Scorn

It is far from being a good game. It never hooked me.
After only a 15 minutes I wanted to quit it for the first time and after 80 minutes it lost my interest completely.
The only thing that's interesting about this game is the art style.

pretty boring and i couldn't bring myself to finish it. i enjoy a slower game and i didn't mind that this wasnt a shooter, but it's just a cumbersome, sleepy, repetitive game about walking around and like touching one button at a time. can't be bothered. art direction is wonderful and detailed and also all the areas look basically the same. paradoxical!

hands down one of my ULTIMATE FAVORITE games of all time. only half way through it and in total love. the art and design is by far better than any other game I feel like… the graphics are insanely beautiful… the puzzles are top notch and do not hand hold.. the combat is surprisingly challenging and not too easy or difficult… By all means get rhis on sale and enjoy the heck out of it!!!

Scorn is a piece of art.
I love the visuals heavily inspired by H. R. Giger. I love that the story and lore is open for interpretations based on the beautifully weird enviroment and gamer's actions (no texts, no spoken words). And I love when the game (or books or movies) will present me something, what I never seen before.
Scorn is first person adventure where the gamers will mosty solve enviromental puzzles and discover the surroundings. Even if you will get some weapon in your hands, the fighting is pretty slow and "puzzle-like" base on timing and ammo management.
Scorn is the game, I will never get out of my head. It's masterpiece!
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I would be extremely glad, if some kind of photo mode would be there, or at least possibility to hide your weapon

I was very disappointed, creators abandoned this one and turned their backs on the community. The artbook is in some format that's impossible to view. I'm grateful to the members of the community who uploaded the PDF so people can actually view it. Utter scum, don't support these assholes for hiding their content like that from their paying customers.

The game itself is just okay. The puzzles were very frustrating to me, I understand the minimalist style communicating non-verbally, but they really expect some 'moon logic' with some of these solutions. We could have at least used some sort of option to highlight intractable objects, because sometimes it's really not clear what's just cosmetic and what's not.

I would have given it an unenthusiastic recommend as barely acceptable game for the $40 price, but not with how the creators treated us.

Finished the first puzzle and realised I have zero interest in continuing this game. If the first puzzle in the game is this tedious and boring I can only imagine what's to come. Thank god I didn't pay full price for this. This is a master class into how not to intro your game.

The environment in this game is 10/10 but the game itself is very boring — a walking simulator with some puzzles and a few action moments. I’m glad I didn’t pay full price for it. It took about 4–5 hours to complete.

Beautiful atmosphere and graphics, if you're a fan of Zdzilaw Beksinski and H. R. Giger, you'll love this game.

in scorn, you can feel like a sentient cow experiencing the horrors of being slaughtered by machines that are beyond your understanding. the horrors you witness are beyond your control or input, and you can't comprehend their cause or meaning.
and this game makes me physically ill, and i mean that as a compliment. from the beginning to the end, every detail, including the concept, visuals, animation, sound design, and implications, is terrifying and that's great. it almost feels like the most messed up interactive art gallery in existence.

TL;DR: this game is art (and in a good way). Wether you like art-made-videogame or not, it's sure to give you a ride. Period.

For those waiting on a slasher survival horror, go play another game. But for those craving for art made videogame, give this one a try. Although it's kinda short (3 to 6 hours mean time, but I played a bit more), it's sure to give you a thrilling ride. In every corner, road, tunnel or just about everywhere you will find yourself asking: "wtf happened here and why?"

It was a really good job on the developers. I appreciate a lot the Cronenberg, Giger, Beksiński and Freud influences. No wonder why it took so long for the devs to get this game done: the worldbuilding is just flawless. And yeah, you're gonna have a bit of puzzles and combat but that's not where this game shines, and in a way, it feels like those aspects are complementary to discovering a world long gone and long long lost.

8/10, would've wanted it to be a bit longer. Looking forward to see it they ever make a second game of this.

