Ending Explained - Scorn Guide - IGN (2024)

From the beginning of the game's mysterious tale to its sombre conclusion, Scorn asks a LOT of questions but offers very few real answers. Much of this grisly tale of forgotten civilizations and parasitic monsters is left up to interpretation, and as such, the ending won't leave you with a particularly satisfying resolution.

However, that isn't to say we can't take a crack at solving some of its biggest mysteries. Although there isn't any firm lore offered throughout the game's six-hour campaign, there are plenty of clues to dig into. So, let's take a closer look at Scorn's story and finale. Naturally, there are going to be major spoilers for the game ahead.

Scorn's Ending Explained

Although Scorn's ending is perhaps its most shocking moment, there are several mysteries woven throughout the game that help in theorising what might've been happening in that final scene. Let's cover all of them before we break down what it all means.

The Parasite

One of the biggest questions running through Scorn is who or what the mysterious monster that latches itself to the protagonist during Act 2 is. Merging with the character as he activates the fan and gradually taking over his body, this creature quickly becomes a key part of the campaign, draining your health and killing you as you explore the game's labyrinthian city. So, what is it?

Well, it seems the creature is actually the character we played during Act 1. Although Scorn never explicitly draws attention to it, it's heavily hinted that the protagonist that explored the mine shafts during the opening of the game is not the same character that wakes up in the desert at the beginning of Act 2.

After blowing up the large organic tree structure in the opening act, the liquid that drains from the fleshy mass appears to infect the playable character, as we see when tentacles cover his hands during the chapter's closing moments. The rest of the game suggests this turns him into some kind of parasitic monster that feeds on others.

There are several slices of evidence that hint at the parasite's identity. For one, when the main protagonist encounters the parasite for the first time in Act 2 and it attaches to him, he's immediately given access to the bolt rifle. The bolt rifle was first picked up by the Act 1 protagonist, suggesting the monster and the Act 1 protagonist are one and the same.

Not enough proof? Well, during the final moments of the game, we're forced to surgically remove the parasite from our back while on an operating table. When you angle the camera towards the parasite (as shown above), you'll see the shape of a man lying on his side looking up at you. We left the Act 1 protagonist in this exact same position at the conclusion of the opening chapter, suggesting he's been trapped there ever since.

Scorn is riddled with hints about the parasite's true identity – including the fact the protagonist in the second chapter requires a key implant on his wrist despite the Act 1 protagonist getting his in the intro. If you put the pieces together, it definitely seems like the creature is the same entity we saw crossing the desert at the very beginning of the game.

What Happened To The City?

Scorn's labyrinth of flesh-covered architecture, acid-spitting monstrosities and disembowelling parasites isn't exactly the most friendly place in the world, is it? It's hard to imagine somebody actually rocked up here and went, yeah, this is definitely liveable. And the reason for that is probably because, at some point, it was vastly different.

Although we don't see a single humanoid character that isn't trying to rip us limb from limb, there are evidently the echoes of a giant civilisation here; one that built this interconnected labyrinth of highly-advanced organic machinery and bio contraptions.

So, unless one of those little acid-spitting creatures was really bored one day and decided to blueprint up its own grotesque, fleshy metropolis, what's the deal here? Although it's never fully confirmed, it definitely feels as though this city, which is wholly built with organic materials, has been hit with some sort of rapid infection. Mutated organisms grow from every wall, parasites roam the tunnels and giant manmade structures are obstructed by fleshy masses.

The best example of this can be seen in Act 4, where the elevator that seemingly transports the people of the labyrinth to the rail system above has been consumed by a large creature, forcing you to infiltrate the monster and ride the elevator out through its brain. This world is essentially one large organism, and it's seemingly been infected by a parasite that's slowly overtaking and devouring it.

What Was Happening During The Final Ritual?

During Act 5, the protagonist will fight his way out of the underworld below and head to the surface, using a rail system to reach a grand palace across the desert. When you arrive, you'll quickly realise this place is far from the disease-ridden underworld you've just escaped, although it's no less foreboding.

Upon entering the palace, you'll see dead bodies hanging from totems surrounding the central chamber, while the roof will be covered in fleshy, hanging tendrils. That's the least of your worries though, with a lab downstairs housing mutated fetuses, grenade-launcher-wielding husks and two pregnant bodies that the player eventually transfers their consciousness into.

