Scars Above Reviews
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.
Scars Above comes across as an average title. The developers had a lot of good ideas that fell flat due to mediocre execution. The game can be recommended to fans of the Alien movie franchise, but we recommend not to have too high expectations.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Scars Above is an interesting toe in the water for many different genres but as you start to descend, you realise how shallow that puddle really is. An interesting world and decent elemental mechanics are held back by poor exploration and an unwillingness to push the boat out.
Perhaps if Scars Above had put more work into the areas where our lead heroine has to explore this strange world and analyze it more in order to solve various puzzles, basically letting her be the scientist she is, it could have been vastly better overall, or at least help give it a better identity to help it stand out more.
While it does have some good moments, Scars Above is ultimately an unimaginative experience devoid of any cutting edge.
Scars Above is a more appealing prospect than it is a final product - an interesting premise that's ultimately lost amidst repetitive gameplay and mundane design. Some aspects of it are genuinely intriguing, if underexplored, but simply reaching for the stars alone is no guarantee of ever actually leaving orbit, let alone getting off the ground - and recommending this experience over any other is a bit rich, even for the lower asking price.
Scars Above is unfortunately bland, with dull combat and very few puzzles. It has hints at interesting ideas and ambitions, but couldn't execute on those.
Scars Above tried to make its place by adding twists onto well know mechanics, but tragically falls just short. While it does bring many new and interesting ideas to the table, it is hard to notice them when none of the other mechanics seem to work well together.
Scars Above is a journey into a mysterious planet that lacks polish, depth, and balance, preventing it from being a memorable third-person shooter.
It is hard to say that Scars Above is a bad game, but rather, it feels like something that was not made for the modern gaming audience. There is some merit to how it approaches some of its systems, but they never ever go far enough to make a significant difference as a whole. Interesting ideas are only half the battle, and with its mixed visuals and wonky controls, it turns a potentially complex alien journey into a road of forgettable crashes.
While the core shooting mechanics and elemental weapons deliver the goods by setting up engaging, open-ended tactical battles, all of the elements that surround that core are lacking in some way.
Scars Above's premise and storyline are the best parts but poorly balanced combat and lack of extra content make this sci-fi tale one that is over far too quickly to be memorable.
A decent but not amazing game with few surprises.
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.
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.
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
Scars Above offers a rather condensed third-person shooter adventure. While I was surprised at how quickly I breezed through the game, considering the other titles it was borrowing ideas from, it was still an interesting journey. I wouldn’t say there’s anything refreshing about the game, but there’s enough there for those wanting a jaunt through an alien world.
It's just a shame really that, in its efforts to be a solid action-adventure, none of its ideas were explored any deeper as we'd have loved to have seen the team swing for the fences in one area or another to produce something truly standout.
I hope Mad Head Games gets another chance to build upon these ideas in a future sequel. But for now, as it stands, Scars Above is still a perfectly serviceable and surprisingly challenging shooter primed to indulge Sci-Fi fans.
Scars Above offers a space adventure that mixes several genres with an asymmetric result that does not work as well as it should.
Review in Spanish | Read full review