Instead, we would end sessions with Scars Above wanting to play Returnal. If you’re going to evoke another game so heavily, you have to ensure that the overriding feeling during every moment of gameplay isn’t a desire to play the game that it’s evoking. Scars Above faces the same problem that a billion Soulslikes that followed in FromSoftware’s wake have for the last decade. “Technically, Scars Above was incredibly unstable during our time playing it on PS5.”įrom boss enemies failing to animate properly, or just completely ignoring Kate, to taking damage despite being well outside the enemies area of effect, it feels extremely unstable, especially in the early game. This included a litany of crashes, with three occurring during the opening 15 minutes of the game at the exact same spot, and a host of frame-rate issues and bugs. Technically, Scars Above was incredibly unstable during our time playing it on PS5. The game itself sets up the idea that Kate isn’t a soldier, but throws all of that out the window when you’re dodge-rolling against behemoth enemies within an hour of starting the game. This thought may have occurred to us, however, because Kate turns like she’s in a Resident Evil game on the original PlayStation. It feels like these elements, with significantly fewer enemies and a focus on combat, could be reappropriated into an interesting survival horror. The game and narrative are at their strongest when more focused on this scientific pursuit. The way Kate improves her abilities is by acquiring knowledge via scanning various lifeforms and other parts of the world, which is an excellent touch. Movement is extremely limited, a problem that permeates the whole game. This feels almost like a concession, however, for how unbelievably stiff the main character is. Enemies cycle the same extremely predictable movements, to the point where if there’s more than one of the same type, they become a bizarre conga line. The horror itself and the creature design is one of Scar Above’s few strong points, with some nice, disgusting monsters to blast to bits, and some solid body horror, even though there’s not a massive amount of enemy variety.Īnimation in general is a problem throughout the game. Kate can be chased by the most nightmarish, Lovecraftian horror imaginable, and she’ll emote with the same intensity as if you’d told her that her train would be a few minutes late. While Kate’s voice-acting performance is enjoyable, just try not to get a look at her face when you’re in the midst of gameplay. We half expected a 19th-century farmhouse to appear in the middle of a level at some point. There are literally camera shots that might as well be shot-for-shot lifted from Returnal, it’s frankly absurd at times. The opening of the game is about exploring an intimidating, dangerous planet, retaken by hostile vegetation, where strange obelisks that don’t appear to fit hint at a wider, more sophisticated civilization that once inhabited the land. But from the second you get to the planet, and begin to explore, it is frankly utterly distracting just how much Scars Above seems to be attempting to emulate Returnal. The initial mystery is well-sprung, the voice acting is good and there’s enough intrigue, at least initially, to encourage you to explore.
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