The Static Speaks My Name

Gameplay and synopsis

The game takes place in a first-person perspective, and starts out in an indistinct black space, with a grey morphing blob; walking up to it displays a text about a person named Jacob Ernholtz who has committed suicide by hanging at the age of 31. The perspective then shifts to Ernholtz as he is waking up in his apartment; the player - as Ernholtz - must then perform a few menial tasks in the apartment, which is dimly lit with all the doors and windows boarded up. Exploring the apartment reveals that Ernholtz has developed an obsession with a painting of two palm trees and its painter Jason Malone, who a news article pinned to the refrigerator claims has disappeared. The player can also find a hidden doorway behind a bookcase finding Malone in a cage - the player is given the option to either unlock the cage or electrocute Malone. The player then must go to a final room and commit suicide by hanging; the perspective then shifts back to the black space with multiple grey blobs, each with another person's name and method of suicide.

Reception

The game received positive reviews from both critics. The Washington Post stated that the game was relatively short, and that it highlighted Barksdale in "capturing the creeping unease that can come from wanting other people's lives to make too much sense." Patrick Klepek from Kotaku said that the game was highly disturbing, and that he "never played anything like The Static Speaks My Name." A reviewer from GameCritics also stated that he "had a lot of frustrations with Static" and that "while Static didn't work for me, it's short, it's free, and certain aspects of it are very much open to interpretation"