Scorn has a fantastic art design with impressive structures, a great atmosphere and some gore moments. Unfortunately, that's all I liked about it. At a low price, that may be enough, but it's not enough for me here. One thing I didn't like was the story. Because there is no story. You just fight your way from puzzle to puzzle and just want to survive...I guess? Which brings me to the next point. There are no explanations for anything. I didn't even know I had healing or ammo. I just figured it out. Same with the puzzles. In the first big hall, I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Some puzzles are confusing others are not. And what I also didn't like were the fights. I found them annoying and unnecessary. I think I would have had more fun without them. Which also has to do with the automatic save points. I thought they were badly placed. And there's no other way to save.

Basically a great idea to develop a game based on the works of HR Giger but poorly implemented.

A game I can't enjoy yet it is genius in multiple areas.
There's an era of gaming in the 90's where starting off in a horror scenario with little to no information as to why you're there that this game clearly emulates and does very well.
There are multiple plant and pay offs handled very well. This is the minor of minor spoilers but there is a section where you find a weapon that is also used as a key (essentially). You pick it up off a dead person. You later have a cinematic that leads you to the next area where you no longer have the weapon. You come across another area where a monster (and I'm being literal here) buries itself into your stomach and it's tail is the weapon you just had and just lost. The gap between these moments had no implication on the game at all, you never needed the weapon-key until this belly-creature attachment. But pulling it off a corpse means a whole lot more when you find out the creature in your belly is a life-draining parasite.
It's small things like this that prove the creators of the game created and respected their lore and took it into account when designing it.

That being said...I don't like this game all that much. The combat is VERY scripted and frustrating at moments, trying to relive what some people found as "tension" in the original Resident Evil 4, where if it's difficult to maneuver you're more likely to panic and thus is a simulation in a horror theme. I've never found this to be effective because frustration and cheap deaths will destroy theming 100% of the time.
The puzzles are built around the protagonist's perspective, in other words all the mechanics of the machinery (loosely using that due to the bio-organic nature of it all) are as much of a mystery to him as it is to you. It's a nice touch at first, because it causes a curiosity to explore and try things out however it becomes clear quickly that the puzzles rely HEAVILY on the player's curiosity because in a game where your movement is very slow (even when running) the puzzles require you to walk back and forth repeatedly in the same level area before you can progress to the next, as if this was another element from the 90's gaming area it attempts to emulate (the dreaded back tracking of "what did I miss?")

In terms of appearance this game is drop-dead gorgeous. The animation of the environment and the...living(?) things in it is near-seamless. The lack of vibrant color allows for certain moments such as "emergency/science lights" to highlight what is important which proves they planned this seemless blend but knew it could cause confusion when on top of a limited exploration a video game can offer. In short, it's literally too beautiful for it's own good. There are times where it somehow breaks the science of reality and makes things seems desolate and claustrophobic at the same time.

However it relies on this a little too much due to the constant re-exploration the puzzles need and the multiple...so many cut-scenes. It handles transitions primarily in 1st person cut-scenes that quickly become annoying as EVERYTHING in this world takes it's sweet time - the protagonist included. The speed that he handles unlocking a door is insufferably slow, most likely in a similar attempt as the aforementioned slow = tension but it falls into the frustrating category fairly fast. Entering a door with a creature that's walking along the ceiling well out of your reach happens in a slow moving cut-scene where I guess the protagonist forgets how to walk because it takes literally 8 seconds for him to walk through it either to show how gorgeous it is and let the ambiance set the tone (which it was doing perfectly before you interrupted it thank you) and to show the creature moving away from you but it takes the entire ceiling in it's movement which is rapid and creepy, there's no way to possibly avoid it. The game relies on it's gorgeous art that it specifically places an immovable camera so you can see what's in it but this is another element that removes the horror aspect because if I was continuing to walk through and saw it move I'd react in game and not have the protection of a cut-scene. Which is hypocritical of me however...because this game loves these cut-scenes so much you can literally die in one. Without major spoilers here you can run through an entire level and succeed just to die in a cut-scene.

