Day 175 - Scanner Sombre
SPOOKY MONTH!, Horror, Walking Sim ·
Sam’s Take:
Yesterday we reviewed LiDAR Exploration Program. We had some issues with its simplicity, and didn’t really understand why it had horror sound design, but no real horror elements. Nevertheless, we found it very unique and aesthetically pleasing. We both gave it a soft recommendation, and after our writing, we talked to each other in Discord about the game. While that was happening, I scrolled through some reviews and found this:
Then Skeeter noticed this in the description:
We realized we had been had. LiDAR EP had been a RIP OFF THE WHOLE TIME!!! That’s a little harsh, they clearly list Scanner Sombre as inspiration, and honestly we wouldn’t have played Scanner if it wasn’t for LiDAR EP so no one is getting sued here, but it did explain some things. Why did LiDAR EP have horror sound effects? Because Scanner Sombre did! How did they come up with the cool map that shows what you’ve scanned? It’s from Scanner Sombre! All the different functions of the scanner, all upgrades in Scanner Sombre!
I bring this all up not to clown on LiDAR EP, I think having multiple scan-type games is fine and good, but I do want to re-review it with this knowledge. I’d get more enjoyment out of LiDAR EP if it focused more on its unique peacefulness and freedom to scan varied terrain, and took out the Clippy character and the mis-matched horror elements. As it stands, there’s just not enough it does differently from Scanner Sombre to really stand out. It feels like a regression of ideas, and that’s partially because Scanner Sombre by comparison is a simple focused package.
Scanner Sombre is another game made a few years before LiDAR EP where you scan your environment that is otherwise pitch black. In this case, you’re using the tech to explore an old cave system. As you scan your way through, you find upgrades for your scanner, and learn a little about your own motivations in exploring the cave through text in the corner of your screen.
The horror elements in Scanner Sombre are actually fully realized. There’s some lore about the device having some glitches, but it’s always hard to tell if it’s really glitches, or if there’s something HAUNTED about the cave system. There also seems to be a small undercurrent of guilt going on with the main character, so that could also be a factor. Instead of several small environments, you explore just the one massive cave system, and it gives a great sense of scope to what you’ve scanned, and it uses the map as a way to really zoom out and appreciate all the work you’ve done. The ability to fine tune the scanner also makes more sense, since you might need a more detailed scan to see where your next jump should be, and the full area scan is useful in large rooms with smaller details.
Scanner Sombre answered my question of “what exactly was missing from LiDAR EP”, and to cap it all off, it was made years before. I’m hoping we don’t find out that this is based on an even better, more complete scanner game, but it would be pretty surprising. LiDAR EP feels like another project that has been gutted and repurposed, whereas Scanner Sombre feels like a simple idea fully realized. Ignore my last recommendation unless you REALLY need more scanner action, this is the one to play.
Recommend: Yup
Replay Percentage Chance: 20%
Time Played: 30min
Skeeter’s Take:
Recommend: Yes
Replay Percentage Chance: 40%
Time Played: 1 hour
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