It's been at least 6 years since I saw this game in a trailer for the first time, promising a world that would fit into the Aliens franchise without missing a beat and promising to do so ominously and uncaringly as anyone who loves that series for the horror side could hope for. This early trailer showed a nice looking world where you would spend more time figuring out what was going on then killing the threats (not that they weren't already there), and I was hooked. But then as the kickstarter ended, the game went quiet.
Fast forward to the last year or so and we all got to see Microsoft pushing this game for their Xbox GamePass, and what has happened to the game since. Graphically this became a real stunner, enough so I actually decided that this was the game I would build a new PC for. After all, an art-piece should be absolutely maxed out. And so I did, picking the game up shortly after release as the first game that machine would play. Now as I finish, I'm not sure I needed to do that (it didn't press the new system half as hard as I thought it would), but the game simply did not disappoint.
Story: What this story is about is going to require some interpretation from the player. Some things are absolute, but the game takes place in a completely alien world without explanation or even conversation of any sort, so the very strangeness of what you are about to play causes some vagueness by default. But at the very least, you play the roll of a being who's striving to reach what appears to be an alien castle in a long dead world. Why you want (or need) to get there is not known. How the world died is also not really known either, but these are the ruins and your character's understanding of the equipment suggests he just might be one of the last survivors of the old ways.
But just because he's one of the last doesn't mean he's alone. Nature arbores a void, and life is part of nature. What has happened since as well as hints of this world it happened to will be shown to you by the world itself provided you are willing to look around and take it in. As noted before this leaves a lot to interpretation but it is your mystery to witness and figure out for yourself. This may sound like a cop-out and I guess it kind of is, but you will have to forgive the lack of detail as I would be feeding you what I think happened, not what actually happened. And that would do you and the world the developers put together a disservice.
7/10
Graphics: As a fan of the Xenomorph, the movies it comes from, and that bio-tech look of Giger's work it was born from, I knew I was going to be in for a treat with this game before I started. It did not disappoint. Looking every bit like you are walking through one of the late artist's paintings, Scorn is an absolutely gorgeous game to behold with landscapes that will absolutely leave you in awe as the alien structures you strive to reach and enter loom overhead. And once in side, you enter a world long gone where tech as organic as it is mechanical is left behind in various states of decay.
And yet there is a clear distinction between the old and the new as there are things that now live here with you: Organic things that have made these buildings their hive, crawling all over and seeing you as nothing more then an intruder to their space, and contrasting the world itself brilliantly. Where the world is dead and sterile, these things are alive and messy, pulsing and spewing acid to protect their space. The whole picture works wonderfully and there will never be a moment where what you see ever ceases to amaze. And true, the nature of what you see combines to be unnerving and, well... alien. But it works to be straight up one of (if not the) best looking thing I have ever played.
9/10
Sound: As noted in the story section, there is absolutely no voice-work in this game. The best you will get is the screeches of the monstrosities you share this world with, but there is no such thing as an intelligent syllable spoken here.
So instead you will have to rely on music and sound, mostly the latter. Yes there is some music used, but it's used sparsely, revving up to enhance some of the most epic scenes you will see and occasionally for key moments, but these are very rare. Most of the time, you will be left to the groaning of the decaying world mixed with the squeals and squelches of the wildlife around you. And this works very well as the weirdness of it all keeps you more on edge then you might think, listening for what might be around the corner to do your best to not be caught off guard and keep away form these malicious things that see you as their enemy. Be ready for this to immerse you completely.
8/10
Gameplay: It is unfortunate that many of the trailers for this game since those kickstarter days sell it as a gory horror first person shooter. This is simply a lie. It is a gory horror, but if you came here for an action-packed shooter, you've been had. Rather the type of game you are in for is divided into sections you will delve into as you progress through the game.
The entire thing is played from a first person view and you will start with a game about exploration and world-building as you are encouraged to experiment with the alien tech about you, learn how it all works, and manipulate it to escape the cavern you are in and find your way to the tower you need to enter. Before long after that, the game morphs into a survival game as those that made the derelict structure home stir and respond to an invading force among them, and then resolves itself with a finale of epic proportions worthy of what you have experienced right through to that point. All the parts work very well to create a cohesive set of layers that compliment each other, even as you can see the exact moment each transitions over. Still I wish the game at least blended these parts together more, but it works and is plays very well for what it is. And we do need to address the elephant in the room: the combat.
Many have complained about the guns being too slow to shoot, too weak to kill anything effectively, and scattering your shot too much. On top of this they continue to complain that ammo is too scarce with the battles leaving you damn near dead with your resources depleted... and they would be right if this were the action game it's being sold as. But this is not: You are given weapons with the intention to use them only when you absolutely have no other choice in order to escape danger, much like a cornered animal might lash out at it's attacker to make an opening to flee. You are not the top of the food chain here, and most of the time, you should be paying attention to the world to see where the monstrosities around you are going so you can stay out of their way. You should not be looking for a fight... ever.. and in fact there is only one in the entire game that is absolutely necessary, but even that encounter is more of a combat puzzle then anything else.
Now do not get me wrong, there will be times that gun becomes a convenient way to prevent a mess (or something you will be thankful for to stun an enemy or two while getting out of a tight space) but you generally should be avoiding those scenarios the best you can, and there are very few that you won't be able to just by being aware of your environment.
7/10
Bugs: Throughout my playthrough of this game, I only had 1 bug occur which most gamers will likely never see.
- He's waiting.... I likely wouldn't see this without trying to be a wise-ass and trying to outsmart the developers. But the good and bad news is I think I succeeded more then I could have imagined. Basically there is a section in the game where they introduce a new type of enemy which is much bigger then the others and doesn't spit at you so much as ram you full speed and not only do damage but knock you on your ass... and you find it in a corridor where you have no choice and it will see you. However behind you is a nice circular area you can use to convince it to chase you around and give you a clear path ahead. This would not be my choice action. Instead, I decided to be smart and go back the way I came, closing the gate between us. My theory had been like most other enemies, I could walk away and they would continue to go back to it's normal pattern so I could let it get to it's destination and leave me alone. It didn't. Unlike other enemies, this AI was ONLY going to chase you, so he sat there on the other side of the gate waiting for me to take my punishment. Even quitting and coming back did not remove him! My only choice was to accept my humbling and restart from the latest checkpoint (which was thankfully not far behind).
Score: What Scorn sets out to do, it does fantastically. You are dropped in an alien world with nothing but that world to show you what is going on and what to do about it. And yet with such an obscure start it manages to tell a story about the world itself as if you are excavating it, keeping most of it's puzzles embedded within that world building as you struggle to survive a realm that left you and the civilization your character lives in behind long ago. It's alien, horrific, grotesque, and tense as hell. It's not perfect by any means, but if this sounds like your cup of tea, you will love this. However, if you only came here because you saw the rapid kill-shots of the later trailers, I'm afraid you've been deceived. This is not an action game.
7/10
System Requirements:
- AMD Ryzen 3 3300X or Intel Core i5-8400
- 8 GB RAM
- NVidia Geforce GTX 1060 (3GB)
- 50 GB hard drive space
- Windows 10
System Specs:
- Ryzen 7 (5700X) 3.4 Ghz
- 32 GB RAM
- AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (8 GB VRAM)
- Windows 11 (64 Bit)
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