Before ending in a brief summary another commendation this game deserves is Jouni Kalervo Havukainen and the In Slaughter Natives developed an exceptionally visceral, nostalgic, terrifying soundtrack. There is no quip here, it is simply remarkable and they deserve the love they are getting for this score.

In the end it's hard not to see my issue with the game as almost subjective and there is enough well-thought effort and execution in this game that has more love in it's design than most games today that I'm sure there are plenty who pick it up that will rightfully fall in love with it.
I will look forward to the next game this team releases.

Scorn is visually amazing and intriguing. It was short and felt like a proof of concept game though. I would love to play a longer game and see where the developer could take it. The combat left something to be desired

The graphics are definitely other worldly. Plays in VR using UEVR so a plus in my book. Game runs well. I just couldn't get into it right now. I will be coming back to it at some point.

On the plus side this game is very stylistic and has a very interesting world. The puzzles were fun and while, short the action was interesting.

On the down side it was a very short game at around 3-5 hours and the ending was one of the worst I have experienced as a player.

This game is relentlessly difficult for no reason due to horrible game design. It is just massively frustrating and I cannot enjoy playing it. The combat is very clunky, and you cannot run while reloading, which is really inconvenient. The health and ammo replenishing stations are far and few in between, making it very easy to die constantly having to re-do entire areas all over again due to the checkpoints also being quite scarce.

I really love this game otherwise, as it has astonishing art direction and atmosphere. I really wanted to give it a good review, but I can't in good conscious decide that anymore.

Only reason I am recommending this I because I want to support the art designers for this game. Amazing homage to H.R. Giger, the game was breathtaking to look at and the atmosphere was insane with the awesome sound design.

However, the gameplay was some of the most tedious gameplay I have every experienced. As much as I adore visual storytelling, this was not the way to do it. With not a shred of linearity in a world where its difficult to know where you are and where you have to go, Scorn is better off experienced through a silent walkthrough on YouTube.

tl;dr buy on sale

Combat is abysmal, a simple "dodge" or a "block" would lead to a more satisfactory gameplay allowing for more room to ramp up the combat difficulty but it is just not present leading to a frustrating experience.
Extremely well made and unique artwork and models with an atmospheric storytelling where you deduce the plot just by understanding the environment around you. Too bad the game is held back by its combat.

Combat is an afterthought. Clunky and really unsatisfying. There's unskippable animations when you kill some monsters depending if you got a headshot, but the hitboxes on it are so wack that you can't reliably one-shot things. Ammo is sparse. Health packs are sparse. I know the argument is, "Gitgud" but you can't really get good when you're moving in slow motion the entire time. The delay on weapon recharge is astoundingly long, reload speed is garbage, the damage you dish out is garbage. I don't like waiting for the piston gun to recharge its shots because it takes 5 to take down a single monster. I don't want to godmod my way through, I like working through things like DS or ER, but this is just painful to play. You're railroaded the entire game too. You don't get rewards for exploring because you can't explore. There's only One Way To Do Things. The entire game so far has been walking through corridors and figuring out uninteresting puzzles with the occasional monster(s). On top of that, the checkpoints are a slog. You get past a wave of monsters, then make it to the next room only to die and have to start from several puzzles ago. If there were save states maybe it'd be better, but I doubt that'd fix anything? All cutscenes are unskippable too. Yeah, it's full of gore and squelches and creepy stuff, but it doesn't really have much else to offer. If you like railroaded story games without dialogue and unsatisfying combat that was wedged in to pad gameplay time, then this might be up your alley. Very aesthetic but that's about it. I should've read more reviews before purchasing.

Man I really wish I could recommend people play this but for for having a 100% completion time of 4-5 hours with a $40 price tag is outrageous. I did get it on sale for 75% off so it was like $13 bucks and at that price I guess give it a shot but I feel bad for anyone who payed full price.

Besides the price tag the game has other issues. There's pretty much no story just a series of bizarre sequences, set pieces, and puzzles that are supposed to be some kind of metaphor that's so vague you can put pretty much any meaning you want to it.

