Scorn Reviews
Scorn is arguably worth playing for the visuals alone. We’re rarely transported to somewhere truly alien in games, and it’s something I’m glad I experienced. However, it’s more of a theme park ride than a genuinely immersive experience. That’s fine, but with a little more complexity and refinement outside of the artwork, it could have been something extraordinary.
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
Ebb Software's rigid focus will immediately put off some (for fair reasons), but also earn the respect of horror fans who can stomach this grotesque world.
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.
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
As far as horror games that ape the works of H.R. Giger are concerned, Scorn is certainly one of the most interesting examples around, and many of its puzzles are nicely executed. However, crappy combat cramps Scorn’s style, while the unrelenting bleakness of the thing will leave you feeling deflated.
Scorn isn't necessarily scary, but it is gross and uncomfortable. You may not like what's on the screen, but there's no denying that Ebb has thought long and hard about the world it's presenting and has succeeded in creating a cohesive and fully-formed offering.
Scorn it's a f***ing ugly game. And at the same time, it's really f***ing beautiful. Maybe one of a kind.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Unconventional experience in an impressive H.R. Giger world that shoots itself in the leg with superfluous shooter mechanics.
Review in German | 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.
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.
Scorn frustrated the heck out of me at times, but the world and art style are so darn interesting I just had to push myself forward. And while it was tough at times, I'm glad I made it all the way through. This is a very unique experience offering disturbing-yet-breathtaking visuals and a story that will make you think during and long after it's over.
The world of the Scorn is one of the most mysterious and exciting I’ve ever seen, and it’ll stay in my mind for a long time until I can analyze the story and understand what’s going on in this weird place. If you’re like me and don’t have a problem trying new and different things before judging, then I highly recommend Scorn. But if you're hoping for a big story and action-packed gameplay, then stay away from it so you won't be disappointed.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Which is exactly why it pains me to remember that Scorn was a long time coming, and while the visuals suffer nothing for it, the mechanical design of the game at large feels outdated and incongruous with its aesthetic triumphs. Despite a solid (if somewhat superficial) iteration of survival horror mechanics, the lack of enemy variety and an archaic checkpoint system guarantee multiple spots of unnecessary frustration. These sections end up being little more than forced time away from the game’s proper strengths of puzzles and atmosphere. Scorn is still a journey worth taking for its appearance and environments alone, but I would have traded away every single repetitive combat encounter for just one more puzzle to sink my teeth into.
A remarkable, vital piece of art that both transcends and is blemished by shortcomings specific to the medium of video games.
Scorn is a unique title that somehow manages to be frustrating, fascinating and gruesome at the same time.
Scorn is an interesting game to play. Lacking any real story to follow, it instead relies on your own curiosity to see it through. You'll be interacting with all sorts of disgusting things, and fighting off horrifying creatures, and if you're the kind of person who can not only stomach the aesthetic, but actually enjoy it, Scorn will undoubtedly be a wonderful experience. For just about everyone else, though, maybe look at a couple of screenshots and trailers and see if you can stomach the aesthetic first.
Give Scorn a chance if you feel like you can enjoy this game as an experience, rather than a strictly gameplay-focused project. Otherwise some questionable design choices and short length will most likely just bore you to death.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Scorn presents one of the most visually striking and untouchably atmospheric game worlds in recent memory. Ebb Software also admirably challenges horror gameplay conventions and profoundly examines humanity's insatiable desires. Unfortunately, the crawling pace might deter players from seeing it through.
Scorn is clearly a labour of grotesque love, feeling unlike almost any other game out there. The alien are satisfying, the lack of handholding adds to the sense of a hostile world, and the nihilistic drive of the game in subjecting your character to further degradation really makes it stand out. It is a game that will live long in the memory, but it is the very definition of a divisive experience.