‘Hello Stranger’ Is Coming Out Soon, and I’m Tired of FMV Games Not Being Respected as “Actual Video Games”

Hello Stranger is scheduled to come out in May. It’s an FMV game with a hook that reeled me in immediately. “Cam conducts his entire life from his electronically automated smart-home. Work, shopping, entertainment and most notably: socialising. Cam interacts with strangers on the platform Hello Stranger: a randomised video chatting application,” the game’s Steam page states.

“Eventually, he encounters a masked stranger with an altered voice. Unnerved, Cam leaves the call only to find the stranger has hacked his smart-home and locked him in. The Stranger tells Cam that he must win three rounds of games or it is ‘game over’. Viewers must make decisions and play the 3 games for Cam to survive but one wrong choice could lead to a grisly end.”

Hello Stranger promises meaningful choices, many mini-games, and at least 10 unique endings. (You can wishlist it on Steam to give it a needed visibility boost!) And, inevitably, I feel like this will slide under most people’s radars. Because “FMV games aren’t games.” Which I aggressively disagree with. An FMV game or “Walking Sim” contains limited interactivity compared to most other titles, yes. But to dismiss FMV games as “non-games” is insane. Especially with some of the funniest, most creatively abundant ideas that can only be delivered through a video game format.

‘hello stranger’ is an fmv game i truly hope gets the respect it deserves

The last FMV game to get any kind of mainstream acknowledgment is Immortality — and rightfully so! Immortality, to many players, is as invalid a “gaming experience” as it gets. The gameplay loop? Scrubbing through footage, clicking objects, and gaining a small piece of a bigger puzzle. However, that “small” amount of interactivity is what makes Immortality a worthy video game. Because your passivity is part of the game’s grand scheme. Hello Stranger seems to follow a similar lofty ambition.

All I’m saying is that the Hello Strangers in the industry are just as valid as the Horizons or the God of Wars. Come May, give it a shot when it releases! Hell, you may end up kicking yourself for having ignored FMV games in the first place!