Scars Above Reviews
Although Scars Above will not become a gaming icon and you will quickly forget the name of the main character, we have a good feeling about the sci-fi adventure. Especially the first phase of the game is imaginative, then the level drops a bit and the gameplay is more austere, but finally everything ends successfully.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
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.
As a TPS with soulsike elements and a sci-fi setting, Scars Above fails to be a worthy heir to Returnal due to several limitations that make the game very different to shine, especially from a technical point of view.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Scars Above is a fascinating mix of point-and-click narrative and Soulslike action games. I can't recall playing a game quite like it in the recent past, and for that alone, it deserves praise.
Scars Above impressed me and it left me satisfied in the end. I’m glad it didn’t just try to be Returnal or a straight roguelite, and instead had its own unique ideas on how to take on bosses and puzzles. There are some flaws here, but I think that is due mostly to a smaller team and it being an AA game.
A good proposal that mixes several elements of different generosity to create its own identity, but fails in its graphic section.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
A game suitable for those who loves Sci-Fi creatures. It delivers the concept of facing various life forms during an adventure throughout an unknown planet quite well. A shooting action which requires puzzle-solving brain work is also quite interesting. However, you need to endure the unnatural modeling, stiff animation and unreasonable level designs before all these charms.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Scars Above has its ups and downs but offers fun gameplay with interesting mechanics in an alien world that is equal parts beautiful and dangerous. There’s a good mystery to be solved, even if it’s a bit too straightforward. And while there are a few snags regarding the script, I very much appreciate the scientific approach with Kate.
Scars Above is a great addition to the library of single player adventures and it tells an engaging sci-fi story that interrogates ideas of genetic manipulation, free will, and sacrifice. While it loses momentum a little towards the end, it serves as a fantastic advertisement for smaller budget games and is well worth picking up.
Scars Above offers a bold introduction that devolves into repetitiveness.
Unless one is really desperate to unlock a bunch of easy achievements, there is no real reason to play Scars Above. It's like a video game rough draft. Some games have been accused of being half-baked, but Scars Above is like raw dough. It has some interesting concepts and weapons, but it never grows into anything resembling a full-fledged gaming experience. Its budget price of $40 is still asking way too much, even for the most diehard third-person shooter enthusiasts. Scars Above may mimic games like Returnal and Dark Souls, but it is highly unlikely to please fans of either game.
A decent but not amazing game with few surprises.
Despite its flaws, Scars Above's engaging combat and expansive toolkit keep it interesting for its entire 10-hour campaign. Though its world is gray and the story leading you through its levels is a let down, the moment-to-moment gameplay makes the journey worth taking. This space adventure isn't the final frontier of third-person action games, but it manages to offer roughly the same thrills as a pretty good SyFy Original movie. It isn't the cutting edge, but it's sharp in its own right.
Scars Above is a journey into a mysterious planet that lacks polish, depth, and balance, preventing it from being a memorable third-person shooter.
Scars Above takes some time to unfold ist true potential, both in the story and its gameplay. The exploration of this unknown planet in the role of a stranded researcher is unforgiving and refuses to compromise on the almost puzzle-like combat, even if some encounters early on can be frustrating as you get to grips with how the game wants you to play. Scars Above isn't for everyone, as it demands a lot more thought and strategy during combat than it lets on, but if you're willing to learn and be patient, this one's definitely worth your time.
Review in German | Read full review
While Scars Above has a predictable story, it’s nevertheless an engaging, interesting sci-fi title that would have benefited as a shooter/exploration hybrid rather than the Soulslike it wants to be. Your expierience will definitely vary, though if you’re intrigued by its premise at all, don’t be afraid to drop down to its lowest difficulty in order to try to experience it.
Scars Above offers a great shooter experience that's a bit rough around the edges in some areas when it comes to realizing its vision and potential. While these problems are noticeable, I don't feel like it takes too much from the full product while offering a haunting survival horror experience with a unique gimmick that makes players think about the best approach to the way they face the environment around the enemies.
Scars Above is a solid sci-fi romp with an identity complex. It wants so badly to be a Soulslike and instead feels more like a game that just borrows ideas without understanding what makes them work. I enjoyed my playthrough, but I wish it would have leaned into its own ideas instead of trying to mimic something else. The story is interesting, the game play is fun, but I wish it wouldn’t have taken so much inspiration from other titles.
Scars Above is a decent game that fans of sci-fi can appreciate. It does suffer from jankiness and some issues, but it feels like Mad Head Games did put a lot of effort into making the elements in this game work properly.
The inspired environments and tactical element behind the gunplay are certainly appreciable but they fail to overcome the boundaries of sufficiency to Scars Above.
Review in Italian | Read full review