The life of an overnight news editor is often a lonely, mundane existence occasionally interspersed with bursts of excitement as you try to keep the feeds alive until your colleagues return in the morning. However, Static Hour is looking to turn that scenario on its head by asking you to decide what’s worth reporting in the middle of a crisis where you can’t trust the barrage of info coming in.
Set in a small town radio station in the 1980s, the challenge in Static Hour is to unravel the emergency while being confined to the newsroom and being forced to rely solely on information being sent in from outside. Panic has set in, the government has issued a lockdown and there are reports of violence between family members while you attempt to figure out which tips are real and which ones aren’t.
To do so, you’ll need to rely on your wits as you monitor the phones, radio and police scanner for tidbits of truth, or turn to the station’s limited collection of analog tech to get more. And during all of this, you also have to follow FCC regulations while managing the public’s reaction to the news, because everything you report will have an impact on the town.
Now as someone “in the industry” it’s easy to be romantic about a game that highlights the challenges and successes of being a journalist. But at the same time, it looks like Static Hour has captured those vibes in a really engaging way. The game evokes a mix of Papers, Please with shades of Twin Peaks or even Severance to create a tense, haunting scenario that feels much bigger than the single room you’re restricted to.
In the press release for Static Hour, Barkbyte founder and creative director Claire Sarmiento said the inspiration behind the game was that “I loved the idea of spooky things happening in a small town just out of sight, where the horrors are driven by audio and left to your imagination. Furthermore, I was captivated by the idea that something terrible is happening, but you can’t quite grasp exactly what it is. Having to sort through junk data, red herrings, and scattered facts to decipher truth from preemptive speculation seemed like a flavor of horror that remains as relevant today as ever.”
Granted, while we only have the game’s trailer and a handful of screenshots to peruse thus far, it definitely feels like Static Hour nailed that directive. And as someone born in the 80s, the use of old-school gadgets like rotary phones and rolodexes combined with the game’s muted color palette really nails its aesthetic as well.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a concrete release date for Static Hour just yet, however it will be available on PC via Steam.
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