Free-to-play indie horror

Infineural is a free-to-play horror game from indie developer Mike Klubnika. However, unlike most games in the genre that focuses on the occult and supernatural, this psychological simulation focuses on a scientific concept known as time dilation. With its simple controls, it’s up to the player to navigate the small town and arrive at one of its multiple, mindbending endings.

With its gameplay mechanics, Infineural feels slightly similar to Max Payne with regard to its treatment of time. If you’re looking for other games with a unique approach to science, check out Assessment Examination or The Stanley Parable.

Test a new neural system

The premise of Infineural revolves around a new warp drive system that lets you experience time dilation. You basically skip time, experiencing 50 years ahead while the rest of the world has only moved five minutes. This seemingly exciting sci-fi concept turns into the stuff of nightmares—and it’s something you should see for yourself. The game does a good job of letting you experience this horror in first-person.

As for the graphics, it looks dated. It has a similar visual style to First Land, another indie game tackling unspeakable horrors. It has a low level of detail and uses low-poly character models. However, it gives the feel of the game being a simulation in itself, adding to its unsettling vibes. Simply put, the visual choice doesn’t take much away from the experience.

Like most indie games, it has a short playthrough. However, this game is shorter than most. Like a punch in the gut, a run ends just as soon as you think you’re getting familiar with it. There are multiple endings, each being distinctly different from the other. Like Stanley Parable, minor changes in how you play lead to different paths.

A quick must-try

Overall, Infineural is one of those indie games that are unusually short yet incredibly memorable. It builds itself around a seemingly brief science concept and the implications it can have on the human psyche, an experience that you can see for yourself. Also, its replayability comes from the fact that small changes in your choices lead to different endings. For a small indie game, it’s highly recommended.