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Scorn - Reviews Thread

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?



Attack of the Fanboy 10/10

Scorn is a special experience for anybody looking to have their expectations subverted for what a good horror game can be. It is a gory, surreal, provocative dive into difficult or even taboo topics, and is wonderfully crafted, and near perfectly optimized. The game’s themes and visuals are challenging and extremely mature, but executed with great subtlety. The game is a technical marvel and concise as any horror game should be, so as to not overstay its welcome.


PC Gamer - 8/10


Checkpoint woes and a short runtime couldn't keep this body horror sci-fi game from burrowing into my skull.

GamingNexus - 9/10

Full of body horror and psychotically twisted imagery, players will have a variety of reactions to Scorn, but they are unlikely to be bored. While the game's world building and puzzle design are top-notch, the combat and a punitive checkpoint system may turn some players off. Regardless, the big swing by developer Ebb Software definitely pays off. There are no other games on the market quite like Scorn.

Eurogamer - Unbadged (3/5)

In Scorn, a game of wonderfully horrible atmosphere and smart, hands-off puzzling is undermined by some dodgy checkpoints and wonky combat.

Guardian - 4/5

An evocative work of art but the things the game evokes are so unpleasant players might need to ration the lengths of their sessions

Xboxera - 4/10

I have enjoyed some action-adventure horror games out there. Limited ammo and health reserves can be a great tool for upping the tension and a great story helps make it worth seeing things through. Scorn has none of that. It is bland, boring, plays poorly, and excels in no areas.

Twinfinite - 4/5

Overall, I would very highly recommend Scorn to fans of both horror and puzzle games. It definitely stands out in both genres as unique, and its challenges will keep you thinking constantly. It is also a game worth checking out if you are a fan of the Alien series or anything biopunk. The art alone was enough for me to immediately wishlist it. While the lack of dialogue did at times feel upsetting, possibly because I myself am a writer at heart, it definitely did add to the creepiness of the atmosphere. With more dialogue, it is very likely that my immersion would have been broken, or at the least, paused. If you think that you have the guts to be surrounded by guts, grab Scorn now on PC or Xbox.

Gamespot - 4/10

Scorn's frustrating combat, unbalanced puzzles, and unforgiving checkpoints make it an infuriating slog through an otherwise intriguing setting.

PressStart - 7.5/10

Scorn successfully leverages an intense atmosphere with striking artistic direction to offer a horror journey like no other. While combat can get in the way of an otherwise strong offering, and the story takes a back seat to everything else, Scorn is a unique horror experience and a great debut.

Gamerant - 1/5

Finishing Scorn does not leave players with a sense of satisfaction; it's not scary and it's not fun. Most will be glad that it's over, and at least it's mercifully short. It only takes about five hours to beat Scorn, and our playthrough ended with us earning 11 out of 12 of the game's achievements. Scorn gives players absolutely no reason to return to it, and quite frankly, it doesn't offer much reason to play it even once.

PCgamer - 8/10

Scorn, in a word, rocks. It meaningfully uses its high-end art and rendering resources. Instead of 200 gigabytes of battle royale maps or the most realistic simulation of Ronald Reagan's jowls the world has ever seen, Scorn presents something more deliberately, artistically upsetting: a truly alien world, one that by turns surprised, sickened, and genuinely moved me. I'm hopeful its checkpoint pain can be alleviated with a patch, and it's a type of game I'd only like to see more of.


Gaming Instinct - 10/10

There is really not much to complain when it comes to Scorn. My only real gripe is that the adventure is over a bit too soon. If you are decent at solving puzzles and good at figuring stuff out quickly then you can get through this horror of a journey in roughly four to six hours with five most likely being the average length that it would take to beat the game. However, what you are going to experience in these four to six hour is nothing but pure quality, out of this world atmosphere, a ton of disturbing and gross moments


Metacritic:

Currently: 73




Opencritic:

Currently: 71


 
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Spaceman292

Banned
Wondering how bad the checkpoints are if everyone agrees on them. Sounds good though. You always see wildly varying opinions when it comes to horror games, so the low scores don't worry me too much.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Reviews seem to be VERY mixed. From 2/10 to 10/10. Skill Up said the game has various problems but he still highly recommends it which is pretty weird.

Being on game pass makes the barrier to entry very easy.

The art style has interested me enough that I'll give this a honest shot regardless of the extreme variances in review scores.
 

Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
How much they paid to Attack of the Fanboy lol
You can copy and paste this for any game.
[Game] is a special experience for anybody looking to have their expectations subverted for what a good [Game Genre] can be. It is a [Any Game Theme], surreal, provocative dive into difficult or even taboo topics, and is wonderfully crafted, and near perfectly optimized. The game’s themes and visuals are challenging and extremely mature, but executed with great subtlety. The game is a technical marvel and concise as any [Game Genre] should be, so as to not overstay its welcome.
10/10
 
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The wild varied reviews is kind of what I expected from a very artistically experimental game liked this. Good thing about it being on gamepass is you can try risk free and make up your own mind. Can’t wait to give it a try. Love it or hate it seems like it’ll be a unique experience. Just happy they didn’t play it safe. Rather have a bad game that take risk than an okay game that is by the numbers.
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
After watching GmanLives review, this is the perfect Game Pass rental.

The game itself doesn’t look good to me. Guns look meh. Enemies look blah. Plenty of walking, and it’s only four hours long.

The environments are the star of the show.

Not something I’d ever drop $20-$30 on. A shame because I had my eye on this for a long time.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I do wonder and I posted this elsewhere, whether people give up on games too easily because they tried them on GamePass and didn't have to spend money on them outside of the subscription cost that they've already paid.

I look at it from the other perspective. Being on the service allows a lot more people to play a game they would have otherwise ignored for things like it not scoring 90+ on MC.
 

Hobbygaming

has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
How much they paid to Attack of the Fanboy lol
turismo vision GIF
 

Kimahri

Banned
The game had a nice cocktail of gaming red flags :
  • Review embargo lifts the day the game releases
  • Day one on a subscription service
  • First game from dev
You're an idiot who obsessively post lol emojis on posts about that console you wish didn't exist.

Stop posting and start playing games you like instead of consuming yourself with that console you don't like.

Your behaviour is such a joke by now that you dismissing something is pretty much a mark of quality.

Way to go champ. You achieved the oposite of what you're trying to achieve.
 

Matt_Fox

Member
Only 5 hours to beat and some reviewers are still whining about checkpoints?

Sounds like you could knock this game out in one hardcore session. Good get for Game Pass where the normal hours/cost ratio doesnt really apply.
 

yazenov

Member
The wild varied reviews is kind of what I expected from a very artistically experimental game liked this. Good thing about it being on gamepass is you can try risk free and make up your own mind. Can’t wait to give it a try. Love it or hate it seems like it’ll be a unique experience. Just happy they didn’t play it safe. Rather have a bad game that take risk than an okay game that is by the numbers.

As you said, this game is perfect for Gamepass. It would have bombed otherwise. Its the perfect low quality filler to keep you somewhat full until the big hitters actually come from MS 1st party
 
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