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[VN1X]

By Mad Head Games
Release Date: February 28, 2023

Steam | XBOX | Playstation

SOME THINGS WERE NOT MEANT TO BE DISCOVERED
Scars Above is a challenging sci-fi third-person action
adventure shooter combining the rewarding feel of
overcoming difficulty with a compelling and intricate
story, set in a mysterious alien world to explore.

The Scars Above Experience:
-Immerse yourself in an exciting sci-fi adventure inspired by the classics of the genre-
-Explore an enigmatic and intricate alien world - with plenty of mysteries to uncover-
-Fight tactically, using a combination of elemental attacks, gadgets and items, exploit the environment and enemy weaknesses-
-Engage exciting and challenging enemies and bosses, from hulking rock-covered monstrosities to nightmarish creatures lurking in the dark-
-Gain knowledge and acquire new skills-
-Scan enemies to learn about their weaknesses and behaviours-
-Use your scientific skills to conduct research and extrapolate information-

​

 

[Straight Edge]

Diaper Butt

 

[The Cockatrice]

A nice OT for a game that does not look quite good. Looks very rough. Will keep an eye out for it I guess but eh.

 

[VN1X]

When this was originally announced I, among others, kind of wrote if off as a "Returnal" clone. However after having played the demo it quickly won me over and has since become one of my most anticipated titles!

I can only hope the full version lives up to the expectations set by the lengthy and impressive demo I played back in 2022 as it pretty much nailed everything for me. From the atmosphere to the combat, to the level design (which echoes that of Metroid or Dark Souls) and its overall narrative; all these elements seemed very polished already. And while I can see why this blend of Tomb Raider'esque action along with Soulslike progression, complete with the bonfire mechanics btw, might be off putting to some I personally found it to be an effortless marriage of those titles into a cohesive package with an identity of its own. What's more is that it ran really well to boot. I tested it on my ageing rig then (GTX 1080 + i5-8600K) and while it obviously won't turn any heads in terms of sheer raw graphical fidelity I'll gladly take perfect performance over purty bells and whistles that come with constant stuttering or otherwise low framerates.

Anyway,I'm glad I'm off on Wednesday so I can get stuck in all day, baring any major technical issues of course (fingers crossed).

Also feel free to come up with a better OT subtitle and I'll ask a mod to change it.

 

[Cyborg]

How much can you steal from Returnal? The fck.

 

[Duchess]

Why have they given that chick such a wide butt..?

 

[Mephisto40]

So basically it's a returnal rip off

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Gorgeous OT!

 

[VN1X]

So basically it's a returnal rip off

Well as much as any shooter that came after DOOM was a "rip off" I guess?

The only resemblance here is skin deep really (visuals, atmosphere, etc) as it plays nothing like Returnal. I mean it's not a roguelike for starters and you're not dashing, jumping and grappling around the place either. Instead it offers up a linear narrative based experience with open-zones that route back into one another. One where you scan enemies, objects and the environment like Metroid Prime and when you die you're brought back to the last bonfire/obelisk ala FromSoft games (enemies respawn as well). All of this is based on my time with demo of course and I'm not sure how much of those elements are featured throughout the game.

 

[Kusarigama]

Great OT, OP done amazing work. You got me hyped for this game.

 

[GymWolf]

We have returnal at home.

From what i saw combat looked a bit meh.

Nice op tho.

 

[StueyDuck]

Looks like korea/China junk.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

We have returnal at home.

From what i saw combat looked a bit meh.

Nice op tho.

Sounds more like Jedi Fallen Order with a Returnal aesthetic. I’m much more down for a souls-Metroid crossover than a rogue like

 

[Belthazar]

Sounds good, can't complain about more of Returnal tbh. This would probably be a lot of fun in coop tho.

 

[jaysius]

That OT makes it sound like it's a confused game that's just trying to do too many things.

 

[.Pennywise]

Why have they given that chick such a wide butt..?

Why not?

---

Some feedback for OP: be mindful of NeoGAF different themes when picking up font colors. As of now, that grey text is hardly visible in Light theme (the logo also gets lost a bit).

 

[Maiden Voyage]

That OT makes it sound like it's a confused game that's just trying to do too many things.

It sounds like every 3rd person exploration/shooter from the past few years. Which part makes you think it's too many things?

 

[VN1X]

Why not?