Along with that the actual game play is kind of dull, mostly walking around and looking for whatever weird alien thingamajig or control panel to get highlight, the combat and gun play is pretty slow and clunky, the puzzles can be kind obtuse.

The ending is kind of a let down too. I heard devs might have ran out of budget and cut the last chapter of the game so it just goes "oh sorry bud you almost made it to wherever but then you died, the end", oh . . . ok.

It does look really cool with it's alien architecture, weird gore / body horror stuff, and eerie atmosphere. Maybe get it on HEAVY sale and play it for one night in the dark to get spooked and then forget about it, better option is maybe just watch someone play it on youtube or whatever.

If you're a fan of Giger, you should play the game. If you like body horror, you should play the game. If you wait for some breakthough experience, you better skip it. If you are in for aesthetically pleasing projects, this one is for you.
Spoiler Alert!
For me, it felt anticlimactic and annoying (the idea of a first protagonist-parasite).

I suggest looking at some of the most popular negative reviews since they explain this game more deeply than I can ;D


If you're looking for a short (3-6 hours) atmospheric storytelling or coming up with your conclusions on what happened in these vile yet impressive flesh-crafted barrens, this is the game for you.

Also, be warned that it does not handhold when it comes to the puzzles, so keep an open mind when encountering them.

Remember, you can always look up a guide if you're stuck.

Simply not a fun game to play

To look at? Of course! The visuals are simply breathtaking.

But it isn't fun. More than that, it is actively UNfun. The combat is tedious and imbalanced, the puzzles nonsensical, and the story nonexistant. It doesn't matter how good a game looks, it needs to be enjoyable to play. Even rage games like QWOP, Surgeon Simulator, and Getting Over It are "fun" in that they cause people to rage and that's fun to watch. This lowest of bars is somehow missed by Scorn

When I finished Scorn I wished I had done anything else instead.

I don't like having to watch a video to play a game. I had to do it just to open the first door. It didn't stop there. This game is designed to waste time and do nothing. I hate wasting my time and while it looked cool on the store page. The reality is, it's not for me. I'm glad I got this on sale and didn't blow too much on it.

If you're looking for engaging gameplay and fast-paced FPS action: this isn't the game for you. Scorn is the type of game where you have to take things slow, soak in the environment and atmosphere and think about the themes it's trying to convey. More than a game, it's a very beautifully disgusting art gallery that deserves more appreciation. Again don't play this if you want good gameplay but it's worth trying out if you love atmospheric settings with deep lore. This game also runs great on a Steam Deck with 60fps at a mix of medium and high settings.

Where do I even start. This was game is the definition of melancholy. The puzzles, combat, and inventory management are just the small pieces of this artwork. Where the game really shines is in its artwork, since there is literally ZERO dialog in the whole game, its all up to player interpretation. The music and sound goes so well with the style and message that I got from it. Must play in a dark room with headphones. The combat can really be a challenge so avoid as many fights as you can. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this game since I finished.

The visual side of the game is absolutely stunning. It is a combination of H.R. Giger and Silent Hill. The game feels more like a tribute to Giger.

I hate to admit it, but this game sucks. It's boring. The dream/nightmare atmosphere is wonderful, but at the same time discouraging. Puzzles are tiring. The weapon is dull and useless. I quit the game after 3 hours.

Scorn is a first-person survival horror game that is rooted in its captivating art style. The game excels in forming a biomechanical world that is intricate and obscure. It has a bleak atmosphere, complex puzzles, and a subtle and conceptual narrative. The sound design is exceptional and immersive, and the soundtrack is remarkable. Despite having a short runtime, Scorn is a compelling game that delivers an engaging and unique experience.

75% of the game is boring and basically a walking simulator with Bad puzzles. I wish I never bought the game and I wish i could get back the 4 hours I wasted. The only part that was even decent was the last part which only 20 minutes long. I can't describe how much I hate this game.

