En muchos aspectos, Scanner Sombre es el encuentro final entre el juego de terror de los 2010 basado en Amnesia y el first person walker. Tras un intento muy banal de asustarte que se siente burdo y basado más en ruidos fuertes que en una auténtica evocación de oscuridad, el juego se te revela como un viaje personal que no se aleja mucho de Dear Esther. Bajo este prisma, el viaje inverso que realizamos de la cueva se nos revela menos como un recorrido de exploración y descubrimiento personal y más como una tortura infinita, sin secretos que descubrir o placeres que experimentar. La narración seca y aséptica se encarga de contártelo todo sin tapujo alguno.
Si en todos estos aspectos Scanner Sombre se me antoja poco trabajo e incluso contrario a los sentimientos que trata de evocar, la tecnología de exploración y descubrimiento del mundo me parece demasiado bella como para no destacarla. Sin las incomodidades mecánicas de Unifinished Swan, el simple hecho de colorear la cueva ofrece una alegría innegable, y el juego es consciente de ello en todo momento. Una obra que se hubiera centrado más en esto me hubiera parecido mejor.
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In many ways, Scanner Sombre is the long-awaited meeting between the 2010s Amensia-based horror game and the first person walker. After very trivial attempts to scare you that are based more on loud noises than a real sense of dread, the game reveals itself as a personal journey that doesn't stray too far from Dear Esther. Through this, the reverse journey we take from the bottom upwards is less a journey of personal discovery and more endless torture, with no secrets to uncover or pleasures to experience. The dry and aseptic narration makes sure to tell you everything without any mystery whatsoever.
If all these aspects Scanner Sombre do little to convey the feeling that the game wants to evoke, the mechanics of exploration and discovery are by far the most beautiful aspect of it. Without the awkwardness of Unfinished Swan, the simple act of coloring the cave offers an undeniable joy, and the game is aware of this throughout. A title that focused more on this would have seemed better to me.
Si en todos estos aspectos Scanner Sombre se me antoja poco trabajo e incluso contrario a los sentimientos que trata de evocar, la tecnología de exploración y descubrimiento del mundo me parece demasiado bella como para no destacarla. Sin las incomodidades mecánicas de Unifinished Swan, el simple hecho de colorear la cueva ofrece una alegría innegable, y el juego es consciente de ello en todo momento. Una obra que se hubiera centrado más en esto me hubiera parecido mejor.
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In many ways, Scanner Sombre is the long-awaited meeting between the 2010s Amensia-based horror game and the first person walker. After very trivial attempts to scare you that are based more on loud noises than a real sense of dread, the game reveals itself as a personal journey that doesn't stray too far from Dear Esther. Through this, the reverse journey we take from the bottom upwards is less a journey of personal discovery and more endless torture, with no secrets to uncover or pleasures to experience. The dry and aseptic narration makes sure to tell you everything without any mystery whatsoever.
If all these aspects Scanner Sombre do little to convey the feeling that the game wants to evoke, the mechanics of exploration and discovery are by far the most beautiful aspect of it. Without the awkwardness of Unfinished Swan, the simple act of coloring the cave offers an undeniable joy, and the game is aware of this throughout. A title that focused more on this would have seemed better to me.
I loved this. It was an exploratory, meditative, frightening experience shown to you via a low-visual environment, elevated in VR. It's hard to describe why it's so good as just an exploration puzzle walking sim in VR, but it rules.
bom jogo, visual legal, historia intrigante e não estende o gimmick por tempo demais
This game is interesting. Despite my rating, I would recommend it.
The game has an interesting premise and execution, but unfortunately, fails in it's delivery.
But I applaud the effort, and I would not mind more games like this made, hopefully with better execution!
So yeah, go play Scanner Sombre!
The game has an interesting premise and execution, but unfortunately, fails in it's delivery.
But I applaud the effort, and I would not mind more games like this made, hopefully with better execution!
So yeah, go play Scanner Sombre!
