Imagine a cross between Stephen King’s The Running Man, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, and Five Nights at Freddy’s, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Finding Frankie. Developed by Superlou, Finding Frankie is a blend of horror and survival, with parkour elements woven throughout. Following a successful PC launch in October 2024, it is set to release it on PlayStation and Xbox on April 15th.
What Is Finding Frankie?
To put it simply, Finding Frankie is a game show-inspired horror game. It begins when the playable character receives an invitation hidden inside a box of Frankie’s branded cereal. The invitation is to take part in a game show for the chance to win a ludicrous amount of money. What starts as a lighthearted obstacle course quickly turns sinister when the player discovers dead bodies. As it turns out, deadly animatronics Frankie and Henry Hotline have hunted down and killed the other participants, so it becomes apparent that the object of the game show isn’t to win — it’s to survive.
The graphics and character designs are pretty good, and the music and sound effects do a great job of creating an eerie atmosphere. The shift between the upbeat music of the parkour rooms and the deathly silence of the rest of the building really builds the tension, and the music in the final room, in particular, featured a cool electronic beat that stuck in my head for ages.
Gameplay
The game gives you a quick tutorial on the parkour mechanics, then it wastes no time throwing you into the chaos. You’ll learn how to run, jump, swing from bars, and bounce from point to point across a wall.
Much of the game sees you traversing through Frankie’s Parkour Palace, flipping switches to unlock rooms and progress deeper into the building. This part is usually pretty easy — you just need to make sure you flick all the switches within the time limit. Other times, you’ll have to do the same whilst also sneaking around to avoid one of the killer animatronics. For me, one of the tensest moments was when I had to navigate a dark, maze-like room and activate a series of telephones whilst avoiding the prowling Henry Hotline.
Parkour, Chases, and Survival
The highlight, however, is the parkour element. It’s what makes Finding Frankie different from other games in the genre. Several themed rooms focus on parkour, including a water park, a trampoline room, and more. I had fun in these rooms, but sometimes I wasn’t sure where to go next, so they’d take me a while to complete.
This was particularly unfortunate when I was running away from one of the animatronics, because the chase scenes were actually longer than I expected. Each one has different sections with different obstacles, and the animatronics are far from forgiving. Mistiming a jump or bumping into even the smallest obstacle can mean the difference between surviving and getting caught. I admit I made some stupid mistakes — I thought the chase was over and slowed down, only to end up with a game over. Still, the chases were high-stakes and thrilling, punishing even the smallest mistakes.
Much like similar games in the genre, you can’t fight back. At the beginning of the game, you have absolutely nothing, but eventually, you come across Deputy Duck, a friendly animatronic who is actually pretty useful if you don’t mind his robotic quacking. He functions as a mini radar that helps you find objectives and has a flashlight, but unfortunately, the light doesn’t stay on for long. It’s like the flash of a camera, but while it doesn’t give off much light, it’s better than nothing.
Controls
There aren’t too many controls to learn for Finding Frankie. You run, jump, slide, and control Deputy Duck once you unlock him. Most of the controls are fairly easy to master, but I found swinging from pipes to be incredibly awkward.
The issue lies in the number of inputs required. In order to swing, you’ve got to run using the left joystick and trigger, aim using the right joystick, and press a button to interact with the pipe. Having to do all of this at once made it feel awkward and clunky rather than the smooth gameplay you’d want in a parkour game, and I found myself dreading that particular obstacle. Thankfully, it only showed up a couple of times, and even when it did, it could usually be avoided.
Final Thoughts
Finding Frankie was a little repetitive at times, but overall, I enjoyed my time with it. I found the gameplay to pretty fun, and with its parkour elements, it offered something a little different to the mascot horror genre, but clunky controls made it feel a little unpolished at times. The game also feels pretty short for the price since you can finish it in a couple of hours, and there’s not much replay value beyond trying to beat your time. Still, if you’re a fan of mascot games but are looking for something unique, it’s definitely worth checking out.
Developer: Superlou
Publisher: Perp Games
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: 15th April 2025 (consoles), 25th October 2024 (PC)
Gaming Respawn’s copy of Finding Frankie was provided by the publisher.