Disturbing, beautiful, thought-provoking, creative, and fun. I absolutely LOVED this game. It isn't super long or super difficult, but it is an absolute artistic masterpiece that I can't seem to shake from my mind.

I'm conflicted about this one.

On one hand, the first and last 30 minutes of gameplay make use of incredible environmental horror storytelling and it's so cool to be in the world. On the other hand, between those two parts this is at best a semi-interesting walking simulator and at worst a button pressing chore simulator with the worst combat of all time. There was enough there for me to keep going but I can easily see how someone would just stop playing.

Would recommend on sale, but otherwise eh.

What can I say about Scorn that hasn't already been said?

A beautiful game visually, the gory, alien atmosphere is truly like nothing else, the look of this game is unmatched, and all inspired by H. R. Giger.

However, that really is all that Scorn has going for it. The story leaves you unsatisfied, there is so much more to be explored, explained, and discovered in this world. Are we in the future? A different planet? Are we playing a human? What happened to make this world look how it does? What's up with the massive pregnant statues? What are these creatures we fight? Are they native or invasive? How did we, the player, get here? Are we related in some way to the parasite we find? And so, so many more questions to ask and answer.

If there is ever more for this franchise, a sequel game, show, movie, book, anything, I'm very interested and would like to see it, but for now, it feels like an okay game with amazing visuals that didn't quite feel finished as a story.

I don't understand all the hate this game has. It's not filled with bugs, it plays well, and it's visual style is pretty impressive. It doesn't overstay it's welcome at all, and yet I see an incredible amount of hate. This game is nowhere near as bad as games like Agony. Honestly, if you're curious about this game, give it a shot. You might like it. I did at least.

A very interesting game, I've heard it described as a "walking simulator" and it sort of is, but its more about exploring a really alien place and wondering what it's about, and seeing bizarre things that you probably wont ever see in any other game (or really anywhere).

There isn't really an overt story, the story is embedded in the world and you kind of try to figure out what its about and what happened and whats going on. It makes the game more interesting.

There is some fighting, and some puzzles and I none of it is really very challenging. There isn't a lot of gameplay here but the world they've created is pretty interesting and something you might want to experience.

If you're patient and like to explore then this is something you will probably like.

Finished in a single session amazing world with challenging puzzles and combat 10/10 loved it!

The art in this game is simply amazing, also the combat was quite fun provided you have enough of bullets.

This is everything i love about art. Every frame of this game could count as an art piece that a painter would take weeks conceptualizing than months to paint. The art direction in this game is astonishing. Every part of the game that i wondered through, every crevice i laid my eyes upon had its own story to tell, the littlest of things would make me ponder the story behind them. Every small thing you see contributes to the greater picture of what this game is trying to say. The developers should be praised to the highest degree for what it took to make the assets all the way up to what it took to create the story. The 3d modellers who made this game posess skill that i, a 3d modeller myself wish to have . I love and value the creepiness, the goriness and the pure beauty that you can see from the very start of the game. I could write paragraphs upon paragraphs about scorn biting my tongue in the details of it. but alas, i shall keep it short, SCORN IS FUCKING GOATEDDD.

This is a visually stunning game. The world is mysterious and beautifully disgusting. The gameplay itself is nothing special and the combat from the trailer leaves a lot to be desired but I don’t think those are the point of the game. This is a Giger-esc art show disguised as a video game, which doesn’t work against it. It’s like an interactive art show that brings you to the curious world of carrion and carnage that also explores topics of birth and the struggles of pregnancy.

Absolute cinema! Great art work and visuals, Fun puzzles but the game is way too short.

"Scorn is a game where you get to experience the abject horror of being a sentient cow on its way to slaughter. Machines beyond your ability to understand line your path. You can't comprehend of what or why any of the horrors you see are. All you know is that they simply happen, outside of your control or input."

Scorn is an expedition from the nightmares of H. R. Giger and Z. Beksiński.

