TapTap

Games worth discovering

iconicon
Scorn
icon
Abandon all hope ye who enter here – Scorn Review

Abandon all hope ye who enter here – Scorn Review

65K View2022-10-18
If I had to choose one phrase in the English language to describe the horror adventure game Scorn, it would be: a journey into horror. There has been a ton of talk online about Swiss artist H.R. Giger's influence on Scorn’s overall design, but during the game’s brief campaign, the names of other popular artists also came to mind as influences: Clive Barker’s terrifying Hellraiser cenobites, and David Cronenberg’s use of deformed flesh in Videodrome and the oft-overlooked eXistenZ (which may be the best “video game” movie of all time).
The work created by the Serbian team at Ebb Software is gruesome, both in what is seen and for what is heard. A cacophony of moans and other unsettling noises accompanies  an otherwise silent narrative. Instead, the story develops through the desperate deeds of the player character and their search for unlikely salvation against the backdrop of a desolate and monstrous world.
TapTap
And yes, you read that right: The story of Scorn does not make use of any dialogue or documents to tell its tale. It simply happens as things unfold along a desperate path, one which sent me down the disturbing corridors of an enormous structure with (seemingly) alien design. I woke up in this mysterious place without understanding exactly how I had arrived there or how long I’d been there.
I was motivated by the faint hope that somewhere in this hellish construct, there could be a way out, that there may still be a normal world to return to, or that it was possible to escape from the horror that dripped from every inch of this scenario. Since the narration is purely visual, players can choose to give Scorn their own pace by moving more or less quickly, but the duration of the game itself should remain around six hours.
TapTap
On the gameplay side, Scorn basically is a first-person adventure that hints at survival horror. For most of the introduction section of the game, there are no enemies or weapons; yet it is these first few hours that were the most traumatic. During the opening, I’m forced to lug around a pathetic life form that seems to have once been human on a cart...like some perverted skit in a Monty Python flick. This being will never failed to plead with its eyes and moans, making me certain I was going to have to sacrifice it in an excruciating way in order to progress.
Puzzles form the fulcrum of progression in Scorn. The massive structure that I explored in this twisted campaign houses mechanisms, cages, elevators, and slimy terminals. Everything in this world seems to take a page out of the body horror playbook, appearing as a mixture of biological material and metal that I had to find ways to interact with. From this point of view, Ebb Software's approach is pretty ruthless—much like the world in which Scorn is set, there are no indicators, information, or god forbid, tips to guide players. I had to figure out for myself what to do and how to do it, which switches could be activated and which could not.
TapTap
Then there is the combat...in my estimation, the least successful part of the experience. Over time I discovered more powerful weapons, from this weird world’s versions of a pistol to a grenade launcher. I was only able to collect ammunition at certain depots and only in very limited amounts, while the pathetic creatures (three or four enemy types, plus a single boss) that scurried around this nightmarish labyrinth were able to inflict massive damage on me rather easily and killed me quite often.
Those deaths ended up more frustrating than they needed to be at times. In a central part of the campaign, I was forced to repeat a fairly long section several times due to a poorly placed checkpoint that left me with a scant amount of life and few bullets—a nightmare scenario that Scorn did not seem interested in rescuing me from. This led me to employ trial-and-error tactics in an attempt to overcome sequences like this without the ability to withstand even a single blow...which, of course, was most frustrating indeed.
TapTap
Even the game’s desperately needed health recharges were offered sparingly but still in a disgusting manner, as I had to squish a starfish-like creature to recover some energy. Scorn would have been better off with an automatic health recovery system (à la Halo). In fact, perhaps it would have been better not to include combat at all; gunplay isn’t really the point in a game of this ilk, and on top of that, it’s stiff and unresponsive at its best moments here.
If the intention of the Scorn developers was to give life to a gruesome visual experience like the video game world has never seen, I can certainly say that they succeeded here. Virtually every single graphic element of the game conveys nastiness and foreboding: the bars that look like vertebrae because they are actually vertebrae, the miserable creatures I met along the way, the monstrous parasite that literally had me clinging to my guts, and so on.
The enemies are a bit of a disappointment as they aren’t too varied, but the level design they’re roaming around within is top-notch stuff. Claustrophobic architecture is offset by the desperate desolation of empty and open spaces; in particular the “cathedral” seen in the final stages of the campaign, with its perverse bas-reliefs, seems to tell the story of how this world went to hell.
That dark tale is also conveyed via Scorn’s bleak soundscape. The musical score and accompaniment barely exists, but the game does an excellent job in terms of sound design and effects, with screams, moans, and awful, squishy noises that lend to the overall mystery behind this nightmare experience.
Scorn offers a distressing and revolting visual experience that owes a great deal to the works of several horror masters. It’s a true journey into horror, as I wrote at the beginning, which leads to an exploration of a ghastly, brutish world in which flesh, blood, and metal come together in an excruciating way. The title is ruthless even in its mechanics, as it requires a bit of commitment to get into and is downright frustrating in some situations. The puzzles dress Scorn up just enough to make it something more than just another walking simulator, but the futile combat mechanics almost seem like an afterthought which drags down the experience...almost to the depths of video game damnation.
SCORE: 3 STARS OUT OF 5
PLAY IF YOU LIKE:
Succubus. While Scorn doesn’t entertain any of the lasciviousness that Madmind Studios’s game does, it does have a rather similar off-putting and sinister vibe throughout.
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. Scorn may not be based on an unforgettable, mind-bending story by the great Harlan Ellison, but it does venture down the similar paths that Cyberdreams’s point-and-click classic does.
💬 Have you played Scorn? Let us know what you think of it in the comments! Even if you haven't played it, leave a comment sharing your thoughts on your favorite visceral horror games!
CHECK OUT SOME OTHER RECENT REVIEWS FROM TAPTAP:
TapTap
TapTap
TapTap
Mentioned games
Comments
Floppyboi
Floppyboi
icon
2

