The Scourge | Tai Ương | Game Brain

About

"The Scourge | Tai Ương" is a first-person horror puzzle game set in 1990s Saigon, Vietnam. The protagonist, trapped in nightmares due to past tragedies, must confront his sorrows and defeat a sinister supernatural force in his dreams and reality. Players will need to solve intricate puzzles, explore new areas, and prepare for a final showdown in a rundown apartment during an unnamed epidemic.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 446 reviews

story68 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

The game successfully captures Vietnamese culture and folklore, providing a unique and meaningful experience.
The graphics and sound design are impressive, contributing to a haunting atmosphere that enhances the storytelling.
The gameplay features engaging puzzles and a compelling narrative that keeps players hooked, with effective use of jump scares.

The game is currently incomplete, with only 60% of the story available, leaving players wanting more.
There are performance issues, including lag and bugs, which can detract from the overall experience.
Some gameplay segments, particularly the stealth sections, can feel tedious and repetitive, impacting player enjoyment.

story
180 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
61%
2%
The game's story has received praise for its meaningful and engaging narrative, deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture and folklore, which resonates with players, especially those familiar with the themes. While the storytelling is described as intricate and well-presented, some players note that the game is currently only 60% complete, leaving them eager for future chapters. Overall, the combination of a tragic storyline, immersive atmosphere, and clever puzzle integration keeps players invested, despite some critiques regarding predictability and pacing.
- “The engaging storyline, combined with challenging puzzles, kept me hooked throughout the entire playthrough.”
- “With a tragic storyline, sharp graphics, and haunting sound design, Tai Uong has been and continues to assert its position in the horror game genre, making it the perfect choice for those who love suspense and are eager to explore the mysteries of Vietnamese culture.”
- “As a horror fan, I appreciate the storytelling and how well it's intertwined with Vietnamese culture and folklore, which I admittedly know very little about.”
- “However, the story is still paper-thin; you could summarize it in under three minutes without even playing.”
- “So, despite the improved graphics, great sound design, and smoother gameplay, I still wouldn’t recommend the Scourge | Tai Ơng to friends due to its shallow plot, poor dialogue, and a few remaining graphic bugs (notably during the dad chase mission).”
- “But the plot is predictable, and some dialogues are painfully bad, even in Vietnamese.”
graphics
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
66%
30%
5%
The graphics of "tai ương" have received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising their beauty, detail, and cultural representation, often rating them between 9 and 10 out of 10. The visuals are described as breathtaking and photo-realistic, contributing significantly to the game's atmospheric horror experience. However, some users noted issues with optimization and minor graphic bugs that detracted from the overall experience.
- “With a tragic storyline, sharp graphics, and haunting sound design, Tai Ơng has been and continues to assert its position in the horror game genre, making it the perfect choice for those who love suspense and are eager to explore the mysteries of Vietnamese culture.”
- “Amazing graphics and interesting story will take you on a memorable ride.”
- “The graphics, story, stage designs, all feel amazing.”
- “Storytelling is cool but not detailed as it should be. The attention to detail is good but needs to work on those paper-like elements for the player to read. I thought it was a graphics setting, but no matter if I set it to high or low, I still can't read the words on the door and those debt payment papers.”
- “Is a 7/10, but for the graphics frame drop, it's a 5/10.”
- “The graphics are decent compared to the overall standard.”
gameplay
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
79%
7%
The gameplay is generally praised for its polish and variety, incorporating puzzle elements alongside chase and hide-and-seek mechanics, which contribute to an engaging experience. However, some players noted that it feels familiar within the indie horror genre, with occasional convoluted mechanics and sluggish movement detracting from the overall enjoyment. Despite these issues, the game is complemented by strong art and sound design, making it a noteworthy effort from the development team.
- “Excellent gameplay with a meaningful story.”
- “Overall, the art, sound design, game design, and gameplay are very well made, and I am very impressed with this development team. I can't wait to finish the game and play more games that they release!”
- “Overall, the gameplay is quite varied; it's not just about puzzles but also features chase scenes and hide-and-seek moments.”
- “The gameplay is sluggish—everything feels like it’s in slow motion, as if the main character is dealing with chronic sciatica.”
- “There were some tiny parts where the mechanics of the game got a little convoluted and difficult to figure out, but despite it, I still managed to play until credits in 3 hours.”
- “The gameplay doesn’t steer far from the usual indie horror experience.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
25%
15%
