Scars Above – Review

The phenomenon where I don’t know anything about a game until I receive it for review and then see adverts for it everywhere fascinates me. Scars Above, developed by Mad Head Games and published by Prime Matter, fits this description perfectly, as it follows a female protagonist who acts like a futuristic Lara Croft as bizarre or terrifying things occur around her. That’s the quick summary of the newest release from the studio that brought you Adam Wolfe and a slew of other hidden object games. In my opinion, that’s a huge departure in scope and style, too.

Many people may remember Scars Above as a mid-tier PlayStation 2 or early PlayStation 3 title. Every element, from the design to the plot, exudes an air of confidence that no extra effort was made to explain or contextualise anything. Kate, a member of the Sentient Contact Assessment and Response Team, is one such character (or SCAR for short). After approximately 10 minutes of Kate and the gang examining an anomaly over Earth 2016-style, it’s all gone and we’re thrust into a blend of Scorn and Agony, sans the genitals coating the walls.

There is no lengthy flashback depicting Kate’s childhood, no opportunity for me to bond with the group, and no clear backstory for the mysterious triangle in the sky. Just how often Kate’s name is used is the only reason I recognise it. I would address the Asian, the Black, and the captain by their given names if I could recall them. The problem is that I am confused as to who did what and who is who. Kate is probably a doctor of some sort, though I don’t know which one.

A generic extraterrestrial world awaits you after you fumble around in your ship for a split second before Saints Row 4’ing Earth. Yet there are a few times where you’ll have to do some Dark Souls-style mapless backtracking. According to the game’s own description, Scars Above is “difficult,” and it’s safe to presume that this is due to the game’s borrowing of Dark Souls’ health and save point systems. In order to save your progress and regain your starting health, you must light bonfires (pillars) spaced evenly in a straight line.

The fact that you’ll be surrounded by primarily meaty critters that will jump-scare the bejesus out of you between each pillar only adds to the challenge. It’s not that Arachnids and other big dull monsters are particularly tough to kill; they’re just in the way. While Scars Above’s inspirations typically have either engaging gameplay or a compelling story that compels me to persevere through less pleasant moments, neither of these factors works in Mad Head Games’ favour. The narrative gets right to the point without dragging out the good parts or becoming boring. The gameplay relies on using decent gunplay to kill generic aliens.

Kate, like Lara Croft, mutters to herself about every little thing, but she may be better at it because she knows what she’s talking about. I’m not smart enough to appreciate xenobiology, but she surely seems capable of proclaiming, “I am so smart, S.M.R.T. S.M.A.R.T!” The problem is that there were a couple of lines like “technology indistinguishable from magic,” which made me doubt that. To the uninitiated, science and technology may as well be magic. If she’s not yelling at Jonah or the others, she’s shouting about them.

Scars Above holds up well for a PC release of its day provided you don’t zoom in too closely. When examined with even the slightest degree of scepticism, the water and liquid textures look terribly degraded. When seeing Kate try to express emotion, for example, the animations might be somewhat stiff, creating an effect akin to the uncanny valley. I didn’t notice any major decreases in frame rate, but I suspect there may be issues on gear older than the GeForce 20 series.

Scars Above’s strongest suit is that Kate isn’t obnoxious or foolish, but that’s not enough to carry the entire game. Finding your way can be more trouble than it’s worth when the game employs the most stripped-down form of the Souls-like genre on a map that you’ll quickly forget about once it’s out of sight. Along with combat that falls short of its evident melee-focused influence and controls that are more of a bother than an assistance, exploring Kate and the metahedron’s universe isn’t always a joy.

Scars Above doesn’t drag its feet or get boring. Unfortunately, it also makes little real effort to break in, coming off instead as a forgettable mid-tier action game from two console generations ago. There isn’t a single thing about Scars Above that I can single out as the reason why it will be remembered as having the best female character in video game history. Scars Above had some promising ideas for a longer science fiction action game, but nothing ever felt like it was getting the treatment it deserved.