Alt-Frequencies

About

Alt-Frequencies is a single player arcade simulation game with a mystery theme. It was developed by Plug In Digital and was released on May 16, 2019. It received positive reviews from players.

Alt-Frequencies takes players on an audio-based journey where interactive investigation meets podcasting, and players are tasked with unravelling a mystery taking place between multiple radio stations among a disparate group of people.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 189 reviews

story52 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Unique and innovative gameplay mechanic involving recording and broadcasting radio clips within a time loop to influence events.
Strong voice acting and sound design that create an immersive radio experience and bring characters to life.
Engaging narrative with themes of government conspiracy, media manipulation, and activism, delivered through intertwined radio broadcasts.

Gameplay can be frustrating due to lack of clear context clues, leading to trial-and-error and repetitive loops that may waste players' time.
The story is short, feels rushed, and ends abruptly with little meaningful consequence to player choices, which reduces replayability.
Some technical and control issues, including unintuitive UI, limited navigation options, occasional crashes, and lack of rewind functionality.

story
157 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
64%
3%
Alt-Frequencies features an innovative audio-driven narrative centered on uncovering a conspiracy through time loops, with compelling voice acting and an engaging premise. However, the story is generally considered short, somewhat underdeveloped, and rushed, with limited character depth and a lack of meaningful player impact on the outcome. While the concept and mechanics are praised, many players felt the plot ended abruptly and desired more expansion and variation.
- “The game is deeply concerned with media, misinformation, and the power of storytelling in shaping public opinion.”
- “As a devoted gamer with an affinity for innovative gameplay and engaging narratives, I can confidently say that this game is a breath of fresh air that pushes the boundaries of interactive storytelling.”
- “Your role in uncovering and disseminating the truth feels both relevant and impactful, adding depth to the game's overarching storyline.”
- “The plot feels rushed and unfinished while the characters look more like caricatures of what they represent with some unrealistic voice acting performances.”
- “This divide in narrative between these opposing stories doesn't overlap smoothly, resulting in an underdeveloped time loop story, a government you barely get to know and an underground rebel movement with surface-level ideals that are never expanded upon.”
- “My only complaint is that the story isn't particularly deep, it presents ideas and a setting and a story but it doesn't really go anywhere with it, it just ends.”
gameplay
86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
63%
8%
The gameplay of the game is centered around a unique and innovative mechanic of recording and sending radio audio clips to influence events, which many find engaging and refreshing. While the controls and interface can feel clumsy or obtuse at times, the core gameplay loop is praised for its simplicity and fitting integration with the narrative. However, some players note that the experience can become monotonous or underdeveloped due to limited content and lack of consequence in decision-making.
- “The gameplay relies on intuiting which sound clips are pertinent to the current situation and figuring out which portion of which station's broadcast to upload the sound bite to in order to progress the plot.”
- “This game was really cool and plays with a unique radio frequency mechanic in unexpected ways.”
- “The gameplay is genuinely striking—capturing fragments of audio within time loops, like a sonic detective.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay is actually much less creative than it sounds, becoming monotonous.”
- “The record and playback mechanics are clumsy and don't always seem to respond.”
- “There is a sending and receiving mechanic where you record audio from a station and then send it to another — which sounds cool — but in practice is just really obtuse and annoying.”
music
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The music in the game is widely praised as catchy, well-chosen, and occasionally outstanding, with several users highlighting the soundtrack as a standout feature. Voice acting is generally strong and complements the engaging dialogue and storytelling. Many reviewers express a desire for an expanded or purchasable soundtrack due to its quality and appeal.
- “The characters, voices, and the music are simply superb; all of the 100% achievements really feel earned and like little Easter eggs.”
- “Also was pleasantly surprised with how fantastic the soundtrack was!”
- “The storyline conversations are genuinely interesting, and there's a great soundtrack here that could have been fleshed out with a few more songs.”
- “Sadly (because the rest of the presentation, including music, is damned solid), I cannot recommend a game that doesn't respect the player's time and substitutes brute-force, random guess 'puzzling' for actual conundrums that can be logically solved.”
