- Joined
- Dec 16, 2015
- Messages
- 12,232
- Reaction score
- 12,032
Survival Horror is hit or miss. I don't care what anyone says, Resident Evil Village sucked. Which is ultra disappointing because REVII was amazing, and made everyone realize that Survival Horror and the RE franchise itself is not in fact dead.
Scorn is more of a puzzle game, which is not to insult it, but there's a certain itch that hasn't been scratched in a while.
Unless you've played Signalis. It's engaging, scary, compelling, lonely and sad. It has the ache of a dream where you've been searching for someone you love, always finding clues but never they themselves. The word "ache" is really the operative word here-- it's what I felt as I was moving through the game's story.
The level design and item management system, paired with a radio that is implemented in very creative and satisfying manner, all coalesce into an incredible piece of software. The art direction is awesome. Even though the cutscenes have an anime-ish style, there is some extremely disturbing imagery and I'm not talking about violence or gore. It just becomes more grotesque, and I for the first time since I played Silent Hill so long ago, I felt that very uneasy feeling. Finally the music is gorgeous. There are areas and boss fights whose disturbing subject matter is enhanced by the relentless score. The first boss fight is fucked, and part of that is the disorienting music. I'm hoping the OST goes on Vinyl like Loop Hero's did.
The story is compelling, intriguing. I never got bored. It doesn't suffer from "second-half-itis". You know what I'm talking about. The atmosphere demonstrates a perfect gradual descent into madness and hell. This is essentially how Diablo II and III should have modeled their atmosphere.
Regarding gameplay- the gear and weapons are fun as hell. The combat is nerve wracking but satisfying. You really do have to be selective about whether you're going to fight or run. There's enough inventory "cushion" so that you can make errors and keep going, but you have great incentive to be smart and think through your decisions carefully. Again, the level design is such that you just don't want to put it down. I never felt flooded with a billion puzzle items that had no context, but neither would I say it's simple. I know I've used the word already but it's truly compelling.
This could be my game of the year, no joke. Elden Ring is probably better. But I liked this even more than GoWR. Do yourself a favor and get it. If you are a survival horror nut this is an absolute must. Non-negotiable.
One caveat-- I was playing with a controller first and the aiming was spazzing out the whole time. Could just be me but my official recommendation is PC, although if the Switch doesn't have aiming issues, I would definitely recommend it for that.
Enjoy.
Scorn is more of a puzzle game, which is not to insult it, but there's a certain itch that hasn't been scratched in a while.
Unless you've played Signalis. It's engaging, scary, compelling, lonely and sad. It has the ache of a dream where you've been searching for someone you love, always finding clues but never they themselves. The word "ache" is really the operative word here-- it's what I felt as I was moving through the game's story.
The level design and item management system, paired with a radio that is implemented in very creative and satisfying manner, all coalesce into an incredible piece of software. The art direction is awesome. Even though the cutscenes have an anime-ish style, there is some extremely disturbing imagery and I'm not talking about violence or gore. It just becomes more grotesque, and I for the first time since I played Silent Hill so long ago, I felt that very uneasy feeling. Finally the music is gorgeous. There are areas and boss fights whose disturbing subject matter is enhanced by the relentless score. The first boss fight is fucked, and part of that is the disorienting music. I'm hoping the OST goes on Vinyl like Loop Hero's did.
The story is compelling, intriguing. I never got bored. It doesn't suffer from "second-half-itis". You know what I'm talking about. The atmosphere demonstrates a perfect gradual descent into madness and hell. This is essentially how Diablo II and III should have modeled their atmosphere.
Regarding gameplay- the gear and weapons are fun as hell. The combat is nerve wracking but satisfying. You really do have to be selective about whether you're going to fight or run. There's enough inventory "cushion" so that you can make errors and keep going, but you have great incentive to be smart and think through your decisions carefully. Again, the level design is such that you just don't want to put it down. I never felt flooded with a billion puzzle items that had no context, but neither would I say it's simple. I know I've used the word already but it's truly compelling.
This could be my game of the year, no joke. Elden Ring is probably better. But I liked this even more than GoWR. Do yourself a favor and get it. If you are a survival horror nut this is an absolute must. Non-negotiable.
One caveat-- I was playing with a controller first and the aiming was spazzing out the whole time. Could just be me but my official recommendation is PC, although if the Switch doesn't have aiming issues, I would definitely recommend it for that.
Enjoy.
