Lick The Biomechanical Gristle Of FPS-Adventure Scorn
Gigeresque guts, Cronenbergian gristleguns
Several games have waved H.R. Giger's subliminal dicks and fannies in our faces, mostly through Alien connections, but in recent years I've seen few go for it quite as much as Scorn [official site]. It's an upcoming mix of first-person shooter and adventure game, with all the biomechanical ribbing, pumping, throbbing, squicking, and glistening of Giger with touches of Zdzisław Beksiński and David Cronenberg. I've peeked at Scorn before but what pushed me to post about it now was this new trailer - it seems to show a meatgun changing function as the player pulls out a toothed, gristly gland and swaps in a fatty glob of sphincters. It's the small things in life, you know?
Serbian studio Ebb Software explain that Scorn is set in a non-linear open world where each glistening region has its own bit of story. Expect puzzles to solve, limited inventory to manage, and a spot of scrapping.
I do like that Ebb talk about flinging you hard into this writhing meatworld, not over-explaining what's going on, not having distinct cutscenes so you need to pay attention, and having full body awareness. If you pick up, use, or otherwise touch something, our skinless star will reach out and do it with their awful arms. The big question now is: can you look down and see your legs?
Ebb Software plan to release Scorn in two halves. The first, named DASEIN, is coming in 2017. In the meantime, they're taking a crack at Steam Greenlight. You might have seen Scorn when Ebb failed a Kickstarter attempt in 2014, but they managed to attract a private investor to fund development.
Adam and I have grand plans for a Vive experience which starts as a wacky physics 'simulator' about dining but degenerates into body horror as you assemble a gun from your meal and your own teeth. I've suggested it use modded motion controllers with pliers attached for fun mix-ups with that weird VR 'imaginary body' sensation.