The atmosphere of "The Scourge | Tai Ơng" is widely praised for its dark and haunting qualities, effectively immersing players in a uniquely Vietnamese horror experience. The game's creative storytelling, particularly through radio broadcasts, enhances the atmosphere, allowing for dynamic engagement with the plot. Reviewers appreciate the high-quality sound, graphics, and cultural elements, noting that the absence of cheap jump scares contributes to a more profound sense of unease and immersion.
- “The way the plot unfolds through radio broadcasts is particularly intriguing; it creates a unique atmosphere and allows players to engage with the story in a dynamic way.”
- “It made me feel both comfortable, as I was immersed in an everyday atmosphere despite playing a game, and haunted when I imagined that the world around me could be just as terrifying.”
- “The scourge | tai ương is an excellent Vietnamese horror game that successfully creates a dark and haunting atmosphere.”
- “It's worth mentioning that the game doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares, which adds to the overall atmosphere.”
- “Being Vietnamese, I love playing in the Vietnam settings and horror atmosphere. Since growing up here, I guess every Vietnamese is used to being told a lot of ghost stories or urban legends.”
optimization
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant frame drops and performance issues, particularly on certain hardware configurations. While some improvements have been noted, such as a more stable frame rate in general gameplay, specific areas still suffer from severe drops, indicating that further optimization is needed. Players hope for future updates to address these performance concerns and enhance the overall experience.
- “The FPS has improved, now holding steady around 50–60 FPS, though it still drops significantly to 15 FPS when entering the [spoiler]water puppet room[/spoiler] (guess the water effects aren’t fully optimized yet).”
- “☑ Never heard of (fixed some frame drops while auto-saving, improved performance).”
- “☐ Minor bugs (sometimes drops FPS, how? Need to improve performance).”
- “One problem I encountered when playing is that this game is a little bit unoptimized. I have several frame drops (i5 10400 and Arc 770). I think the game has been compressed a lot. Hopefully, in later updates, they will fix the performance issues and complete the storyline.”
- “Pretty bad optimization; light leaks sometimes, back culls can be seen, and bugs can be annoying or straight up ruin the experience. There might be some issues with LODs and quality settings, likely DOF can't be turned off.”
- “The performance optimization is quite bad.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
13%
13%
The game's soundtrack is widely praised for its quality, with melodies that enhance the eerie and haunting atmosphere. However, some players find the Vietnamese dubstep menu music jarring and out of place for a horror setting. Additionally, there is frustration over the lack of accessibility to the theme song on streaming platforms, forcing players to wait at the menu to enjoy it.
- “Very good game and crazy good soundtrack.”
- “Not to mention the songs used throughout, their melodies perfectly match the game, adding an eerie, haunting quality with a hint of sorrow.”
- “The only 3 downsides I kinda feel a little bit annoying are there is no options for vibration off on my controller, also the mouse sensitivity will automatically slow down if there are any cutscenes or when I grab some item, and the most important thing is how could you guys make a good theme song but don't post it on YouTube or Spotify; any time I play I have to wait 4 minutes at the menu to listen to the theme song.”
- “The Vietnamese dubstep menu music is wildly out of place for a horror game, giving more of an awkward action vibe.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly noting that having to repeat certain sections multiple times detracts from the overall enjoyment. While some parts of the game are praised for their puzzles and visuals, the repetitive nature of grinding can lead to frustration, especially towards the end.
- “Having to do that section 4 times was very tedious and made it unpleasant to get through.”
- “I do have to say that there is one part which I did think was a little too tedious near the end of the game, but other than that one part (I don't want to spoil anything) the game had interesting puzzles and visuals.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be deeply impactful, describing the story as heart-wrenching and immersive. The juxtaposition of a comforting everyday atmosphere with haunting themes evokes a strong emotional response, leaving players both at ease and unsettled.
- “The puzzles were great and the story itself was heart-wrenching.”
- “It made me feel both comfortable, as I was immersed in an everyday atmosphere despite playing a game, and haunted when I imagined that the world around me could be just as terrifying.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The early access version of the game exhibits some glitches, indicating stability issues; however, players generally find the overall experience enjoyable. It's worth noting that the story is only 60% complete, with additional chapters forthcoming.
- “I play the early access version, so it has some glitches, but besides that, the game is good. Just so you know, the story is only 60% complete, so you need to wait for chapters 3 and 4.”
- “I play the early access version, so it has some glitches, but besides that, the game is good. Just so you know, the story is only 60% complete, so you need to wait for chapters 3 and 4.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its clever references, although some players feel that the storytelling lacks depth. While the puzzles are described as simple yet effective, issues with the accuracy of English subtitles and readability of in-game text detract from the overall experience. Players appreciate the attention to detail in the environment but suggest improvements for better clarity.