Ghost Frequency Review (PC)

I’ve crossed this path one too many times before, and I’ve seen with my own two eyes just how mischievous a poltergeist can be when provoked by a paranormal investigator and the devices that they hold like iron crosses against a demonic deity. It’s like deja vu: the world and all of its ominous trimmings are teetering between being oddly comforting and an inescapable fever dream that I can’t help but recognize, much less escape from. Here, in Ghost Frequency, I clutch onto the same tools, and I walk the same steps that I’ve taken so, so many times before. And yet, deep down I have a glimmer of hope that this time will be different. The objective is the same, and as far as the eye can tell, the rabbit hole will take me down the same road. I’m just hoping that the destination won’t be so cliche.

The tools of the trade are alive and kicking in Ghost Frequency. From the EVP recorder to the IR thermal camera, the EMF detector to the UV backlight — here, the investigation orbits the same equipment that we’ve clocked countless times in the usual shameless reality television series. But, there’s a difference here: “reality” is often scripted, whereas these corridors are unpredictable and hold oh-so many secrets. The setup is identical, and yet there’s more to it. I’ve a hunch that something, somewhere, will unveil a hidden agenda in due course. I’m skeptical, but I’m also ever so cautious about the possibility that a spirit could emerge from the darkness at any given moment. I suppose, to make sense of it all, I ought to flick the switch and launch the investigation. I’m ready for a ghost hunt.

Who You Gonna Call?

Nope, not Ghostbusters. Here, folks dial the number of another service—the PIT, or the Paranormal Investigation Team, to be more precise. This team, which consists of two out of a possible four detectives at the beginning of your expedition into the shadow realm, features Mark and Emily—two veterans whose joint purpose is to plug into an abandoned complex, and to unravel the tapestry of secrets pertaining to their missing colleagues. Surprise surprise, that’s you. For the entirety of this dusk-to-dawn endeavor, your job is to fill the boots of the surviving members of PIT, and embark on a seemingly noble quest to connect the dots and make sense of an abysmal situation.

Ghost Frequency doesn’t refrain from using all of the tools of the trade to construct its experience. From the moment you step through the hollow walls of the creepily “vacant” home, the task becomes almost too clear, and it falls to you to utilize said tools to help bridge the gap between the living world and the spiritual domain that looms beyond a smokescreen of well-timed jump scares and other questionable events that frequent the twilight shift. And by that I mean, as an investigator, you must learn to foster equipment like an EVP recorder, which allows you to detect unnatural phenomena in the environment, as well as other useful gadgets, such as the thermal scanner, which allows you the opportunity to see through the veil to unlock additional clues on the entity’s general whereabouts and motives.

Tiptoe Through the Window

Ghost Frequency involves alternating between a couple of textbook jobs, both of which require you to take full advantage of a piece of equipment, and explore the barren bones of an old home as unsettling events gradually shape the four walls (or the storyline, in general) around you. As you switch between these tools, several of which often serve as useful keys to unraveling new areas, a specific puzzle, or the next story beat, things (we’ll leave it at things just to avoid any potential spoilers) slowly begin to take shape. And it’s your job, in short, to carve even deeper into the home as the grains of the hourglass wane and the clock gradually shifts toward dawn. There’s nothing particularly new about any of this, I’ll admit. But stick with us, anyway.

The feature that propels Ghost Frequency into its own league is its collaboration with PIT, the real-life ghost hunting team that, for the benefit of the game, opts to adopt the same tools and real knowledge to shape the world and curve the gameplay into something slightly more authentic and plausible. It doesn’t always hit the mark, I’ll admit, though the inclusion of the proper equipment does make the experience all the more compelling. It’s still a little wishy-washy in parts, though the general atmosphere is surprisingly ironclad and immersive.

Verdict

Ghost Frequency paints an image that we’ve seen a great deal of times before, and makes no attempt to remove the shackles that keep it tied to a familiar yet equally compelling concept. It works with the same hand that has been dealt to so, so many other keepers, so I’m on the fence ever so slightly. On the one hand, I can’t help but admire its ability to spin a web using the exact same yarn as its counterparts. But on the other hand, I can’t help but think that it could’ve done a lot more with the cards it had in its back pocket.

There are various hints of P.T. and other notable corridor-hopping psychological horrors here, which isn’t a problem unto itself. Yet, there’s also a lot of that same basic peppering spread across its secondary parts, too, which leads me to believe that it isn’t so much of a unique product that falls into a league of its own as it is a common hand-me-down of an incredibly prolific genre. That said, given that it still manages to rustle up some quality scaremongering and even deliver a barrage of genuinely effective jump scares, I’m inclined to think that it would still make for a fitting representative for its field of choice, warts and all.

Of course, if you’re a sucker for ominous locations, atmospheric conditions, and cheap independent jump scares, then you’re probably going to get a kick out of sweeping the floor with this pocket-sized tribute to ghost hunting and the paranormal arts.