looks cool, and gross, where do these posts come from though? this app is kinda annoying tbh, between the graveyard of rando apks and getting plugged with rando shit it's kinda wank tbh

2022-10-30

Author liked
User463612169
User463612169 Author
icon

I hear you...and, yes, Scorn is a cool game for sure. I actually work for TapTap, so they promote our posts via the app. I'm pretty sure you can turn the notifications off if you don't want to receive them.

2022-10-30

Open TapTap to view 1 more reply
KnightOfDude
KnightOfDude
icon
2

The whole reason why scorn battle mechanics sucks because you're not supposed to fight anything (except the boss) in the first place. Most of the enemies have their set path which they will go into a hole. All you gotta do is hide from them for a while.

2022-10-29

Author liked
User463612169
User463612169 Author
icon

Yeah, I hear you. While that's entirely possible, my thoughts on that are more along the lines of some biz dev bro dude told Ebb they needed to have some form of combat in there rather than be just this odd puzzle game, so they shoehorned the combat elements in.

2022-10-29

Open TapTap to view 2 more replies
peepoPoo
peepoPoo
icon
2

Another blocked noname...

2022-10-26

Doraver
Doraver
icon
3

true, my dude. Taptap keeps suggesting these guys. I especially love the reviews on the games we can't even buy yet

2022-10-26

Author liked
Open TapTap to view 4 more replies
Discover more discussions on TapTap
Related Posts
A Grotesque Masterpiece Inspired by H.R. Giger
As the shooting scene appeared a lot in the earlier trailer, some players may imagine Scorn as an action shooting game. But it is actually a fantastic horror puzzle artwork developed by Ebb Software and published by Kepler Interactive. THE STORY Scorn doesn't really have a clear plot. If it must be put into words, it is a fascinating and strange journey. You will use limited weapons and resources and your wits to solve a variety of bizarre puzzles and survive from terrifying enemies in an environment full of survival horror experiences. What happens in this weird world will become clear as you explore.
Anya109K2022-10-18
TapTap
Unraveling Nightmares: A Review of Vermin God
Vermin God: SCP Horror Game plunges players into a nightmarish world inspired by SCP-027, promising an immersive horror experience through a multi-path visual novel. As we delve into the depths of this mysterious underground science facility, let's dissect the elements that make this game stand out. Background Story: The narrative centers around Sye Mejia, an 18-year-old grappling with the enigmatic Vermin God Disease. The premise, drawing on the allure of SCP-027, sets the stage for a gripping exploration of a character entangled in a living human infestation. The mystery deepens as Sye wakes up in an unknown facility, creating a compelling backdrop for the unfolding horror.
DiePeacefully 2K2023-12-25
TapTap
Effectively dreadful despite the limited runtime | Full Review - Unsorted Horror
Unsorted Horror is an anthology of five short first-person horror games that beckons players to explore the depths of dark dystopian settings, metallic environments, and immersive interactive horror. 🟩Pros +Immersive Atmosphere and Unique Aesthetics +Storytelling Variety +Unique Gameplay Mechanics for each game +Environments and Sound Design +Completely free-to-play 🟥Cons -Limited Interaction -Short playtime for each game
lyndonguitar2K2023-08-10
TapTap
Upcoming
Nine Sols
Get icon
Codename: Arrival
Get
Soul Knight Prequel
Get iconicon
Lethal Company
Get icon
Lost Future
Get iconicon
iconView desktop site

TapTap looks better

on the app love-tato

Open with TapTap