The Quiet Horror of Teleforum

Teleforum is confusing right out of the gate, and it stays that way for most of the experience. You eventually learn that you work for a news station and that one of the anchors has died. Your job is to interview his wife and try to get more details about what happened. That’s the setup—but the game never really explains itself in a clear or straightforward way.

The story doesn’t fully reveal itself in one playthrough. In fact, it kind of demands multiple runs. Not just for achievements, but because new pieces of the story slowly show up over time. Even after seeing everything the game has to offer, a lot of it still feels vague and open-ended.

Gameplay-wise, this is a classic point-and-click horror game. Nothing really changes from start to finish. There are no jump scares, no moments where the game is trying to make you panic. Instead, it focuses on making you feel uneasy.

The horror here is more about mood than fear. It’s slow, quiet, and uncomfortable. The game wants you to sit with that feeling rather than shock you with it.

After six playthroughs, unlocking every achievement and filling out the entire gallery, I still didn’t fully understand what the game was trying to say on my own. I had to spend extra time reading discussions and interpretations to get a clearer picture of what might actually be happening.

One of the best explanations I found came from a Steam user named “76561199257211989.”

The short version: the game isn’t about anything paranormal. It’s about how mass media affects people. Walter, a lonely journalist, becomes mentally overwhelmed after watching a strange tape and starts seeing normal events as part of a larger conspiracy. That mindset eventually leads him to kill himself live on TV. Other characters represent different stages of media influence—both on journalists and viewers. The overall message seems to be that media shapes how we see reality, and the only way to escape that influence is to step away from it entirely.

None of this is confirmed in-game, though. It’s still just interpretation. A prequel called Drowned Lake is currently in the works and may explain more about Walter’s death, but for now, Teleforum leaves most of the meaning up to the player.

This is where the game really shines. The sound design is excellent and does a lot to set the tone. I’d strongly recommend playing with headphones. The CRT TV visuals and FMV footage are used really well and fit the theme perfectly. Everything feels intentional and placed where it needs to be.

This isn’t a game that’s going to keep you up at night. It’s not “scream out loud” scary. It’s more of a weird, uncomfortable experience that sticks with you. It reminded me a lot of Sinister in the way it slowly creeps under your skin instead of relying on cheap scares.

I played through the game six times, with each run taking about 25 minutes. I unlocked all achievements, though I did need a guide for a few of them. All in all, it took about 120 minutes to see everything the game has to offer.

If you’re into free indie horror that values atmosphere and weird ideas over clear answers and jump scares, Teleforum is worth checking out—as long as you’re okay with doing some of the thinking yourself.