Now Playing: Scorn

Scorn is a (sort of) horror, (sort of) puzzle and (sort of) action game that I picked up on sale recently. I say it’s ‘sort of’ those things because it’s a little bit of everything but it doesn’t really excel at anything. The reason why I was interested in Scorn and, frankly, why anyone probably will be, is the visuals. Clearly inspired by the art of H. R. Giger, the visuals are the only real standout feature of Scorn, although they’re also not without issue.

I like how the main menu opens immediately into the game. There’s no exposition in Scorn. No cutscenes. The ‘story’ such as it is, is told entirely through the environment and your actions. It’s a story that does leave various aspects to your own interpretation but it provides enough information for you to come away feeling satisfied by the narrative. Well, I did. Others may find it frustratingly obscure.

As you traverse the impressive looking environments you’ll come across various puzzles to solve in order to progress. These are all fine. There’s nothing particularly challenging, but there’s nothing that’s too easy, either. Some require a little trial and error to figure out, but nothing that should annoy.

You’ll also have to fight a few enemies on your way. You can avoid a lot of these, and I’d recommend you do so where you can because the most common enemy you’ll face is of the irritating ‘spit goo at you’ variety which is never fun. There’s a couple more, but nothing very interesting. I do like the weapon / tool design though and how it integrates into the experience.

Your path through the game is entirely linear which does feel like a missed opportunity. The first puzzle, for example, has a couple of different solutions. I thought all the puzzles might offer a couple of different choices on how to proceed but unfortunately not. It’s a shame because doing so might have then resulted in a different outcome or ending based on the choices you made.

But no. After the first puzzle, everything is a linear progression and there’s no alternative ending. Not that I thought the ending was bad, just that an alternative path through the game might have encouraged another play.

Because Scorn, for me, is very much a ‘one and done’ kind of game. It’s short – about 4 hours max – and it has zero replay value. The visuals are great, but the style can grow repetitive in some areas and can result in some confusion when trying to navigate identical winding paths. There’s a strong atmosphere to the world but I never really found it as imposing or intimidating as I think was intended. The puzzles are fine – what few there are – as is the combat – what little there is.

Overall, I’d have to say I did enjoy the experience and I’m glad I played it, but I’m also glad I picked it up on sale. So I would recommend checking out Scorn, but only if you can get it on the cheap. It’s a decent experience which I felt was worth my (4 hours) time.

6/10