Scorn Reviews
Scorn really brings the art that inspired to 3D life, meshes it with good music, and presents it on a stable platform. But the mundane puzzles and poor combat drag it down.
Scorn presents some incredible art direction and a biomechanical Giger fever dream of a world to get lost in, but that’s exactly what you’ll be doing in it for most of your time: getting lost.
Earlier this year, in the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, Scorn was announced as one of the games that would be available to play day one on Game Pass. I used the feature that allows you to download in advance so that I was ready to play on Friday. Survival horror is my all-time favourite genre, so when Game Pass delivers a title even remotely close to this, I’m there sniffing around to see if it’s my kind of gig. From the trailer, Scorn seemed like it would fit right in with the darker side of my gaming tastes. Read my Rapid Review to find out if it delivered on its promise.
So much about Scorn feels like a trap. It’s designed to cost you progress, to waste your time, and some might think this burdensome despair is some sort of brilliance on the part of the developers. To someone who values their finite time on Earth, it’s snide crap that shows contempt for its audience at every opportunity.
Scorn is one of those games that not everybody is going to enjoy due to its unique design. that being said, its uniqueness doesn't justify ample issues like: poor gunplay and being extremely short. Scorn is a medicore horror experience at best, so set your expectations logically before playing.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Scorn is a mesmerizing tale with plenty to say about life and death in a vision of hell inspired by the works of H.R. Giger.
Despite showcasing an interesting visual design, Scorn is an agonizing trip through a bizarre alien world with clunky combat, glacial mechanics, boring exploration, and a misplaced narrative.
Scorn is a visual atmospheric feast, but the focus on atmosphere left the title without solid gameplay and a narrative, making it as confusing as the conclusion.
Despite being utterly grotesque, Scorn’s visuals are great, and the sound design is a cut above. The puzzle-adventure gameplay is intuitively designed and is a great pairing. However, the vagueness of its design philosophy is often confusing, and I think the confusion outweighs the fun. Unfortunately, the creative choices the developers took with the story didn’t do it for me. While I can appreciate a show-don’t-tell approach, I think there needs to be some bespoke parameters. Solely relying on environmental storytelling is a cool idea in theory, and I appreciate Ebb Software seeing it through to the end, but ultimately it felt all for naught. As a result, this game is incredibly niche, and I think the audience for Scorn is really small. Everything in Scorn is clearly deliberate, so I can’t imagine the story and plot are any exception. However, I completely beat this game, rounding up every achievement on offer, and I have little to no idea what it was about. I don’t think it’s completely devoid of meaning, but I won’t be sticking around to uncover that for myself.
Although there is a room for arguments, Scorn's art design seems properly portrayed the original intention of the game. It is also fun to digest the ending as the way you think. However, intuition-dependent puzzles and insufficient combats can make players easily quit the game before ending. The combination of checkpoints and dysfunctional combat is the scariest part of it.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Scorn is an unusual horror game unlike any other. Ebb Software created a surreal experience built not on gameplay but on the actual feeling you get from playing the game. The atmosphere is heavy, and sometimes it gets a little more gross than usual. However, that may be one of the main reasons to push you forward. Mediocre gameplay is redeemed by stunning visuals, an overall feel, and excellent sound design.
Review in Czech | Read full review
At its heart, Scorn is a puzzle game with a clear design and structure that knew exactly what it wants to achieve and in that aspect it achieved it perfectly. It’s not a game that will please everyone, but these are the type of art games I enjoy. The weaving of the art design and puzzles is so cohesive that I could truly believe these could be part of some living alien world. Combat does drag the experience down quite a bit from the controls to the enemies, but if you’re looking for a macabre puzzle game, there aren’t many games that do it this well.
Overall, Scorn gave me a unique experience in a game. I stayed captivated not only by its world but also by the items and weapons I collected during my time with it. Though there were times I felt lost or confused about what was happening, the gameplay kept a solid forward momentum for me.
Equally fascinating and frustrating, Scorn is a huge paradox. Ebb Software’s debut is a fantastic game where the desire to explore new areas is endless, but it still feels that a lot of their ideas were restricted by the market the team aims to please. A must for big horror fans, not much for anyone else.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Scorn is gross and disgusting in all the best ways. It's a remarkably unique experience that will alienate many, but will undoubtedly find an audience of people that cherish every part of it. How big that audience is remains to be seen.
A mediocre adventure with a fantastic scenery that's really lacking in a gameplay department. For that reason, the beauty alone can't hold your attention for too long.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Scorn is a solid horror option to kill a few hours of your time but isn’t particularly memorable, and covers no new ground in the puzzle horror genre.
Despite having a frustrating combat system, #Scorn manages to be an extremely interesting horror game that should be given at least one chance. The result may be mixed, but the experience is unique.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Scorn is a gift for fans of the biopunk subgenre and a surprise for those who have never had contact with works of the kind. It offers a contemplative experience of the universe presented there, which is as significant as its name.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
It’s also quite a short game, although I personally thought the length was sensible given this kind of overwhelmingly horrifying atmosphere can become tedious if used too long, which was one of the criticisms pointed at the otherwise excellent Alien: Isolation. Scorn is a difficult game to love, but for its singular visual flair, it is one I respect.