Scanner Sombre Released on Steam, Looks Gorgeous
Scanner Sombre is the latest game from Introversion Software, the studio behind Prison Architect, Uplink, Darwinia and Defcon. Yeah, they’ve been around for a while. Their latest project is a walking simulator set in a cave, where you map your surroundings using a LIDAR scanner. They’ve released a launch trailer for it, and it’s simply mesmerizing.
If you don’t mind a game where all you do is walk around, explore and piece together a story, you might want to get a closer look at Scanner Sombre. Here’s the official blurb:
Regaining consciousness you smell the damp. Opening your eyes you see the stone walls of the chamber flickering by the light of the fire; you stumble to your feet and kick a helmet clattering across the floor. Slowly the ache in your head begins to subside and you notice the beginnings of a passage. After a few steps the darkness consumes you. Returning to the safety of the fire you see a LIDAR scanner on the floor – a trigger press results in a faint glow coming from inside the helmet. You put the helmet on, adjust the beam-width and proceed into the abyss….
And once you’re into the abyss, it seems like you’ll find all kinds of weird stuff, like human figures frozen mid-motion, a shrine with a deer’s head on a man’s body, rickety hanging bridges, stalactites (and stalagmites) and so much more. And it all looks amazingly pretty, thanks to all the colors. Literally all the colors.
It’s available on Steam as we speak, and it costs $12. The user reviews imply it’s a bit unsettling, so don’t go in expecting sunshine and butterflies. The only real downside is that it will make you lament the fact you don’t have a LIDAR scanner at home.
