Scars Above Critic Reviews

Scars Above remind us how a high budget and piles of content don’t necessarily make a great game. Yet, simplicity and balance between all the elements may raise the fun factor to its limits. Initially unoriginal but more intriguing as you progress through the game, this one truly is a short but sweet experience that brings back "fun“ to the “interactive fun“ - something we don’t see on the market that often anymore.

Scars Above is a well-crafted third-person shooter with plenty of options to take on the punishing alien world you find yourself in.

Scars Above is exactly what you’d hope it would be - a reasonably priced and hugely entertaining third-person sci-fi action-adventure shooter. The team at Mad Head Games have crafted an exceptional game that I’m certain will delight those who pick it up. The developers were clever in their approach - very much aware of what Scars Above could and couldn’t achieve. It isn’t a game that’s dragged down by having ideas beyond its station. It perfectly mixes enjoyable combat with an intriguing world and a compelling story. Add in the immersion of the DualSense controller if you choose to pick the game up on PlayStation 5 and you’re in for a real treat. Scars Above isn’t revolutionary, but it executes what it does very well. When I hit the credits, I was sad that the game had drawn to an end - and that’s all you can really ask for.

Combining classic sci-fi elements with an intriguing story, Scars Above presents a great combat and exploration experience, where the satisfaction of overcoming its challenges represents very well the feeling of surviving on a hostile alien planet.

Scars Above is not a triple-A, big-budget, blockbuster of a game and therefore shouldn’t be reviewed as one. While well-designed and creative, the game isn’t going to appeal to everyone and will feel low-budget compared to many of the games it’s clearly been inspired by. That’s okay, though, as Scars Above knows its audience and has been crafted with sci-fi and Soulslike fans in mind...If you fancy tackling some big bosses – but with a gun that fires various elemental attacks in a world that wouldn’t be out of place in Mass Effect or Returnal, then Scars Above may be an excellent way to spend your time.

Scars Above mixes gameplay mechanics from vastly different genres to create something refreshingly unique and fun to play.

A very competent action game that puts a large focus on exploration and a satisfying science-fiction story. Great first showing from a brand new game dev team from Serbia.

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.

Whether you see it as a survival game, shooter, puzzler or roguelike, Scars Above is clever, polished, challenging and fun.

Scars Above is a valiant attempt at providing a fresh spin on the Souls-like genre. Its elemental-based third-person shooting feels genuinely fresh, with its reliance on environmental debuffs and stacking combos representing a genuine innovation within a space that isn’t exactly known for innovating, so it’s just a shame that the progression system feels so at odds with the efforts gone to by the developers in order to make Scars Above stand out.

While Scars Above’s exploration and progression leaves a lot to be desired, third-person action fans will still enjoy their time blasting bosses within some visually-striking biomes.

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.

An interesting concoction of genre traits and structures makes Scars Above one of the more engaging action-adventure game attempts even if it does suffer from some combat woes.

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's exploration gameplay is rewarding, if a little trite and it's characters mostly forgettable – but some inventive combat saves it mediocrity. A decently fun, if not overly groundbreaking, sci-fi action adventure.

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.

While some things work beautifully for the game considering its inspirations, Scars Above fails to catch up them due to its limitations in design and gameplay. It’s an ambitious game, for sure, and while its combat is fun and story strings you along, you will wish that it was more polished and more of a challenge.

Despite not being perfect, Scars Above can satisfy those players that look for a challenging experience in a science fiction environment. Technically average, we talk about a long game with an important sense of progression and a great variety of weapons, although most of the combats are based in elemental weaknesses.

Scars Above is a good, fairly classic action-adventure game with fun gameplay and an interesting story. It takes design ideas from Returnal and, with that, offers its own unique approach. a short game that marks a good debut for this indie studio.

Scars Above doesn’t do anything particularly impressive, but if you like sci-fi and third-person shooters, it can be an interesting choice.