Scorn: The Art of the Game

by Matthew Pellett (Producer)

An in-depth look into Scorn's unique aesthetic. This artbook includes a curated collection of in-game art with never-before-seen imagery and concept designs.

Genres: Art, Horror, Science Fiction, Video Games

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2022

Reviews

[Dol Leander · Rating 5 out of 5]

i thought i would look through the artbook after finishing the game and put my thoughts on both in a review. i certainly had picked up on the themes surrounding entropy and birth, and it was nice to see that reflected in the writing and concept stages of the game. there was a very clear vision that i felt carried through and i very much appreciated the experience (despite the many times i grew frustrated and died).

i enjoyed the game itself, though it seems to be getting very mixed reviews (and not many people have gotten far, the achievements on Xbox for finishing past the halfway point of the game are around 10-7% with PC more in the 30-20% range). many people complain about the lack of reward and clear story and the brutality of the entire experience, but those are all the point of the game and an integral part of the experience.

far too many people are used to (and expect) their games to feel like simple video games. you shoot things, you do puzzles, you get a reward so you can move forward in the story. it is all a very clear formula (and a reason why text-based games that are practically novels get complaints about being boring. people just don't get it). this is not supposed to just be a game, you are supposed to experience it the way one does art (and i don't care how pretentious that may sound). it is an interactive art piece and experience and should be treated as such.

[Benjamin Uke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired bio-punk body-horror aesthetic revolves heavily around the melding of flesh and machinery inspired a la Zdzisław Beksiński and H.R. Geiger. It looks like a dark story of creation. Possibly the most viscerally unsettling games I've seen. It starts with the player character waking from unconsciousness and finding himself enveloped in strange tendrils and half-embedded on the floor, which he then breaks out of. The game's first section comprises of how the player got there.

The lore of the game is very similar to that of the Engineers of Prometheus. Their story revealed in an early version of the script. They, too, stopped reproducing, and the remedy for that was to be the discovery of xenomorph and his blood, which, through the disintegration of the body, sowed new life on the planets. The setting proper is in the rotting ruins of a biomechanical civilization. All technology seems to be made from bone, chitin or steel as the framework structures, with bubbling flesh as the interactive medium. Every machine the player interacts with oozes, drips and generally disperses all sorts of unhealthy-looking liquids, with blood being so prevalent it might just be what fuels the whole environment.

It's has a horrifying, cryptic stoyline that makes little sense outside the freudian aesthetic. You cant look away.

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scorn is one of the coolest looking games I've ever played. There were complaints about the game play, its essentially a walking simulator with some simple puzzles thrown in. But it's so cool, I'd take more of this style of thing.

The art is inspired strongly by HG Giger's biomechanical art. The whole world is designed with living organisms in mind. It also has a strong influence from Zdzisław Beksiński with the creepy desolate landscapes and buildings.

This book shows how much effort and love went into the designs of the world. Super cool, I hope they made some good money from this release despite the lukewarm response, and I can't wait to see what this team does next!

[Granit Hysiqi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giger's wet dream.

[Sami Eerola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about the art and ideas of the game Scorn. Not much to talk about it than it delivers what it promices. Just reading this book made me see nighmares so it is very impressive writing on the horror elements of the game and even the game development process

[Yombai Snockburst · Rating 3 out of 5]

8h 21-25 okt

[Tommaso DeBenetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most detailed artbook I remember, and a testament to a monstrous conceptual work.

