Scorn review – Giger-inspired horror puzzler is a revulsive but rewarding nightmare

Ebb Software; PC, Xbox
An evocative work of art but the things the game evokes are so unpleasant players might need to ration the lengths of their sessions

I permit you to wander like an eyeless insect in a world of death," wrote Harlan Ellison in his seminal sci-fi horror work, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. First-person puzzler Scorn's rotting biomechanical hellscapes impart a similar permission, imposing a paranoia on play as if you're simply being allowed to wander its world, on a short leash, at the behest of some terrible intelligence. It's a world you enter flayed and emaciated, journeying from bleakness to a transcendent despair I haven't felt since Pascal Laugier's notorious horror film, Martyrs.

The developer describes the setting as a nightmarish universe of odd forms and somber tapestry" and that's perhaps all you need to know of the world or its narrative. Pain is constant. Fear is everywhere. Respite only brings violent melancholy. Scorn is an incredibly evocative work of art and the things it evokes are so unpleasant I had to ration it out in hour-long sessions throughout a week of play.