But in which universe does Scorn take place? We won't answer this question for you, because getting lost in the world created by the developers and questioning its essence is an integral part of the experience. Improbable architectures, biomechanical installations, cocoons and viscera scattered here and there evoke in turn, and sometimes all at once, a spaceship, an extraterrestrial cathedral, the interior of an unknown body, or even the corridors hells. One thing is certain, almost every image generated by the Xbox or the PC (in 4K / 60 fps to not spoil anything) is a real nightmare vision. More importantly, the graphics constantly refer to the work of HR Giger (the mythical designer of Alien who needs no introduction) and Zdzisław Beksiński (a Polish artist with a fantastic style, in every sense of the word). From certain angles, the backgrounds appear to be real illustrations and paintings, except that it is allowed to move around in them. The exploration is all the more pleasant as the first person view does not forget the "body awareness" (the emaciated legs and the mutilated body of our mysterious character are modeled and visible), while the level design makes a relevant use of "labyrinthism". We get lost just enough, and the inevitable round trips do not get on the nerves. The five acts that make up the adventure take place in enigmatic locations that are both coherent and varied. Whether we find ourselves in desolate landscapes or cramped corridors, there is no doubt that they belong to the same world and tell the same story, even if each place has its own personality. Both mechanical and organic, even religious and sexual, the universe of Scorn clearly stands out from the rest of video game production.
THE DEVIL'S SCORN
As for the events of which we sometimes find ourselves a spectator and most often an actor, they all seem more distressing and disturbing than each other. We won't divulge anything to you, but expect to push "oh"s and "ahs" of surprise and disgust in front of various scenes of various mutilations and tortures, of which you will sometimes be the victim and sometimes the executioner. The game takes your guts, literally at times. Moreover, the simple fact of picking up a weapon or an object is more like an organ transplant than anything else. Note in passing that Scorn cannot reasonably be described as an FPS. There are only four weapons (a backdoor tool, and the semi-organic equivalents of a pistol, shotgun, and grenade launcher), their reloading is slow, and their damage not great. This is obviously voluntary on the part of the developers, in order to maintain the tension and anxiety that grip us the rest of the time. No way to make us overpowered! The intention is commendable but, suddenly, the direct confrontation sequences are clearly not the strong point of the game. They remain rare, fortunately, and it is sometimes possible to avoid enemy creatures rather than confront them. You still have to do with a sequence of bosses that happens a bit like a hair in the soup around three quarters of the adventure. Much too stamped "video game" (armed confrontation, different phases ...), it seems to us to serve the universe more than anything else.
THE HARD ADVENTURE
After having mentioned the aesthetics of Scorn, its unhealthy atmosphere, and what it is not, it is high time to clarify what the essence of the gameplay is made of. The subjective view actually serves as a real adventure game, a kind of strange and unhealthy Myst. Each act places us in front of unknown machines and installations, whose use and functioning we have to guess in order to be able to progress. For this, the unfortunate protagonist must regularly plunge his fingers, hands or arms into questionable orifices, in order to take control of various mechanisms. The puzzles are all correctly balanced, blocking us for a few moments while discreetly and naturally distilling a few clues into the scenery. Door opening, release of passages and other restoration of elevators are objectives that would be very dull and classic elsewhere, but the tortured universe gives them a particular flavor here. All the mechanisms being strange and unknown, the player's pleasure comes in two stages: a first time when he finally grasps their nature, and a second time when he solves the puzzle itself.
Deliberately minimalist, the interface leaves room for natural interactions, and never hinders the pleasure of discovery, a decidedly central component in the gaming experience. Even the health and ammunition system are initially hidden and must be unearthed by the player himself. It would be inappropriate to reproach this cryptic aspect to Scorn, just as it would be inappropriate to complain about the inefficiency of the weapons mentioned above. That doesn't mean the game is flawless, though. The lifespan is between six and eight hours only, depending on the player's ability to solve the puzzles and defeat that pesky boss, and we encountered collision problems on two occasions, fortunately only visual ones (elements that intertwine seconds when they shouldn't). The most annoying problem comes from the backup system, based on predefined recovery points and not always well placed. We would have preferred to be able to save at any time. As for the very end of the game, if it is obviously subject to interpretation (the opposite would have been disappointing), it seemed to us to lack scope. But maybe we don't have it all figured out? Come on, we're going to do a second part to be sure!
