Are you able to get a screenshot of what you’re seeing?
I think you’re on the right track of examing the Hosts file. One thing to doublecheck – are you able to open the Local url in another browser?
There’s currently a bug with Microsoft’s Edge browser, which prevents it from opening sites that are on VirtualBox which is something that Local uses to manage the sites.
If a different browser doesn’t work, can you please provide your local-by-flywheel.log file? See this Community Forum post: How do I retrieve Local's log file? for instructions on how to do so.