This review contains spoilers
a rather interesting idea for an exploration/walking simulator. it's pitch black, you have nothing but a scanner and a headset to pick up these scans and you scan your surroundings to traverse the depths of the caves.
i think what this game does great is allowing the player the unique experience of caving without the dangers of it. the mystery, the terror and the breath-taking scale of it all gave me a juicy bite of what it might be like, and perhaps more understanding of cave divers because wow is this a beautiful and terrifying journey. you really risk it all to experience nature at it's most raw and breath taking views that you cannot even see to it's full capacity, along with the dangers of solitude, your own imagination and the suspense and mystery of folklore and legends.
the main gameplay loop i found was quite interesting and surprisingly addicting, i honestly spend heaps times longer in an area than one normally would just trying to cover every area with my scanner, it's just so satisfying! i feel like if i was younger i'd be more frustrated than satisfied playing this game, because i dont think i'd ever leave an area without fully scanning everything. i think nowadays i'm able to not let that emotion affect me as much, just a personal observation.
one nitpick, there was that one upgrade that allows you to scan an area in a short amount of time that had a cool down. i would always be constantly looking at the meter to see when it was available to use again, instead of actually immersing myself into the world. perhaps it would have been better to leave it with no cool down but weaker if you use it in quick succession, or just hiding the UI bar completely? it just detracts from the experience. despite my dislike for it, i used it more times than i'd like to admit lol.
honestly, this game is definitely not for everyone, but i think everyone should at least try it just to see if you'll like it, it's an incredibly unique experience!
i think what this game does great is allowing the player the unique experience of caving without the dangers of it. the mystery, the terror and the breath-taking scale of it all gave me a juicy bite of what it might be like, and perhaps more understanding of cave divers because wow is this a beautiful and terrifying journey. you really risk it all to experience nature at it's most raw and breath taking views that you cannot even see to it's full capacity, along with the dangers of solitude, your own imagination and the suspense and mystery of folklore and legends.
the main gameplay loop i found was quite interesting and surprisingly addicting, i honestly spend heaps times longer in an area than one normally would just trying to cover every area with my scanner, it's just so satisfying! i feel like if i was younger i'd be more frustrated than satisfied playing this game, because i dont think i'd ever leave an area without fully scanning everything. i think nowadays i'm able to not let that emotion affect me as much, just a personal observation.
one nitpick, there was that one upgrade that allows you to scan an area in a short amount of time that had a cool down. i would always be constantly looking at the meter to see when it was available to use again, instead of actually immersing myself into the world. perhaps it would have been better to leave it with no cool down but weaker if you use it in quick succession, or just hiding the UI bar completely? it just detracts from the experience. despite my dislike for it, i used it more times than i'd like to admit lol.
honestly, this game is definitely not for everyone, but i think everyone should at least try it just to see if you'll like it, it's an incredibly unique experience!
A beautiful idea paired with the perfect setting to explore that idea. This game however sadly feels like it doesn't quite know what it wants to be. Part typical indie walking sim, part horror, part adventure, part puzzle solver. Scanner Sombre dips it's toe into a number of genres never really committing to any of them so even with it's genius scanner mechanic it ends up feeling half baked. The plot is rather generic and uninspired and honestly does the game a disservice in my opinion. Sometimes less is more, and in this game I don't think we needed backstory, clearly we are deep down in a cave somewhere and are trying to get out - that's all the motivation I need.
This game does have one of those "oh wow" moments that will stay with me for a while. See after you escape the cave the camera slowly travels back through the path of your journey showing you not only how far you've come but also revealing this human snail trail of scanner data that creates this massive anthill-esque work of art that I found strangely beautiful. I'm going to choose to ignore that very last sequence which totally undermined the greatness that occurred right before it. Ultimately Scanner Sombre is worth a playthrough just for the fact that it tried something new and pulled it off relatively well, so give it a go if you are into trying out games with unique ideas.
This game does have one of those "oh wow" moments that will stay with me for a while. See after you escape the cave the camera slowly travels back through the path of your journey showing you not only how far you've come but also revealing this human snail trail of scanner data that creates this massive anthill-esque work of art that I found strangely beautiful. I'm going to choose to ignore that very last sequence which totally undermined the greatness that occurred right before it. Ultimately Scanner Sombre is worth a playthrough just for the fact that it tried something new and pulled it off relatively well, so give it a go if you are into trying out games with unique ideas.
"this game feels like scratching off a lottery ticket only to find you've lost everything." - alex
i cannot say that this is good
i cannot say that this is good
This game scared me and I didn't finish it, you may like it, I didn't realize I was playing a horror game.
Simple concept well executed. Despite the great limitations, it manages to tell a story, albeit a very indie-game-ish one. It's not really horror, but certain parts are and are more effective as a result. And yes, the concept is just that good.
