There is arguably no bigger name in the world of interactive films and FMV games than Paul Raschid, who directed The Complex (2020) and wrote and directed Five Dates (2020), The Gallery (2022), and Ten Dates (2023). And his games always drop at the best times; for example, online dating FMV game Five Dates was written, filmed, developed, and released during the initial COVID quarantines. His most recent game, Hello Stranger, follows that pattern. Making everything “smart” is a major trend right now, from phones to entire homes. The film follows a perpetually indoors man, Cam, whose entire apartment is rigged with smart features, including his voice assistant, Sasha. When someone hacks his home and devices, they say he must win three games or he will die.
Hello Stranger — written and directed by Raschid — stars George Blagden, who was also in The Gallery and will appear in Raschid’s next interactive film, The Run. He’s perhaps best known for starring on two television shows, Vikings and Versailles. Bladgen is the perfect Cam, from his perpetual bed-head to the innocent, shimmering fear in his eyes. (I’m not saying he’s perfect, but he definitely doesn’t deserve to die!) Cam runs his hair-care product business from home. He shops from home. He enjoys entertainment media from home. And, linking him to danger, he socialises from home on a website called Hello Stranger. It’s similar to Chatroulette. (My age might be showing, is that still a thing?) He is randomly assigned someone to video chat with, and it’s always supposed to be someone new. The people he chats with sure are… interesting, to say the least.
Following some innocent (or mostly innocent) chatting, Cam finds himself face-to-face through his screen with a creepy masked figure distorting their voice. He tries to leave the call, but the person on the other end has hacked his smart home and devices. Not only can he not leave the call, he can’t leave the apartment. He’s trapped. The figure tells Cam he must win three virtual games or it’s game over for his very real life.
Even as someone with agoraphobia (Cam can claim he doesn’t have it, but he sure acts like he does), I expected a game set in one big room (with a brief glimpse at a washroom) to be claustrophobic, but I should have known better. Rashid proved with Five Dates that he can make magic happen in one apartment, so of course, he was successful at directing the action with Hello Stranger’s restrictions. Cam is mostly at his computer, but he does get up and stretch (or make phone calls) when the hacker says he may. The variety of angles creates movements, even though Cam is mostly still or pacing.
Players make decisions for Cam, guiding him through the games and, in the process, deciding whether he lives or dies. There are two ways to play Hello Stranger: game mode and cinema mode. Game Mode is a new twist to Raschid’s games, incorporating single-player minigames into the film in addition to the decisions. Cinema mode removes all these minigames and is perfect for playing with others and making group decisions. You can also pause decision-making when playing with others, or just give yourself some extra time to think.
I was weary of the minigames, and I still am. I’ve been honest in my past writings about my lack of hand-eye coordination and speed when it comes to playing traditional games (hello, chronic illness), and that was the case with Hello Stranger’s minigames. There were some that I flat-out couldn’t get past, making it impossible to reach those “good” endings. Cinema Mode removed this pressure, but also doesn’t let you miss those endings. And you cannot swap between the two: when I got stuck at the third game in game mode, I had to restart in cinema mode.
There is a decision tree that shows what you’ve seen and what you haven’t, but it doesn’t appear that you can start from anywhere: it’s a new playthrough each time. I wouldn’t take issue with this, but I can’t fast-forward or skip scenes I’ve already viewed, so I tend to lose interest during replays. Otherwise, this tree is extremely helpful in guiding Cam to new scenes. And there are a lot of different scenes, so there’s a good amount of replayability with Hello Stranger.
In cinema mode, you still play games, just not arcade-style. You might find yourself in a strategic round of higher-lower or having to memorise surprisingly small details in film scenes. (I believe one of these is The Gallery… It’s been ages since I played, though.) Some games, like higher-lower, are played against others. One of you will survive. Despite the heavy nature of the games, the man you’re against in higher-lower is boisterous and happy, so it’s a darn shame he’s got to die so that you can have a shot at life. Some games, like the memorisation one, are played on your own.
Hello Stranger leans more into horror than Raschid’s other titles, though it’s more psychological than straight-up gore. Okay, the deaths are a little gory, but that’s death for you. Dying is also kind of campy, and I do love camp in FMV games as it is classically linked to the genre. You see other people die, you see Cam die… odds are, in any playthrough, someone is going to die.
I had fun playing Hello Stranger, even though repeated playthroughs sometimes felt a little redundant. Cam is relatable, and I found myself genuinely rooting for him even though I made him a bit of a creep in one scene… sorry Cam. There is a tense feeling while playing, as though you’re waiting for something to jump out and scream at you. (That doesn’t happen… often…) I’m a bit bummed about the minigames and the decision tree, but I’m thrilled with the story and visuals!
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