Scorn

 

Every now and then I play a game or watch a movie or experience something that rattles me to the core, and I must share it!

 

 

 

Scorn

Oh my God what a grotesquely beautiful game. A visceral work of art. Horrific and deeply disturbing. I finished it without consulting a walkthrough. All of the puzzles are perfectly logical. The combat is deliberately awkward; you collect weapons, but you never feel powerful wielding one. This helps preserve a sense of dread as you plod down blood-stained corridors filled with flesh, and the monstrosities that feed on it. This is a deeply disturbing experience that feels profound by the end. There may or may not be a story going on here, though I do spy something symbolic in the imagery. You do progress from a realm of twisted flesh to an even weirder place that seems like heaven compared to the one you just escaped but is somehow even more grotesque. The finale leaves me heartbroken. I’d gladly recommend this to anyone who can find beauty in the bizarre. The less said the better.

[Supplementary, no spoilers because there’s nothing to spoil. You must experience Scorn to appreciate it:

I can understand the critiques. In terms of gameplay, Scorn doesn’t have much to offer. What puzzles there are have been done before, and they are not very clever. Still, they are tied to their environment for the most part, and there aren’t so many of them they become intrusive or contrived just to delay the player. They function as welcome breaths of fresh air from the grotesque exploration and combat.

Combat works very well. Some reviewers have called it clunky, but it’s not. It’s designed not to make you feel powerful while holding a weapon. Even while armed, the game ensures you feel vulnerable while exploring the monster-filled corridors made of metal and flesh. I felt genuine dread turning every corner until the very end of this game, and that’s a good accomplishment.

Scorn is neither a puzzle adventure game nor an FPS. I think it strikes a nice balance between them. It combines the best elements of the adventure game (an immersive world to explore) with the best of a survival horror FPS (required combat to advance to the next checkpoint). It could have been a mere walking simulator, but the combat and puzzles keep the player engaged in the absence of a liner story.

I do wish the game had done better at establishing objectives, as it sometimes feels like you solve puzzles without any idea why, only to find out afterward that doing so unlocked a door at the end of the hall which you have not seen until it is unlocked.

It’s a small gripe though, as the experience is so immersive. As others have noted, the surreal, grotesque environment is the main draw, and while many will find the lack of a cohesive narrative annoying, I think that’s part of the experience. This is a living nightmare grounded just enough in reality to make sense within the context of itself. Normally I get frustrated when the narrative is obscure, but for Scorn, there are enough clues for it to add up well enough to make the ending unforgettable.

And that final area... I adore how it feels like heaven compared to what you just spent 6 hours escaping from, and yet it’s even more grotesque and horrifying. I couldn’t stop looking at it. Everything in the game is a gorgeous work of art, from the monsters to the murals to the animation, and the whole point is to live in it. To let it become your reality. Scorn is a perfect candidate for a VR game.

Scorn is a moving experience that straddles the line between adventure game and survival horror FPS. I enjoyed every minute of it, including the breathtaking ending.]