I honestly think this is a must have for gamers (i threw up in my mouth) because of how simple and engaging it is. My biggest issue with this game is the pacing in the second half, but because of how it builds up to the ending I think it works very well.
great central mechanic with some nice atmosphere, but ends up feeling like a tech demo
Makes very good use of a creative mechanic, just barely overstays its welcome. Biggest change I would make aside from shortening it a bit is moving the boat scene a bit later.
I'm a sucker for these types of tech demo games!
I'm a sucker for these types of tech demo games!
I remember a friend brought an early version of this game into sixth form on his laptop, and I thought it was a cool tech demo then. Little did I know it would become a cool tech demo with some subtle horror that gets abandoned past the half way point and an ending I predicted even before that.
"haha scanner go brr", Fairly simple premise but good execution, great experience for a simple 3d platformer, some parts made me really scared. Highly recommend
This is one of the cooler tech demos that I've played, but do know that it's just a tech demo. The ending is, frankly, somewhat embarrassing, but it has the potential to be developed into a more fully-featured game with a solid story. I do hope that happens.
A short unique walking sim that i thoroughly enjoyed. The visuals of mapping out the cave are something that will stick with me for a while
Worth playing. It doesn't overextend its stay, and it does it's job
fucking fantastic, from start to finish.
while other games have been having the conversation of how to turn traversal into a fun gameplay loop, Scanner Sombre flips the conversation on it's head, and breaks it's god damn neck; turning sight into a fun gameplay loop.
what would be a walking sim a good story, is turned into a tense puzzle of wondering where in the hell you're going, ended off with one of the most heart breaking, shocking endings i've ever seen in a game this size.
gameplay gets a 5.
story gets a 5.
while other games have been having the conversation of how to turn traversal into a fun gameplay loop, Scanner Sombre flips the conversation on it's head, and breaks it's god damn neck; turning sight into a fun gameplay loop.
what would be a walking sim a good story, is turned into a tense puzzle of wondering where in the hell you're going, ended off with one of the most heart breaking, shocking endings i've ever seen in a game this size.
gameplay gets a 5.
story gets a 5.
The mechanic just completely carries the horror. The narrative itself isn't that interesting, the environment stays pretty tame and can become repetitive. There's a more minimalist approach to its gameplay, which still delivers a haunting atmosphere. The scanner itself is a deeply original idea for horror, that might not reach its full potential here, but does set a precedent for a fresh sci-fi interpretation of the unknown.
buen concepto
A great execution that's failed by a bad idea.
I may be biased against horror games in general since I think the concept is flawed, but this doesn't work as horror anyway.
The story is crap, there's no way to be nice about it, you get a dozen lines of dialogue awkwardly typed into the upper right-hand corner that do absolutely nothing of value for the gameplay loop.
It's a pity because that core loop really is excellent. The kind of game that almost deserves to be played in VR. The idea of scanning your environment like a low-fi flashlight is excellent, and the cave setting is a great fit for it.
There are some genuinely good puzzles here too, if it weren't for the cheap attempts to startle the player you'd have a great atmospheric puzzle-platformer with horror elements crafted solely through loneliness and the player's imagination.
Instead, the game is interrupted by a useless jumpscare that works once and then kills all the tension for the rest of the game. You died, respawned, and were fine. That's kinda why horror doesn't work in games, failure is the end of the tension, once it happens you're no longer tense about it.
If anything, I'd rather the glitches happen more organically, and be left in the water glitching out, thinking something's going to happen, only for it to never actually come. It almost feels like the dev didn't want to have to deal with figuring out the backtracking and so killed the player upon going somewhere they shouldn't have.
I'm only annoyed with this game because it had a lot of potential in it's core mechanic, and I feel that ALOT more could have been done here.
Still play it, it's worth seeing the idea.
I may be biased against horror games in general since I think the concept is flawed, but this doesn't work as horror anyway.
The story is crap, there's no way to be nice about it, you get a dozen lines of dialogue awkwardly typed into the upper right-hand corner that do absolutely nothing of value for the gameplay loop.
It's a pity because that core loop really is excellent. The kind of game that almost deserves to be played in VR. The idea of scanning your environment like a low-fi flashlight is excellent, and the cave setting is a great fit for it.
There are some genuinely good puzzles here too, if it weren't for the cheap attempts to startle the player you'd have a great atmospheric puzzle-platformer with horror elements crafted solely through loneliness and the player's imagination.
