Scars Above Reviews
With its enjoyable combat, compelling storytelling, and slick world design, Scars Above has been a really pleasant surprise. I didn’t go in with hefty expectations given the game’s budget release, but I found myself gripped into the narrative, whilst the exciting action kept me on my toes. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t win any points for originality as far as its gameplay is concerned whilst some aspects of the visuals and dialogue can be a little lacking, but nothing in the game is bad at all. It can just be a bit by the numbers, but, given the short length, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
By building the experience around its main protagonist, Scars Above creates impressive symmetry between its story, combat and systems. This results in a standout sci-fi soulslike that’ll accommodate genre aficionados and newcomers alike. It has a few blemishes but they do little to sour the experience.
Scars Above is an average third-person action-adventure shooter that doesn't try anything new, despite being set in such an interesting sci-fi world, that invites unique ideas and concepts.
Mad Head Games' first foray into the cinematic third person games doesn't try to reinvent the formula, yet offers an engaging, memorable and atmospheric adventure that I can wholeheartedly recommend to any fan of the genre who's able to appreciate the game's relatively limited scope.
Scars above is a fascinating third-person sci-fi adventure. It features an intriguing narrative that starts out a little slow, but it does quickly pick up and becomes one of its biggest strengths. The gameplay is a lot of fun, but doesn’t do anything particularly innovative to stand out from other similar titles. The game features some aesthetically pleasing environments, as well some really uniquely creature designs but the characters lack polish with the mouth movements in particular making them look a little like puppets at times.
Scars Above is one of the most immersive and enjoyable titles I’ve played in some time. The world, characters, gameplay loop, and challenge make Scars Above a game worth revisiting and re-experiencing. The problem is one would need to get through a truly abysmal opening to feel the investment Mad House Games aimed for here. Overall, an authentically fun game, held back by a poor opening.