Carl Jung wrote of the shadow self. In the Beasts In The Sun -Skeleton Test-, the beast is that shadow dragged into the blinding light of noon. There is nowhere to hide. The test begins when your internal predator—your ambition, your lust, your rage—is stripped of the cool cave of denial and forced to walk under an unrelenting sky.
Developer: [Unknown/Independent] Platform: PC (Reviewed) Genre: Psychological Horror / Puzzle Release Date: [Current Year]
There is a particular brand of horror that doesn't rely on the jump scare or the grotesque monster hiding in a closet. It is the horror of the uncanny valley, of things that should be alive but remain stubbornly, hauntingly inanimate. "Beasts In The Sun -Skeleton Test-" is a fascinating, albeit rough, anomaly in the indie horror landscape. It is less of a finished game and more of an esoteric thesis statement on atmosphere, a title that feels like it was unearthed from a dusty CRT monitor in a haunted arcade.
As the title suggests, this is a "Test." It is a prototype, a proof of concept. Yet, within its skeletal framework, there beats a surprisingly heavy heart of dread.
The sun finally dips. The skeleton, now cool, looks at the horizon. It has passed the test. It is not alive in the old way. But it is more honest.