Instead, the game is interrupted by a useless jumpscare that works once and then kills all the tension for the rest of the game. You died, respawned, and were fine. That's kinda why horror doesn't work in games, failure is the end of the tension, once it happens you're no longer tense about it.
If anything, I'd rather the glitches happen more organically, and be left in the water glitching out, thinking something's going to happen, only for it to never actually come. It almost feels like the dev didn't want to have to deal with figuring out the backtracking and so killed the player upon going somewhere they shouldn't have.
I'm only annoyed with this game because it had a lot of potential in it's core mechanic, and I feel that ALOT more could have been done here.
Still play it, it's worth seeing the idea.
I hope someone expands on the ideas in this game.
This game bombed.
i hate videogames
Complete single playthrough. This is an interesting experiment of a game, and really quite unexpected to see coming from Introversion given their existing catalogue. The game sees you exploring an underground environment in first-person, the catch being that your only means of vision in the dark comes from a scanning device which outlines surrounding surfaces with dot patterns when directed towards them. Beyond this, there's not much by way of interactivity (a short puzzle towards the end of the game aside), but there's some decent worldbuilding from short (self-spoken) narrative explanation about the area - with some fairly unsettling themes - and the game's fairly short so doesn't overly outstay its welcome.
I wouldn't choose to play it through a second time, but it's worth playing through once for the experience. I'd also say that while I didn't play in VR, I can see that doing so could raise this to much more compelling levels.
I wouldn't choose to play it through a second time, but it's worth playing through once for the experience. I'd also say that while I didn't play in VR, I can see that doing so could raise this to much more compelling levels.
This review contains spoilers
A really mysterious and abstract game that I can't help but laugh when you see the cheap family models so yeah the ending fell off but the journey it's what matters I guess
Non troppo tempo fa giocai The Unfinished Swans che come meccanica aveva quella di far interfacciare il videogiocatore con un mondo bianco, il quale andava scoperto usando un pennello che man mano colorava sprazzi del mondo permettendo così di capire come muoversi. Qui la situazione è similare, ma più estrema. Innanzitutto il mondo è completamente nero, tramite l'uso di uno scanner dai colore al mondo di gioco ma a differenza del titolo precedentemente citato, dove seppur poteva esserci una differenza di colorazioni il mondo rimaneva fisso e a sua volta la colorazione lo rimaneva data la sua interconnessione alla progressione del gioco, qua invece più usi lo scanner, e quindi più esplori e cerchi di capire dove sei e che cosa stai facendo (non è mai chiaro) più i colori saranno accesi e le figure definite. Questo permette al giocatore effettivamente di ristrutturare tutto il mondo in una maniera nuova, anche se il mondo rimane lo stesso per tutti possono cambiare le colorazioni e il livello di rifinitura di ogni cosa. L'idea è molto carina e la storia, che fondamentalmente è assente, pare essere un viaggio all'interno di un disastro su molteplici piani. La famiglia che getta petali di rose mentre ti allontani "volando" via ritornando all'origine di tutto con annesse urla fa pensare al peggio e si collima bene con le varie scritte che di tanto in tanto appaiono sullo schermo. Il gioco rimane comunque un esercizio molto interessante, questa idea dello scanner alimenta la necessità dell'esplorazione ma anche il desiderio artistico di ricreare uno spazio
the ending is so bad and the story is a bit flat but the visuals are great and it makes you really look at things so yeah
The most mystifying realization of carving through tunnels, creating beautiful imagery out of something arguably mundane and simple, is the humanity we try to pour into it. Upon the journey through this spiraling cavern, the quotes you see from the character you inhabit have a much more sorrowful and haunting interpretation rather than the mixed feelings another might feel and silence that overtakes most of the way through.
It made my first immediate reaction to the ending interpret the whole thing as pompous, but then when it guided me back through what I'd just seen, a lot of what I saw started to really make sense. I still think the final 20 seconds ruin the good interpretations you can make out of the adventure, but it's fitting I guess that a cavern that takes the lives of plenty also takes some of my good will with it.
Great game, a genuine walk through the heart of what's left behind, and I swear this will make sense in my head later.
It made my first immediate reaction to the ending interpret the whole thing as pompous, but then when it guided me back through what I'd just seen, a lot of what I saw started to really make sense. I still think the final 20 seconds ruin the good interpretations you can make out of the adventure, but it's fitting I guess that a cavern that takes the lives of plenty also takes some of my good will with it.
Great game, a genuine walk through the heart of what's left behind, and I swear this will make sense in my head later.