Journalism in 2026 is done almost entirely digitally, and information can be at practically anyone’s fingertips in just a few seconds and a few taps on a phone screen. It wasn’t always that way, however, and in Barkbyte Interactive’s Static Hour, you venture to the 1980s to see how the limited technology of the era was used to report the news–and how it can be used to solve a spooky mystery.
Static Hour puts you in the shoes of an editor working the night shift at a news broadcaster. As the only one in the office, it’s up to you to decide what’s fit to broadcast, and it just so happens that a massive outbreak of violence has the public terrified.
To figure out what’s going on, you’ll make use of old-school journalistic tools like a rolodex, as well as the government’s emergency alerts and police-scanner chatter. What information you choose to broadcast will affect how the public acts, and you could potentially plunge the town into further chaos.
“With Static Hour I wanted to create a retro psychological thriller about isolation and misinformation, where you’re given staggering responsibility and must trust yourself in determining what is accurate, Barkbyte founder and creative director Claire Sarmiento said in the official announcement. “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.”
You’ll be responsible for verifying stories’ truthfulness, as well, and Barkbyte says the entire experience will exist in the newsroom itself. You’ll be sending field reporters out to check on stories, or you can choose to ignore them entirely and let everyone panic.
Static Hour doesn’t have a release date yet, but will be available for PC on Steam.