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Scorn **SPOILER** What did you take from it?

DenchDeckard

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
So, I shouldnt probably do this on my ipad and I may run through the game again to take pics of this incredible art designed game but after completing it and my brain remembers this insane world I can't help but think about what it stands for.

I think there are obvious representations of reproduction and the circle of life but also that of parenthood as well.

We are clearly born into the world with no direction or understanding of the environment around us we are pretty much left to work things out.

There are some amazing painting like environments that show various blatant reproductive imagery. Sex and phallic visuals are abundant, corridors that are all like birthing canals.

Then there is the deeper metaphore of this creature that latches onto you which I feel is almost like the symolisation of a parent, are they guiding you, influencing you in this world to understand it but periodically restricting your own individual growth and getting there grips around you, almost attacking your body from the inside.

This culminates in the offspring (you) almost finding your own way in the world and freeing yourself by breaking free of this influence that may have assisted but ultimately stifled you....then there is some representation of giving life back to what could be seen as parental figures but before this you do the ultimate sacrifice of giving your mind and body to this hive mind that could represent society?

before you can escape your parent turns back up again and stifles your escape or finding your true meaning/dream.

I feel like maybe the cycle begins again and you pass on your birth a new to repeat.

There's also some other visualisations that stand out that I think could mean something. There's a large baron area at one point with a large ship or structure with two large holes and various pods on the baron land...I wondered if this was representing the ovaries and eggs that are released but I maybe reaching.

Also feeding the fetus type things to create life juice to almost bring the pregnant looking bodies alive...I dunno.

Interested to hear if anyone else took anything from it?
 
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Torrent of Pork

Torrent of Pork

Banned
Played for about 2 hours before having to take a break. I felt like a piece of absolute shit forcing that poor thing to go through body-horror levels of torture just to open a door.

This is an interactive art experience more than it is a videogame, and that's not a criticism.
 
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Bartski

Bartski

Gold Member
yeah it seems the whole game is a metaphor for failed reproduction but the analogy to toxic parenthood is interesting and I haven't thought about it, let's try it.

DenchDeckard said:
Then there is the deeper metaphore of this creature that latches onto you which I feel is almost like the symolisation of a parent, are they guiding you, influencing you in this world to understand it but periodically restricting your own individual growth and getting there grips around you, almost attacking your body from the inside.

This culminates in the offspring (you) almost finding your own way in the world and freeing yourself by breaking free of this influence that may have assisted but ultimately stifled you....then there is some representation of giving life back to what could be seen as parental figures but before this you do the ultimate sacrifice of giving your mind and body to this hive mind that could represent society?

before you can escape your parent turns back up again and stifles your escape or finding your true meaning/dream.
Click to expand...

Some of that starts coming together when we try decoding the motivation of both characters we play...

Both seem to represent the final remnants of their humanoid middle-class kind.

The first one (let's call him the "antagonist") deliberately breaks a tower of "hazardous occurrence" causing the flesh growth to start consuming the first playable area, and after sinking into the goo he releases - falls into slumber mutating into the "lizard parasite" creature. Wakes up to realize that another of his kind is born in the desert, and goes on a search to find him.

That's our second playable character (let's call him the "protagonist"), also gets born from an egg in the desert and survives, which is an anomaly. Shortly after gets found by the "antagonist" who latches onto him and stays there for most of the game. He wants to fully assimilate with his new "host" which seems to require both time and a sufficient volume of pain. So he tortures the protagonist but helps him survive by returning his bolt, and giving 2 more arms to work with for inventory (this part feels slightly undercooked imo...).

The protagonist could be all about surviving and escaping. He follows a path of "ascension" and finding freedom from the embrace of the toxic yet supportive mutant parasite. Reaches the domain of the extinct aristocracy that seems to have figured out all those alternative methods of procreation, possibly replacing regular sex and pregnancy - both immortalized in sculptures you see all over the area. The mass production of lesser valued lower class humanoids in the game's initial structures seems like a metaphor for invitro, while the structure houses the helpless "mother" monster you torture "at the lowermost point". Humanoids are "miscarried" by egg incubators failing, the munchkin you need for the first puzzle can be "aborted" or "c-sectioned"...

The aristocratic class failed to survive despite creating internet hive mind or maybe now residing there, and/or escaping through the "ascension gate". Waking up twin mothers somehow opens up such an option for the protagonist after detaching the parasite and getting carried towards actual birth/rebirth/death that somehow needs continuous pain to work, granted by the mother.

But then the antagonist shows up and completes his "mission" to become one with the protagonist and stopping him from reaching his next step of evolution. They grow into one and he makes him stay, forever a slave to their relationship.
 
DenchDeckard

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Bartski said:
yeah it seems the whole game is a metaphor for failed reproduction but the analogy to toxic parenthood is interesting and I haven't thought about it, let's try it.



Some of that starts coming together when we try decoding the motivation of both characters we play...

Both seem to represent the final remnants of their humanoid middle-class kind.