This palace seemingly holds crucial answers regarding the protagonist's mysterious objective. After collecting two blood vials, injecting them into the pair of pregnant bodies and successfully ripping the parasite off his back, the protagonist will return to the palace's central chamber and offer himself up to a mysterious machine. The machine performs a surgical procedure on him, cutting his flesh and tying his mind into the string of fleshy tendrils above.

As soon as the protagonist is linked to the tendrils hanging from the roof, he's able to see through the eyes of the pregnant bodies from earlier, using them to open a doorway through a mural of human flesh and walk towards an ethereal void.

So, what does this tell us about the civilization that came before? Well, very little is confirmed, but this chapter holds the most compelling clues about their fate. The dead bodies in the central chamber seemingly used to be like us; they're human and have clearly undergone the same procedure as our protagonist, with the tendrils sprouting from their heads weaving into the string of flesh lining the ceiling (as shown above). These former residents appear to have transferred their consciousnesses and left their bodies behind, connecting their brains to a hive mind.

As the lab shows us, it appears this notion of transferring consciousness has been at the forefront of the civilization's research too. During the final fight of the game, you have to plant multiple fetuses into a range of large organic husks found in the palace's sinister laboratory, with the fetuses able to take control of the husks and pilot them.

Evidently, the idea was to be able to take control of a stronger body, which the protagonist does at the end when he controls both the pregnant hosts. Was this the civilisation's escape plan? Some sort of ethereal rebirthing or perhaps even travelling to a whole new world using the portal we spot during the conclusion? Or did they opt to leave willingly, with the world they created rotting away in their absence?

It's not clear, but the protagonist evidently has a plan during the final moments, attempting to complete the ritual before his goal is thwarted. Considering we see a fair amount of bodies connected to the hive mind in the central chamber, it does seem like at least some of the humans that came before were successful in their attempts to complete the same ritual.

"Rebirth"

Before we put all the pieces together, it's also worth noting the game's adamant focus on the theme of rebirth. When the protagonist in Act 1 is consumed, we cut to the main protagonist emerging from a cocoon and yanking out an umbilical cord, almost as though he's being reborn.

Then there's the Mine Cart puzzle segment in Act 1, where we pluck an egg from a wall and break it to reveal a helpless creature, essentially birthing it into the world.

Meanwhile, the entire parasite story arc centres around rebirth. The monster latches on to us and tries to take over our body, attempting to rebirth itself through us. We then reach the palace, the parasite is detached and the protagonist is reborn into the two pregnant hosts.

However, the parasite returns, consuming the protagonist and forcing him to be reborn as a part of the creature. Rebirth is evidently one of the key ideas of the game, with much of Scorn revolving around a cycle of life, death and rebirth.

What Does it All Mean?

So, putting everything together, what's actually happening in Scorn? Admittedly there are a lot of blanks that will seemingly never be filled outside of speculative theories, although what we can decipher is that both of the game's protagonists have a singular goal: Cross the desert, reach the palace and commence a ritual in an attempt to ascend.

We see the Act 1 protagonist attempting to cross the desert during the opening cutscene, falling into the labyrinth below the ground and eventually succumbing to the infection ravaging the subterranean city. After seeing the first protagonist's story end, we cut to the second protagonist sometime later. He also attempts to cross the desert to reach the palace and is largely far more successful.

His adventure sees him eventually meet a malformed version of the Act 1 protagonist, who latches onto him and slowly begins to consume him. The parasite becomes more and more vicious over the course of the game, transforming the protagonist into something inhuman.

After a long stint through the labyrinthian city, the pair arrive in the palace, where the protagonist detaches the parasite from his back (although doesn't kill it). He then undergoes a painful procedure where his consciousness is tied into the palace's hive mind, allowing him to control other beings.

Using two pregnant husks, he begins a ritual, opening the door through a fleshy mural towards a mysterious portal that will seemingly allow him to leave the palace behind (much like the humans who lived here before him). Just as he's about to ascend, the parasite returns, disrupting the ritual, merging with the protagonist and growing into a giant mass of flesh.

The protagonist is reborn, but not in the way he expected. He's doomed to spend eternity rotting away as part of a grotesque mass of flesh and bone. How wholesome...