Scars Above: Why middle class can also be good

A woman in space who defends herself against nasty monsters and is on the trail of a mystery: It is understandable why the middle-class title or double-A or AA title Scars Above has to put up with the comparison with Returnal. Not entirely to the displeasure of the Serbian developers at Mad Head Games, because they started development even before the Bullet Hell roguelike was announced. And as an action-adventure, Scars Above also treads completely different genre paths than Returnal. But the limping comparison is not the reason why there is no hype about Scars Above (buy now €39.99 ) are. The problem is rather that the title makes a very generic impression and the gameplay often seems uninspired in trailers. The game could not refute this impression during our test session and the developers are also aware of the weaknesses of their work. But the big strength, Executive Producer Ivan Zorkic assured me, is the story the team is trying to tell with the game.

That’s what Scars Above is about

The story, little talked about because all details are considered spoilers, is one of three pillars on which the title is based. Fighting is clearly the biggest factor gameplay-wise that I have to deal with as a player. Research also plays a role in understanding the strange world I find myself in, or rather the protagonist Kate Ward has landed on.

And then there’s the great mystery to be uncovered, which keeps me going and listening to all the audio logs I stumble across on a regular basis.

I’m not sure if the plot actually has a shocker in store at the end. But in the first few hours I’m reminded of games like Farpoint or Outriders, which had good plots but sometimes got lost in the pathos of their story. As a result, the atmosphere suffered and ultimately the stories suffered, which, if told more soberly, would have had a lot more impact.

Scars Above: Why Mediocrity Can Be Good (2)
Source: Prime Matter

Solid combat system

Outriders is also a good cue when I look at the combat mechanics. No, I’m not activating any freaky abilities in Scars Above: Kate may be a scientist, but she’s not the crazy kind. But similar to Outriders, the focus is on playing with the elements. If the opponents are wet, electricity is a potent attack enhancer, ice freezes them in the long run and some opponents are sensitive to fire damage: the idea is good, solidly implemented and is even integrated into some environmental puzzles.

Don’t expect synergies such as in Genshin Impact and its complexity, instead Scars Above plays more like a classic third-person shooter. Unfortunately, the aforementioned environmental puzzles don’t knock my socks off either. Where I jumped for joy when I played Deliver Us Mars when I had solved a riddle and felt smart, in Scars Above solutions emerge by themselves after a few attempts at the latest.

Environment puzzles with no real challenge

Unfortunately, the second mainstay, research, also has weaknesses. This branch of the game is really all about scanning stuff and learning more about the background of the planet.

They are also well implemented, and reading through the information on flora and fauna turns out to be interesting.

But unfortunately all audiologs can only be played in their window and don’t continue when I close the menu. Annoying with logs of around a minute, which I can listen to again from the very beginning, because of course I click them away at first.

It is often precisely this information that also plays a role when it comes to uncovering the mystery of the whole misery. You can tell from the space adventure: it’s a mid-range game. And as such, the development studio’s resources are limited. Scars Above is still fun, and if I can look forward to a well-told story, I’ll be content with mediocre gameplay.