Classic horror with a twist

Telekinetic is an indie horror game from developer AntonyStiv. In this dark adventure, you wake up in a mysterious place filled with corpses and blood. There is something implanted on your head, and your left hand has been replaced by a metal arm capable of telekinesis. 

Telekinetic’s core mechanics involve moving objects and solving puzzles using telekinesis. It’s wonky, but it can be likened to the gravity gun from Half-Life or the telekinesis ability in Bioshock. Just like in most horror games, you need to explore the game’s dark and gloomy world to uncover its mysteries. 

Physics and visuals

The game leans on its telekinesis mechanic to stand out among the multitude of horror games that use the same “you’re in a creepy place, find out what happened” format. However, Telekinetic’s implementation of this mechanic is severely lacking. In other games that feature physics-heavy mechanics, such as Portal and the aforementioned Half-Life, the physics works well and complements the design. The same cannot be said for Telekinetic. 

What was an interesting premise for a horror game is ruined by awful physics, which is unacceptable given Telekinetic heavily relies on it. Controlling objects feel janky because the physics doesn’t work as intended. Objects may fly across the room with a slight nudge, and everything just reacts unpredictably. It’s not a game-breaking problem by any means, but it completely destroys a mechanic that should’ve been more enjoyable. 

Telekinetic’s graphics are better than most indie horror games, but they aren’t exactly beautiful to look at. The textures look fine but the lighting is poorly done. There is too much glare from reflections and the way the game’s camera reacts to light is horrible. It attempted to provide photorealistic visuals, but it was better off using a less realistic but more pleasing style. 

Just another horror game

Telekinetic tried to introduce something new to the genre, but it butchered the execution. The game failed to make enjoyable the only thing that distinguished it from the rest. The graphics were decent but was overshadowed by badly implemented lighting. In summary, the game only stands out for its glaring problems and is just another addition to the ever-growing catalog of bad horror games.