‘Scars Above’ Review: An Unfocused Pastiche of Video Game Genres and Sci-fi Tropes
Despite showing early promise, Scars Above never comes together to become more than a forgettable sci-fi horror walk in the (alien) park.
This somewhat ambitious third-person action-adventure game from Mad Head Games snuck into a number of major gaming events last year and promised a different take on the exploration of alien worlds and survival mechanics. An understandable first reaction was “wait, this feels like Returnal at first glance”, and thankfully, there aren’t many similarities to be found between the two beyond the semi-dead alien world the story takes places in and the in-universe “respawn” mechanic affecting the female protagonist. Unfortunately, Scars Above still struggles to find its own voice and ends up merely evoking story beats and gameplay systems you’ve likely experienced before done much better.
It’s always kind of sad to see small and mid-sized studios that lack the proper experience to pour their hearts and souls into projects that maybe are too big of a straight jump for them. Once you’ve been around reviewing AA releases for a while, you start to notice some patterns, and sadly, Scars Above ticks nearly all the boxes. Underneath all the rubble, there was an interesting video game at some point, but the final result comes off as spread too thin and undercooked.
Scars Above begins when humankind is visited by a mysterious (and massive) object of alien origin. The SCAR team is quickly deployed to assess the situation and establish contact with the visitors. But as soon as they approach the structure, they’re transported to what appears to be a decaying alien world. Doctor Kate Ward awakens far from their crashed vessel and must quickly figure out how to survive, reach her companions (if they’re still alive), and leave the planet. It’s not long before the plot thickens, but at no point it escapes the shadow of its many influences, such as Prometheus and The Island of Doctor Moreau.
I also found Scars Above to be oddly paced, with the first two chapters seeming a tad too introductory but somehow taking up almost half of the game’s length, and the final chapter becoming a dull retread that promptly jumps into the final confrontation and rushes to the finish line. One has to wonder whether this was all in the script for the (mostly linear) game, or if the studio depleted its budget before each section was fully fleshed out. No matter what really happened, the writing’s struggles reflect many of the issues that plague Scars Above.
Scars Above is a strange beast when it comes to the moment-to-moment gameplay and overall structure, too. For the most part, it behaves like a cookie-cutter third-person shooter with tints of sci-fi horror, but it’s also a “soulslike” game of sorts — monoliths are scattered throughout the levels to serve as checkpoints which fully heal Kate and reset enemy spawns. Moreover, there are shortcuts that can be opened to shorten the dangerous walks to bosses. However, there isn’t a penalty for dying (unlike in true soulslike titles), so you quickly start to wonder why the game was built that way to begin with.
At the same time, Mad Head Games underlines the importance of gathering elements from the environment, crafting useful devices, and science-ing the shit out of extraterrestrial obstacles in clear nods to The Martian. In fact, the early beats of Scars Above tease a survival aspect to the adventure… that never shows up. There are a couple of scattered ideas here and there, but it’s all reduced to picking up objects and pressing a button to craft whatever on the go. No extra requirements, no circling back to camp. It’s like the devs gave up halfway through and simply stuck to creating a simpler third-person adventure game that only happens to have wide-ish areas and a few hidden corners worth exploring. Puzzles are also peppered throughout the maps, but they all feel entry-level and like an afterthought, which is a shame.
Combat fares a bit better though. Thanks to a focus on the mixing of elements and types of damage, Scars Above comes up with an enjoyable take on rock-paper-scissors gun-centric action. Some of the larger enemies have certain weaknesses that must be exploited, and most of the main boss fights work well enough and aren’t reduced to “shoot the ugly thing until it’s dead.” Not as exciting is the fact that most of the challenge, which can be buffed and nerfed by three difficulty levels, comes from how hard the enemies hit and not because of complex move sets or well-crafted set pieces.
I don’t know if this was intentional to highlight Kate’s evolution and power levels by the end of the game, but I found myself steamrolling through all kinds of enemies in the final chapter, which was funny considering the whole “maybe I’ll stop respawning at some point, better be careful…” part of the story. Regardless of the answer, it was a fun power trip for 90 minutes or so.
Visually, Scars Above ranges from good to outdated. Mind you, it’s way more consistent than the otherwise great Wild Hearts, but the AA limitations can be felt throughout, especially when it comes to level design and character animations, the latter of which are a bit stiff and often make the entire thing feel like an early build; in many cutscenes which aren’t half-bad, the limited facial expressions undermine much of the dramatic impact. When it comes to performance, the PS5 version of the game is mostly stable and smooth (no crashes), targeting 60 FPS, and offering only one visualization mode. This is a bit of an odd decision, as the framerate clearly goes down in some areas and the resolution target seems rather high. Given the tech and visuals on display here, a performance-oriented mode at a lower resolution was totally possible, and I’d not rule out a post-launch implementation.
The original soundtrack — by Kortiko, Milos Nikolic, and more artists — is one of Scars Above‘s brightest points, too. While I won’t be humming to myself any of its themes, it successfully evokes a fitting feeling of dread and mystery. The music in the final confrontation threw me off though, and felt like something from an entirely different game. As for the sound effects and mixing, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, with some startling bits of audio hitting the mark and others falling flat and coming off as poorly mixed.
At worst, Scars Above is just dull and inoffensive, but even with a 39,99 US$ price tag, it’s too unremarkable to recommend. There might be something here for players who simply want a quick sci-fi romp which isn’t triple-A nor indie, but at the same time, chances are you’ll quickly wish you were watching or playing a more exciting or brainier space adventure instead.
Scars Above is available starting today, February 28, on PC (Steam), PS4/5, and Xbox consoles.
Thanks to Prime Matter (publisher) and Tinsley PR for the review code.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
