Scars Above, the new challenging sci-fi third-person action adventure shooter, has caught the attention of gamers with its compelling and intricate story set in a mysterious alien world. The game features a colossal and enigmatic alien structure called the Metahedron, which appears in Earth’s orbit and stuns the entire world. The Sentient Contact Assessment and Response team (SCAR), consisting of scientists and engineers, is sent to investigate.
Players take on the role of Dr Kate Ward, a SCAR member, who wakes up alone in a strange and hostile environment after the Metahedron hauls the team across space onto a mysterious extrasolar planet. As a scientist and astronaut, Kate is not a soldier, but she is resourceful and determined to do anything to survive.
To progress in the game, players need to use a combination of ranged weapons, devices, consumables, and melee attacks to manage their stamina as they run, dodge, exploit weak points, and discover effective tactics to defeat their foes. Players can also combine different elemental attacks to beat the odds and break through otherwise impassable obstacles. In addition, they can craft different items and gadgets to aid them against the countless threats in this exoplanet.
First Look
However, players face many challenges in Scars Above. There are no indicators where enemies are or any way to trigger them apart from walking past, and there is no way to avoid taking their damage. Some players have reported having trouble progressing past the beginning of the first level because of constantly dying to said enemies. Combat is not overly complex, but timing, weak points, and using the elements correctly can lead to a win.
Despite these challenges, players have reported enjoying the game. It takes around 7 hours to complete a run on normal, and players can play through it one more time to get the 2 achievements they are missing. The monsters are fun looking and creative enough that players don’t feel like they’ve seen/fought something like them before. The weapons and gadgets are unique enough to give players plenty of options for combat, and abilities really make life easier.
The plot of Scars Above is way better than players expected, and they were hooked on the story, going out of their way to make sure they snagged all the audio logs (The enhanced scanner ability is amazing). The ending left them wanting more, and they would have loved to have a bit more interactions with the characters. The world isn’t really open, but players get a few chances to backtrack if they need to. Each zone is quite beautiful, and some of the views are amazing. The layout is linear enough that players never found themselves lost, and it was easy enough to explore all the extra pathways and such.
In conclusion, Scars Above is a good game, if a bit too short. That said, players don’t have any kind of buyer’s remorse, but just because of how short the game is, some may want to wait for a sale before buying. Even still, players can’t wait to see if the developers do anything more with this universe.