The first one (let's call him the "antagonist") deliberately breaks a tower of "hazardous occurrence" causing the flesh growth to start consuming the first playable area, and after sinking into the goo he releases - falls into slumber mutating into the "lizard parasite" creature. Wakes up to realize that another of his kind is born in the desert, and goes on a search to find him.

That's our second playable character (let's call him the "protagonist"), also gets born from an egg in the desert and survives, which is an anomaly. Shortly after gets found by the "antagonist" who latches onto him and stays there for most of the game. He wants to fully assimilate with his new "host" which seems to require both time and a sufficient volume of pain. So he tortures the protagonist but helps him survive by returning his bolt, and giving 2 more arms to work with for inventory (this part feels slightly undercooked imo...).

The protagonist could be all about surviving and escaping. He follows a path of "ascension" and finding freedom from the embrace of the toxic yet supportive mutant parasite. Reaches the domain of the extinct aristocracy that seems to have figured out all those alternative methods of procreation, possibly replacing regular sex and pregnancy - both immortalized in sculptures you see all over the area. The mass production of lesser valued lower class humanoids in the game's initial structures seems like a metaphor for invitro, while the structure houses the helpless "mother" monster you torture "at the lowermost point". Humanoids are "miscarried" by egg incubators failing, the munchkin you need for the first puzzle can be "aborted" or "c-sectioned"...

The aristocratic class failed to survive despite creating internet hive mind or maybe now residing there, and/or escaping through the "ascension gate". Waking up twin mothers somehow opens up such an option for the protagonist after detaching the parasite and getting carried towards actual birth/rebirth/death that somehow needs continuous pain to work, granted by the mother.

But then the antagonist shows up and completes his "mission" to become one with the protagonist and stopping him from reaching his next step of evolution. They grow into one and he makes him stay, forever a slave to their relationship.
Click to expand...

Wow, awesome theories. Love it. I too felt it was definitely a "mother" at the lowest point receiving a c section and ultimately providing the ultimate sacrifice so that we carry on in our journey.

The two mothers and pain is super interesting. I did feel there was some significance in the mother breaking the playable character from the clutches of society that is eating away at its mind and body but to only continue to cut away at the body of the player while also assisting in moving towards the ultimate goal.

Great thought provoking stuff.
 
Team Andromeda

Team Andromeda

Member
Really enjoying Scorn

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Roberts

Roberts

Member
DenchDeckard said:
Interested to hear if anyone else took anything from it?
Click to expand...

I only had a chance to play the game for an hour (and I'm not afraid of spoilers so it is ok), but I like your theories and they make total sense. I haven't read any reviews but do any of them actually talk about what the game is really about? The critics of other artforms, including cinema, always talk about the meaning and their interpretations but the game critics rarely do. And it is kind of a shame, because game creators also have personal things to say.
 
yamaci17

yamaci17

Member
So far I feel like im in the machine world from matrix
like they tried to build humanity from the ground up after destroying every one of them
and now they went extinct too
im there's wireless technology (the door opener thing). there's some serious machinery. then there's these weird biologically failed things all around us.

im halfway there but that's how i interpreted it so far (head cannon i guess)
 
DenchDeckard

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
yamaci17 said:
So far I feel like im in the machine world from matrix
like they tried to build humanity from the ground up after destroying every one of them
and now they went extinct too
im there's wireless technology (the door opener thing). there's some serious machinery. then there's these weird biologically failed things all around us.

im halfway there but that's how i interpreted it so far (head cannon i guess)
Click to expand...

There is definitely this feeling that the species, say humanity has built what they feel is the perfect evolution and society for themselves as can be seen by the incredible technical machinery and structures. Ans they exist in their perfect higher class establishments Ultimately, some parasite or organic species has grown from the depths and attached itself and corrupted the man made infrastructure, infecting it and bringing back nature's true scary, yet brilliant ability to adapt and consume / survive all obstacles.

I also you start at the bottom and ascend to see this higher class area so maybe it represent the push to achieve to reach a goal in society but to ultimately have it squandered.... was it all worth it?


This game has really impressed me to be honest. I hadn't read a single review and I'm glad I didn't.

Amazing experience.
 
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A

acm2000

Member
i dont think the game is anything to do with aliens but instead IMO the metaphor is about the fight for survival from pregnancy to birth: you are a twin in the womb, the twin is dying and trying to take you with it (infection and the like) so surgical intervention is needed to try save the remaining baby, as you and the mother are fighting for life, at the end you try to escape from the womb but fail. Mother and both babies die. The reason for the sci-fi but biological view of the world is as a embyro/fetus/baby everything is alien.
 
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adamsapple

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Bruh the chapter where you have to punch 3 holes into the giant demon with the gaping maw gave me massive creeps

Especially cause after every time you punch a hole in it, the thing roars to high heavens then quietly brings its giant head way the fuck close to you and just stares at you.
 
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iHaunter

iHaunter

Member
Had a bit of motion sickness, had to turn off motion blur. But I agree with some of the others. This is less a game and more an interactive art experience with some puzzles.
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
DenchDeckard said:
I guess the PC version is balls? I played on series X and it was flawless from beginning to end.

