It Sleeps Below the Haar

This is one of the few examples I have ever seen of a videogame faithfully conveying what it truly means "cosmic horror". Now despite what most people think, cosmic horror is not just Cthulhu, Dagon, or whatever cool-looking monster or alien. In the original concept of the father of cosmic horror, HP Lovecraft, fear derives from the sensation of being in front of something that the human mind is not prepared to withstand. The most primal of human fears, is the fear of the unknown, as Lovecraft himself stated. And here unknown actually means incomprehensible. We, as humans, are afraid of what we cannot comprehend. The cosm itself is the most incomprehensible amongst all things. Despite all the advancements of science, we will never be able to fully comprehend it, not even in a million years, and I'm saying this as a scientist myself. Why do religions have much more appeal than science? Because, unlike science, they promise to explain the unexplicable. They promise to vanquish all of human fears. They promise to vanquish the cosmic horror, nonetheless. Now this game aims to canvey the sensation of being in front of such horror, and I personally think it fully manages to fulfill this purpose. Through an excellent use of sound and visuals it manages to create an atmosphere of subtle dread that constantly fills you with the sensation of impending danger, despite the absence of any actual threat. This game is a walking sim, yes, but a perfectly executed one. The player always feels entertained and engaged, never bored. And most importantly, he/she feels a constant curiosity, a constant stimulation to learn more about the lore of this obscure island, to shed light on the mystery hidden within its depths. This is true cosmic horror, in its purest form. This game is a true hidden gem, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who, like me, is deeply convinced that horror is something more than cheap jumpscares and gory violence. Cheers guys!

Well this was way better than expected! Truly a serious passion project by a talented solo developer, this 2.5 hour cosmic / Lovecraftian horror adventure game was fantastic. + Lays heavy on the atmosphere, with which I absolutely love, above ground and under water diving + Beautiful haunting folk music during FMV cutscenes, as well as a creepy dreamy soundtrack while wandering around the land that I could listen to for hours + Your cabin has a little TV in it that plays Black and White old vintage movies, I found myself watching a few of them for awhile, it was relaxing late at night and I was just soaking up the atmosphere, dreamy and fun + The puzzles were relaxing, all of the puzzles involve exploring the island, meeting people and finding items + The final ending sequence is pure cosmic horror, mind melting, really well done + Lots of little fun secrets to discover + Lots of little tidbits of Lovecraftian lore to read and discover, interesting eerie story - Foliage texture pop in was too close, would have been nice to have more graphical settings Would love to see what this developer could do with a bigger budget! 9.5 / 10

As a Scot, I wanted to love this game, but I came out disappointed. I was hoping for some more overt horror. If you go in expecting more of an unnerving atmosphere, maybe you'll get on okay. I think it does a good job setting a mood, but the game is so thin on story (despite an extended opening audio scene) that there isn't really anything to latch onto, besides the repetitive quests you have to complete to get through each day. The worst of these involves crossing a causeway at a specific time of day, and the only way to advance time beyond sitting and waiting is to sleep, but you don't get to choose how long you sleep, and the causeway is just far enough from the bed that you can miss the short window, even if it seemed like you should have made it. The game also feels very buggy - you can clip through the environment in places, the character continues to move for a few steps after you release the controls, and if you accelerate off an elevated platform you just float slowly down to the ground instead of obeying the laws of gravity. The most interesting part of the game is the ending sequence which employs some interesting effects I've never seen before in a game. It's just a shame everything up to that point feels like a chore. I would have preferred a more focused, linear experience. This was like open world cosmic horror, minus the scariness.

That was a really nice weird game. I liked it very much, will definitely replay. The grainy visuals and the eerie sounds really added to it. The end is... well Not what I expected but interesting in it's own way. Very good game!

A LOT of love was put into this game. i loved the relaxed and self directed pace, while still feeling enormously uneasy the entire time. I was reminded of Annihilation but i liked this story much much more. Well worth the money, in my opinion.

Really awesome atmospheric Scottish cosmic horror exploration game. I loved exploring the lore of Kellis Bay through the quests and environmental storytelling. The creepy sound design and cinematics add to the unsettling vibe of this game. Loved the little portable radio you could listen to as you're walking around too!

I loved this game to bits. I played the previous game (a much shorter cosmic horror game called “Black Iris” and fell in love with the storytelling, style and atmosphere, so buying this was a given. But my god, I did not expect that this game would be so creepy, fascinating and filled with secrets. You have a whole island to discover and there are so many little things you’d miss if you only went for the main mission. There’s side quests, quirky characters and just creepy things all over the place. It says 1-2 hours on the game page but I spent over 3 hours gleefully exploring.

Cosmic horror story about a geologist who goes on an island to inspect some minerals and weird things starts to happen.

I didn't understand everything but the vibes were immaculate. I also enjoyed the dedication to Scottish lore. Thanks for making this <3

Le jeu est bon pour créer une atmosphère lugubre creepy. On peut explorer une région avec plein de choses bizarres dedans, comme des crashs de satellites, des expérimentations militaires, des horreurs cosmiques et des trucs paranormaux. Le fait que je sois souvent allé en dehors de la route parce que les environs m'intriguaient est un signe que le jeu a quelque chose d'intéressant. Il y a des quêtes qui sont un prétexte pour faire explorer le joueur, mais ces quêtes sont très ennuyantes, par exemple prendre une photo d'un truc, récupérer un champignon, etc. Il y a quelques notes sur les événements étranges qui s'y sont passés, mais ces notes sont juste là pour créer une ambiance et il n'y a pas d'histoire ou de vrai mystère à creuser. Il n'y a pas de screamers ni d'horreurs au sens traditionel. La map aurait mérité d'être un peu plus belle, mais bon, le jeu a été développé par une seule personne. Les personnages ressemblent à des joueurs Roblox, ça a un peu cassé l'ambiance pour moi. J'attendais au moins un petit fil rouge et des trucs intéressants à faire. En fait, c'est simplement un walking sim et bien que j'aime les walking sim, je n'aime pas faire des allers-retours et il faut au moins que les paysages soient beaux. Edit: en y repensant j'en garde de bons souvenirs; finalement je recommande. Je trouvais que c'était une bonne idée d'avoir un dictionnaire de poche pour comprendre l'écossais; d'avoir des événements qui n'apparaissent que certains jours ou certaines heures ou que quand la marrée est assez basse.