Scars Above is an indie game that tries to feel AAA, to some mixed results.
On the one hand, there are some really fun gameplay moments tucked in here, as most of the encounters feel like a genuine tug-of-war between you and your opponent - at least, towards the beginning. The first hour or so is actually pretty difficult even on normal difficulty, as you have very limited resources to take on these huge beasts, culminating in this really fun first boss - a boss that the game then pretty much reuses over and over and over again, including in the [SPOILER]hilariously anticlimactic final[/SPOILER] battle, and never again to the same level of enjoyment. And while some of this comes from the fact that it's just not as enjoyable to redo stuff, a large part it comes from the abilities in this game, as fun and creative as they are, turn this game into a complete snooze fest. Use any of the best 3 abilities on any of the enemies and it'll probably just give you the win.
The story is pretty good though, especially if you can get past the resolution drop in cutscenes and a complete lack of lip-sync. It doesn't blow you away with ridiculously neat concepts, but, for a sci-fi story in this type of game, it's got enough cool ideas to carry it's 6 hour length. The voice acting too, while not given any terrific moments, is more than serviceable, with the main character, Kate, especially being pretty great.
Overall, I like Scars Above, but it definitely feels like it came out ~15 years ago, and could have used a bit more playtesting to balance the game a little more, and try to sustain the 'horror-survival-esque' gameplay of the opening chapter. I hope they take another crack at this though, as the ending does certainly allow for sequels, as a game filled with Scars Above's best moments would be absolute terrific - but what we got was also pretty good.
7/10
Game #28 of 2024, May 12th
On the one hand, there are some really fun gameplay moments tucked in here, as most of the encounters feel like a genuine tug-of-war between you and your opponent - at least, towards the beginning. The first hour or so is actually pretty difficult even on normal difficulty, as you have very limited resources to take on these huge beasts, culminating in this really fun first boss - a boss that the game then pretty much reuses over and over and over again, including in the [SPOILER]hilariously anticlimactic final[/SPOILER] battle, and never again to the same level of enjoyment. And while some of this comes from the fact that it's just not as enjoyable to redo stuff, a large part it comes from the abilities in this game, as fun and creative as they are, turn this game into a complete snooze fest. Use any of the best 3 abilities on any of the enemies and it'll probably just give you the win.
The story is pretty good though, especially if you can get past the resolution drop in cutscenes and a complete lack of lip-sync. It doesn't blow you away with ridiculously neat concepts, but, for a sci-fi story in this type of game, it's got enough cool ideas to carry it's 6 hour length. The voice acting too, while not given any terrific moments, is more than serviceable, with the main character, Kate, especially being pretty great.
Overall, I like Scars Above, but it definitely feels like it came out ~15 years ago, and could have used a bit more playtesting to balance the game a little more, and try to sustain the 'horror-survival-esque' gameplay of the opening chapter. I hope they take another crack at this though, as the ending does certainly allow for sequels, as a game filled with Scars Above's best moments would be absolute terrific - but what we got was also pretty good.
7/10
Game #28 of 2024, May 12th