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An uneven but ambitious sci-fi thriller - Scars Above Quick Review

5K View2023-03-08

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?

Play it if you can get it on sale and don’t mind a pretty brisk game, but maybe skip it if you’re looking for a full, polished, triple-A experience. Scars Above is a sci-fi action game from Mad Head Games, a studio that, as far as I can tell, has mostly worked on hidden object games prior to this. I’m all for game developers trying something new, and Scars Above is certainly a big swing that presents some very intriguing ideas—even if it ends up feeling heavier on potential than delivery.

TIME PLAYED

I’m now five hours deep in Scars Above, which has taken me up through the third of the game’s six chapters. Chapter length seems to vary a lot, but from the reports I’ve seen from other players, Scars Above takes between six and nine hours to complete, depending on how thoroughly you explore. I’m probably on the higher end of that, as I enjoy going down every path and checking out every nook and cranny.

WHAT’S AWESOME

• The alien planet. Scars Above opens with a classic sci-fi concept: A strange alien structure known as the Metahedron has appeared floating above Earth, and players take on the role of Kate Ward, one of the astronauts sent up into space to investigate this bizarre thing. Before long, though, Kate and her crewmates find themselves stranded on some far-flung and very hostile alien planet. For whatever its shortcomings in terms of very linear level design, the game offers up a super compelling vision of a strange, terrifying new world full of mysteries that seem incomprehensible to mere humans.

• Scanning. If the idea of being alone on a world full of creatures who want the female protagonist dead sounds reminiscent of Nintendo’s Metroid series, well, that’s not all that these two titles share in common. As in Metroid Prime (which was recently remastered in a stunning way), Scars Above implements the idea of scanning the various flora and fauna of this world to help build up a database of knowledge. This plays up Kate’s role as a scientist and also just makes for fun world-building. Even better, each new scan earns Kate “knowledge,” which in turn accumulates skill points that can be applied toward increasing her survivability and combat options.

• Progression through the world. In addition to the more traditional leveling path of knowledge, Kate also earns more tools that can solve simple puzzles and unlock new paths. Usually these tools are earned through a super-simplified crafting system where everything is basically handled automatically, and often they come in the form of a new elemental modification to Kate’s gun. I loved playing around with these in the environment though, using the ice mod to freeze a path through dangerous waters or the fire mod to burn away overgrown plants and unhatched alien eggs. None of the progression puzzles in Scars Above are particularly difficult to figure out, but they’re entertaining nonetheless.

WHAT SUCKS

• Combat. Scars Above’s combat feels like a half-baked take on Soulslike gameplay. Even on the lowest difficulty setting (which is the default when you start the game), Kate loses life quickly, so you need to be smart about dodging, curing status effects, and taking shots where you can get them. The ability to use the different elemental properties to aid in combat is fun, but the general challenge level of combat leans more toward annoying than properly difficult. Oh, and the game also uses the Dark Souls “bonfire” style of checkpoints, where resting at one restores your health and healing charges but also respawns all enemies. This is less fun when killing enemies doesn’t earn you experience and leveling up can be done anywhere!

• Boss fights. This is where the limitations of Scars Above’s combat really becomes obvious. Boss battles in the game usually involved spending a little time figuring out some massive creature’s weakness. Then I generally had to swap back and forth between two or three different gun mods, exposing weak points and then slamming them with the best element to inflict huge damage. And then rinse and repeat, while continuing to dodge giant area-of-effect and charge attacks. Kate’s slow dodge roll and the game’s clumsy camera both make this an annoying affair. Again, it’s not that it’s too hard—I only died a couple times—it’s just not very satisfying.

• Resource management. While I loved how Scars Above slowly doled out more tools and weapon mods for me to play with, I hated how it handles resources. I had to kill enemies and scour the environment for gun ammunition, as well as a generic resource that could be used for a number of different side items that are manufactured on the fly. Beyond that, I also gained access to a number of gadgets that all operated off a limited but slowly refilling battery charge. As opposed to the joy I felt when discovering new weapons and upgrades, the resource juggling here just came across as poorly thought out and kind of unnecessary to the experience.

💬 Are you ready to take on some creepy alien baddies in Scars Above, or will you be skipping this game? Let me know!

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