It begins without context, there is no narrator or clear clues of what happens or has happened, you do not know where you are, you do not know who or what you are, it is taken for granted that we have a purpose, but we do not know what it is or what it was, you just wake up and walk endlessly through a post-apocalyptic and desolate world, as if you were seeing the ashes of a past civilization. It is through the progression of the game that we are told in broad strokes the meanings and purposes, however, there remains a huge room for interpretation.

The strong point is the artistic design, deeply inspired by works such as Alien, Dune and Prometheus. Scorn seeks to engage and captivate the audience through its landscapes, atmospheres, environments and sound pieces.

Its worst “flaw” is the combat; it feels monotonous and in certain areas tedious, however, it can be counteracted by playing strategically, once you learn to know when to shoot and when to run away the gameplay becomes more fluid. The game does not force you to kill the base enemies in order to continue, a single shot is enough to stun them and take advantage of that moment to bypass them, this allows the progression of the game to be more satisfying and enjoyable. (From a subjective perspective, this section is consistent with what it wants to transmit; it does not have to be polished to be captivating, nor does it have to shine in its mechanical aspect to be a masterpiece. If the environment is crude it is timely and appropriate for the gameplay to be crude as well).

Objectively it is a 10, for my taste a 10.

Stunning visuals and decent puzzles, but the combat is terrible.

The combat system feels unbalanced - attacks are slow, reloading takes forever, and switching weapons is sluggish. Fighting multiple enemies is frustrating, especially since they’re fat and hard to manage. The narrow corridors make it worse.

Ammo and health are scarce, so I often found myself stuck with low health and barely enough ammo to take down one or two enemies. On top of that, I encountered a bug where weapons wouldn’t fire consistently - sometimes I had to press two or three times before it actually worked.

Checkpoints seem randomly placed, forcing you to replay large sections. Combine that with overpowered enemies, and it makes for an incredibly frustrating experience.

Honestly, the game would be much better without the combat altogether.

good game, however there is a lot of walking and you need a powerful computer to play it without it lagging

Loved it. Found myself completely drawn in and found it absolutely stunning. Moments that will stick with me for a long time.

Ambience, story and feeling was super Giger-like, exactly what I expected and wanted. I didnt like the fights though, making them very hard if you wasted some ammo or health

Loved the atmosphere, the graphics, the theme... hated the combat.

This game is definitely something to check out for the visual aspects. However the combat is bordering on broken, and don't expect anything in terms of an overall story, because there isn't one. And you will more than likely be disappointed at the game's conclusion anyway. The whole thing is like a work of art that you traverse and interact with. It might be worth more playthroughs after you beat it, but that's debatable if you ask me. I only got it cause it was on sale. Do the same if you want to sate your curiosity. But if it's not, don't bother. It's not worth the full price.

Tbh in the starting, I felt the game was complex and boring but as I started playing it, I enjoyed the puzzles more. A little graphic game but overall exciting and fun. Recommended!

Actually amazing, there's not a single game like it, visual masterpiece. However, the combat is awful, it's tedious and annoying rather than difficult and fulfilling.

Play if you enjoy body horror and puzzles. This game is also kinda gross sometimes and has a lot of sexual themes that may seem gratuitous at times. Fans of the Alien franchise will also likely enjoy this game as the art is directly inspired by the work of H.R. Giger.

Pains me to say this but the game just sucks...

It is one of the most visually beautiful games I have ever played and is the main reason to play it. It alone kept me going for about 3 hours, but at some point you have to call it quits. It is just flat out boring. It's a game of doing stuff for the sake of doing stuff and you have no context to anything that you are doing or what is even going on. You are a dude who wakes up to... whatever the hell anything is, and proceed to put things into things so you can put more things into other things.

At some point combat starts happening and if anything it just makes the game worse because each encounter just brings the already slow pacing to a halt. Feels like combat exists because it just needs to exist; reminds me of 'A Machine for Pigs' where the hidey horror sections in that game exists because it just needs to exist.

I think the environmental guys deserve every penny but the game itself is not worth anywhere near the price.

Maybe I quit the game too soon and you can get more out of the game than I did but I just flat out got extremely bored.