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Scars Above captures the same spooky alien vibes as Returnal, but it’s a much more traditional space adventureIts Next Fest demo reveals this to be a pretty trad third-person action game
Its Next Fest demo reveals this to be a pretty trad third-person action game
When the mysterious sci-fi action shooterScars Abovewas first unveiled during Geoffcom’s Opening Night Live at the end of August, I thought it hadbig Returnal energy. Based on the reveal trailer, it certainly seemed to be riffing on several of the same themes as Housemarque’s challenging PlayStation exclusive - what with its lone female scientist stranded on an alien planet schtick, third-person shooting, and big eerie alien monsters after her etc. - so when I saw it was part of this month’s Steam Next Fest demo bonanza, I knew I had to give it a try. And while it certainly captures the same kind of atmosphere asReturnal, I’m sorry to say that’s about as far as the comparison goes, as the rest of Scars Above is a much slower, more traditional kind of space action game.
Scars Above – Reveal TrailerWatch on YouTube
Scars Above – Reveal Trailer
It’s not completely empty, though, as there are plenty of ornery monsters waiting to spring out of watery pools and gross-looking pods and sacs to do you in. At first Kate only has a big slashy knife to her name, but she quickly obtains a gun that can fire electric, fire and eventually cryogenic bullets to exploit enemy weaknesses. Firing an electric bullet at an enemy in water, say, will do extra ‘wet combo’ damage (as water conducts electricity and all that), while cryogenic grenades can be used to freeze surfaces to form bridges and new pathways. They can also be used to crust up big monsters to slow them down a bit, giving you a bit more time to hit their big glowing weakpoints.
This would all be fine and dandy if Kate herself wasn’t so awkward to control. She’s certainly not as limber as Returnal’s Selene Vassos, and at times felt more like a stiff tank lady from Capcom’s oldeResident Evilgames. It makes combat feel quite frustrating as a result, as even simple things like dodging and getting out of the way of enemy attacks feels stilted and laboured, like your timing is constantly out of sync with everything else. There’s none of Returnal’s fast-paced ‘keep moving or die’ energy to be seen here, and most encounters boiled down to dodge-rolling from side to side while trying to fire at maybe one or two enemies at a time.
Scars Above - Steam Next Fest Demo PlaythroughWatch on YouTube
Scars Above - Steam Next Fest Demo Playthrough
Kate spends most of her time in the demo following the ghostly figure of an alien space lady.
It’s a shame, as the general vibe of this alien planet is something I’m extremely down for. I love the look of it and the strange structures Kate glimpses on her travels, and the puzzle-y nature of her various gun attachments gives the demo’s exploration sections a nice sense of contrast to the fighting. I just wish said fighting was a bit more fluid and satisfying under the thumbs. So yes, I’ve cooled quite a bit on this linear, third-person space shooter since its initial reveal, but you never know. There’s still time for some extra polish, as its release date is still listed as ‘Coming Soon’ onSteam, rather than a specific date, but right now I fear that developers Mad Head Games have mistaken ‘challenging’ in its Steam description as ‘actually just a bit janky’. I await its full release with cautious optimism.