Epic needs to sort unreal engine on PC its an absolute piss take.
Click to expand...
Yup. PC version is shit, unless someone else plays it for you the first time to compile shaders. Otherwise it's a stutterfest every time you explore new areas.

This shader compilation issue in many modern games has completely burned me out on PC gaming. I bought a Gsync/freesync monitor to get rid of microstutters and vsync stutters in many games only for PC gaming to become even worse. Shader compilation stutters are impossible to clear other than suffering through them the first playthrough. I don't know how the PC community has allowed this to become acceptable.
 
DenchDeckard

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
nkarafo said:
Yup. PC version is shit, unless someone else plays it for you the first time to compile shaders. Otherwise it's a stutterfest every time you explore new areas.

This shader compilation issue in many modern games has completely burned me out on PC gaming. I bought a Gsync/freesync monitor to get rid of microstutters and vsync stutters in many games only for PC gaming to become even worse. Shader compilation stutters are impossible to clear other than suffering through them the first playthrough. I don't know how the PC community has allowed this to become acceptable.
Click to expand...

completely agree, Epic needs to address this shiz! its a joke.
 
M1chl

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
nkarafo said:
Yup. PC version is shit, unless someone else plays it for you the first time to compile shaders. Otherwise it's a stutterfest every time you explore new areas.

This shader compilation issue in many modern games has completely burned me out on PC gaming. I bought a Gsync/freesync monitor to get rid of microstutters and vsync stutters in many games only for PC gaming to become even worse. Shader compilation stutters are impossible to clear other than suffering through them the first playthrough. I don't know how the PC community has allowed this to become acceptable.
Click to expand...
Shit that Unreal vanilla can do compilation like that in asynchronously*, not sure why not, but the whole underlying architecture is really old school, they are just building shit on top of that. I was hoping that Unreal 5 would not do that, but sadly it does, reside mainly on one core and stuff like that.

*you need to use GPGPU for that, so it has to be written in something like Direct X compute or CUDA for Nvidia GPUs, which many programmers don't want to touch
 
adamsapple

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
BPX said:
Well that penis is gone. Just finished it, liked it overall aside from some stupid puzzles and lame combat. That fucking parasite. So close to reaching heaven!
Click to expand...

I literally just finished the game.

That metal statue and sudden dick-vaccuum got me screaming like WHAT THE FUCK :messenger_tears_of_joy:

The final shot gave me massive "For I have no mouth but I must scream" vibes.
 
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chilleverest

chilleverest

Member
I cant be the only one who thought the aliens/other worldly beings (lovecraft beings that came before time and resided in the deepest depth) were experimenting with human blood and tried to copulate with humans with their blood.
 
adamsapple

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
chilleverest said:
I cant be the only one who thought the aliens/other worldly beings (lovecraft beings that came before time and resided in the deepest depth) were experimenting with human blood and tried to copulate with humans with their blood.
Click to expand...

If you can get a hold of it, the art book has incredible lore/backstory for everything.
 
Mephisto40

Mephisto40

Member
DenchDeckard said:
So, I shouldnt probably do this on my ipad and I may run through the game again to take pics of this incredible art designed game but after completing it and my brain remembers this insane world I can't help but think about what it stands for.

I think there are obvious representations of reproduction and the circle of life but also that of parenthood as well.

We are clearly born into the world with no direction or understanding of the environment around us we are pretty much left to work things out.

There are some amazing painting like environments that show various blatant reproductive imagery. Sex and phallic visuals are abundant, corridors that are all like birthing canals.

Then there is the deeper metaphore of this creature that latches onto you which I feel is almost like the symolisation of a parent, are they guiding you, influencing you in this world to understand it but periodically restricting your own individual growth and getting there grips around you, almost attacking your body from the inside.

This culminates in the offspring (you) almost finding your own way in the world and freeing yourself by breaking free of this influence that may have assisted but ultimately stifled you....then there is some representation of giving life back to what could be seen as parental figures but before this you do the ultimate sacrifice of giving your mind and body to this hive mind that could represent society?

before you can escape your parent turns back up again and stifles your escape or finding your true meaning/dream.

I feel like maybe the cycle begins again and you pass on your birth a new to repeat.

There's also some other visualisations that stand out that I think could mean something. There's a large baron area at one point with a large ship or structure with two large holes and various pods on the baron land...I wondered if this was representing the ovaries and eggs that are released but I maybe reaching.

Also feeding the fetus type things to create life juice to almost bring the pregnant looking bodies alive...I dunno.

Interested to hear if anyone else took anything from it?
Click to expand...
I know the game implies that this is a story about an alien race...

But I couldn't help but notice how as your progress through the game, your physical appearance gets more and more normal

I took it that the game was a story about what somebody committed to hell after dying has to achieve to be reborn onto the earth

I know this isn't essentially what the game is about, but it gave me those vibes whilst playing it
 
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