---

Some feedback for OP: be mindful of NeoGAF different themes when picking up font colors. As of now, that grey text is hardly visible in Light theme (the logo also gets lost a bit).

Thanks! Will adjust it when I'm at the compuuuterrrr device machine.

 

[jaysius]

It sounds like every 3rd person exploration/shooter from the past few years. Which part makes you think it's too many things?

Returnal Raider Prime-like with a Dash of Souls​

... like I said the OT.

 

[Yui's Empire]

I played through the game for a review. I'll gladly answer questions about it once the impression and review embargo lifts, which more or less coincides with the game's release.

 

[balls of snow]

Getting this and Lightfall. Lets fucking go.

 

[Shits_McGiggles]

I really hope it is like Metroid in terms of exploration. There aren’t enough 3D metroidvanias on the market.

 

[drotahorror]

The demo of this was surprisingly pretty good.

 

[GymWolf]

Why have they given that chick such a wide butt..?

 

[Freeman76]

This looks good, cant see a price on xbox store?

 

[Yui's Empire]

This looks good, cant see a price on xbox store?

Physical is going for 40EUR around here. Safe to assume digital should be around that too.

 

[VN1X]

I played through the game for a review. I'll gladly answer questions about it once the impression and review embargo lifts, which more or less coincides with the game's release.

Can you say anything already about the game's length?

 

[T4keD0wN]

From the little that ive played in the demo, it has felt like playing resident evil with bonfires and a bit more emphasis on combat.
Funny how most will expect this to play like Returnal while its pretty far from that outside of the visuals.

Game doesnt seem to be getting much attention which is a shame. Ive enjoyed those few hours a lot more than expected. Hope the game turns out good.

 

[Yui's Empire]

Can you say anything already about the game's length?

It took me just under 9 hours to finish, though I had two instances where the game failed to load something I needed so I lost some time. I explored almost everything I believe, too.

 

[VN1X]

It took me just under 9 hours to finish, though I had two instances where the game failed to load something I needed so I lost some time. I explored almost everything I believe, too.

Sweet! 8+ hours seems good to me. 12 or 14 would have been perfect but I'll take it

 

[VN1X]

Here's the launch trailer:

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Here's the launch trailer:

Fucking pong rip off

 

[VN1X]

A meager 5/10 from IGN. Oof!




8/10 from Gamingbolt. Nice.




Okay-Didn't Dislike It/10 from ACG (as far as I can tell from his review).




It's funny, as a lot of people who played the demo show up in the comments saying that they're eager to give it a try themselves. See! I'm totally not a shill!

 

[Gambit2483]

I heard the demo was hard but now the final release is a bit too easy.

 

[VN1X]

I heard the demo was hard but now the final release is a bit too easy.

Yup I put it on "Commander" (hard) after defeating the second boss one go without breaking a sweat. Hopefully the difficulty will ramp up a bit now as it's been a walk in the park so far.

Also, it seems they've still not made any adjustments to the pyramid puzzle. It's where I stopped playing the demo as it's almost impossible to line up correctly. Ugh.

 

[VN1X]

About halfway through now (I think) and it's definitely showing its "indie" side what with the somewhat basic looking environments and far more linear progression. Not that I mind though, it's been very enjoyable so far and I kind of appreciate a straightforward sci-fi romp like this that knows exactly what it is, instead of poorly executing other more ambitious elements.

I do wish they put a bit more care into Kate herself though, as more often than not she'll have the most blankest of stares imaginable lol. I would imagine facial animation isn't that hard any more these days.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

About halfway through now (I think) and it's definitely showing its "indie" side what with the somewhat basic looking environments and far more linear progression. Not that I mind though, it's been very enjoyable so far and I kind of appreciate a straightforward sci-fi romp like this that knows exactly what it is, instead of poorly executing other more ambitious elements.

I do wish they put a bit more care into Kate herself though, as more often than not she'll have the most blankest of stares imaginable lol. I would imagine facial animation isn't that hard any more these days.

On a scale of Turnal to Returnal, what would rate it so far?

 

[VN1X]

On a scale of Turnal to Returnal, what would rate it so far?

Probably somewhere around "urnal" tbh.

 

[X-Wing]

This are some Mass Effect Andromeda quality facial animations.
It's a Returnal clone missing Housemarque's magic.