, they offer some remarks and then move on with the usual recording. You’ll know when you’ve sent the correct clip as the audio loop of that station changes. And it can either progress the dialogue on other stations or provide the clips you need to interact with the next host.

Cool Idea

Alt-Frequencies has a decent enough tutorial, since it’s mainly a few button presses it’s not hard to remember and it’s explained well in the beginning tutorial.

The idea itself is fascinating and will engage those who are into conspiracy science fiction theory. I did find it could be a bit slow sometimes. Though the game in full is all too short, depending on how successful you are in spotting the correct clip, the gameplay time will be between 1-3 hours long.

Visuals and Controls

The game has pretty plain graphics, after all its a radio that your listening to so that’s what you see on screen. On the audio side, the game really comes into its own. There is top-notch quality of both the writing and the voice acting. With a cast ranging from cheesy to spooky, while the dialogue is nicely written.

Controlling the game works well and smoothly. By using the touchscreen or the controls, recording the audio is a simple press of the button or tap of the screen, and the same can be said for replying the clip back.

Conclusion

Alt-Frequencies is a rather nice game with an inspiring premise but with a somewhat lacklustre ending. That’s my only complaint about the game: the story isn’t particularly deep, it presents ideas and a setting and a story but it doesn’t go anywhere with it, it just ends!

It does, however, make a pleasant change from the standard of normal puzzle games. So if you’re looking a different style of puzzle game maybe you should try out Alt-Frequencies and listen to the radio.

Final Verdict: I Like It A Lot