- “Also, a banger soundtrack.”
- “Surprisingly decent original music.”
graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game features minimal and static visuals, primarily consisting of a single beautifully painted room and a simple radio interface. Rather than focusing on traditional graphics, it emphasizes audio and atmosphere, creating a relaxing and immersive experience despite its visual simplicity.
- “Alt-frequencies is a good short game with an original story, some nice graphics and a relaxing ambient.”
- “Despite being too static, minimal visuals are nice with an overall relaxing atmosphere.”
- “Visuals were of course very simple but the one room you see is very gorgeously painted.”
- “I could see this game not being for everyone since it's all audio; the only visuals are the game interface, a picture of a radio, the station name, and subtitles of the audio stream.”
- “Visuals were of course very simple, but the one room you see is very gorgeously painted.”
- “Rather than relying on visuals, environments, or traditional exploration, the game unfolds almost entirely through radio broadcasts, asking players to listen closely, think critically, and actively manipulate the flow of information in order to progress.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
Grinding in this game can feel tedious and repetitive, especially when having to replay segments multiple times without a convenient restart option. While the time-loop concept is interesting, the frequent replaying sometimes leads to frustration for players.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Designing time loop games can be tricky, because subjecting players to reliving the same events many times can make the gameplay tedious very quickly.”
- “The idea is that you listen to and send clips from a series of stations stuck in a time-loop is neat, but from a game design perspective, it's really odd and tedious.”
- “My only criticism is that when having trouble figuring out a puzzle or achievement it can be tedious getting back to the beginning of the level, a restart button would be appreciated.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is unique and consistently clever, blending wit with warmth and tension through engaging dialogue and tone rather than visuals. It offers numerous funny, optional storylines and surprises that encourage exploration and imagination, providing a low-pressure yet richly amusing experience.
- “Humor, tension, warmth, and unease are all conveyed purely through tone and dialogue, encouraging players to engage their imagination rather than rely on visual cues.”
- “Whenever I asked myself 'I wonder if something would happen if I did...' the answer was very often: 'yes, yes something cool/funny/unforeseen will happen.'”
- “I decided to 100% the game and I'm surprised at the amount of humorous conversations you can miss.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game creates a compelling and immersive atmosphere through strong voice acting and atmospheric sound design, enhancing its sense of loneliness and urgency. While the visuals are minimal and somewhat static, they contribute to a relaxing exploration experience. Overall, the atmosphere appeals especially to players who appreciate cryptic storytelling and mood-driven exploration.
- “The narrative successfully builds a lonely yet urgent atmosphere.”
- “The voice acting is top-notch, drawing you deeper into the story, while the atmospheric sound design immerses you in the world of the game.”
- “It's atmospheric, the voice acting is phenomenal, and the story is very compelling!”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect is mixed, with strong voice acting adding depth and personality to unseen characters, and varied in-game elements reflecting diverse emotional tones. However, the lack of emotional engagement in key moments, particularly the ending and major character events, leaves some players feeling underwhelmed.
- “Strong voice acting is essential here, and the performances succeed in giving personality and emotional weight to characters you never see.”
- “From a carefree non-stop-pop to a pessimistic talk show, each station is characterized to represent different parts of the populace and their emotional response.”
- “Killing (possibly) one of the main characters, and there's no emotional response at all?”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of voice acting is inconsistent, with some performances adding personality and emotional depth, but others feeling unrealistic and detracting from character portrayal. Overall, the voice acting quality affects the immersion and character believability.
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Replayability is limited due to a lack of meaningful player choices and only a single ending, making repeated playthroughs feel repetitive and short despite some added incentive from achievements.
- “However, the lack of player choice consequences and a singular ending severely limited replayability, and the frequent looping of the stations, while attempting to piece together the messages, became extremely repetitive and annoying.”
- “This adds a bit of replayability, but frankly not much.”
- “I was surprised there is a bit of replayability with the achievements, but even with them, the game is still very short.”