[Konmajun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scorn'u iki yıl önce görmeme rağmen çok ilgimi çekmemişti. Oyun hakkında anında spoiler yemiştim ve aşırı depresif sonu ve soluk renk paleti ve biomekanik kâbus ortamı o zaman oyunun evrenine girmemi engellemişti, iğrendirdirdiği için değil ama ilgimi çekmediği için. Her ne olduysa bu yılın ortalarına doğru Alien'ın ilk filmini izlediğim için oldu. Uzaylının tasarımı, Worldbuilding'i, ve Ripley mükemmel karakterler. Sanırım bu film 'Kediyi Öldürme!('Don't Let The Cat Die!') olayını ilk başlatan filmdi ama yanlış biliyor olabilirim. Giger'ın çok keskin ve belirleyici bir korku uslubü var, ve insanları irkittiği ve uzaklaştırdığı kadar bazılarını gerçekten neredeyse sapıkça bir edayla içine çekiyor. Giger denen manyak Scorn'u görse muhtemelen mutluluktan ağlardı. Scorn 'Biyomekanik Dünya' olayını tam anlamıyla çözmüş bir yapıt, Giger'dan daha çok belki de. Daha üst bir varlık haline Yükseliş (Ascension), Seks, Ölüm, ve Beden temalarına hakettikleri bir ürküntüyle yaklaşıp birleştiriyor. Büyük bir kesim Scorn'un oyun gibi hissettirmediğini ve daha müze gibi olduğunu belirtiyor, ve haklılar: Scorn'un birincili dünyası ve içinde yaşamış olan toplum. Oyunu şu an oynuyorum, ve spoiler yemiş olsam bile dikkatimi çeken bir deneyim olarak ilerliyor, ne olacağını bilmem beni rahatsız etmiyor. Walkthrough'ları ve teori videolarını izlemek yetmediği için Artbook'unu gezdim, Filip Acović mükemmel bir iş çıkarmış. Şu an anatomi çizmeyi öğrenen biri olduğum için kas ve iskelet yapısı ile ilgili her şey beni benden alıkoyuyor, ve bu tasarımlar ve konseptler açıkçası 'bu kadar iyi hale ben de gelebilir miyim acaba bir gün' diye sorgulattırıyor. Oyun size göre olmasa bile, özellikle Alien ve benzeri body horror türlerine ilgiliyseniz, internet archive'dan girip göz atmanızı öneririm. Bonus olarak eğer Tıp ya da Güzel Sanat öğrencisiyseniz (ya da bu alanlara ilgiliyseniz) bu kitap farklı nedenlerden ilginizi çekebilir.

[James Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nook app (from Barnes and Noble) displays the EPUB version perfectly. Don’t believe the negative reviews. Download a reputable e-reader.

Concept art and insights into the development process of the video game Scorn.

The game is visceral and terrifying, a triumph of design and visual storytelling. There is no story to be found in the game, but I did perceive a sinister scaffolding holding up the various elements of the environment and the player’s journey through its blood-soaked corridors of metal and skin.

The artbook confirms I was right. There is method to the madness, even if the developers themselves don’t understand all of it. A civilization so fully dependent on technology flesh itself becomes part of the mining-refining-manufacturing-recycling process. Life becomes part of the machine that sustains humankind, and the body is no longer sacred. What happens to society when technology has progressed this far is the stuff of nightmares.

The game itself doesn’t explain anything, and I’m happy the art book gives some meaning to all of it. Things I perceived on a subconscious level. It’s grotesquely satisfying.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful visual guide to go along with an artistic game! You'll be able to get some idea of inspirations and reasons why some things are included in the game at all, giving you more of a clue to the world of Scorn, but the creators are still very coy in explaining what the story is completely about

[Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive deep dive on the game and its world.
Quality of work is very high and the art itself is unique and disturbing.
If you enjoyed the game, this art book will bring you some insights you might have missed....

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recognize my biased rating being that scorn is in my top 10 favorite games of all time, but it was a really interesting read. Learning about the design choices and philosophy behind the games many aspects was really interesting, loved all of it

[Anabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous art book, I loved the explanations and reasoning behind some of the design choices we seen in the game. :)

[Mikael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the game.

[Niↄko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe this is the best artbook ever conceived? This or cyberpunk

[Yelizar · Rating 4 out of 5]

very meaty