Now may not be the choicest of times to launch a third-person action-horror game, especially as Scars Above is sitting in a Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol and Resident Evil 4 sandwich. But perhaps you have developed a taste for this particular brand of game, and fancy a quadruple-dip with Scars Above.
Developed by Mad Head Games and published by Prime Matter, Scars Above is the kind of game that we don’t see so often on the newest generations of console. It’s a AA game with pretensions of being more than that, taking us back to the heady days of Binary Domain, Singularity and others on the Xbox 360.
You play Dr Kate Ward – a SCAR member (thus the title) – who is on a crew that is exploring an alien ‘Metahedron’ that has begun orbiting the Earth. Just like accidentally getting on the wrong train at King’s Cross, it suddenly goes hurtling in the wrong direction and Kate and the others can’t get off. Now they’re lost in space, on a planet that’s covered in hideous megafauna, and the fauna doesn’t want to chat. They want to pick their teeth with your legbones.
What develops looks to be a cross of Returnal and Dead Space, as you explore the new planet, scan it for life-forms, and build up human knowledge of what lives here. Being human, you also have to kill everything too, as Scars Above has an orientation towards boss battles with gargantuan beasts that have flashing weak spots. Shoot, melee and ultimately figure out what’s needed to bring the beasts down, in a kind of moving, killing puzzle to solve. It’s Lost Planet all over again.
Scars Above is not cheap, but if it’s scratching that Dead Space itch, then perhaps it shouldn’t be. It comes in at £34.99, which at least puts it south of the other games we’ve just compared it to.
The key features of Scars Above on Xbox, PlayStation and PC include:
- 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
Scars Above is on those digital stores right now – the Xbox Store being the best place to pick up the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S edition of the game. Of course, should you prefer PlayStation or PC, then those options are available too.
Our review of Scars Above is live too. Give our verdict a read and find out if it manages to dethrone Isaac Clarke.
Game Description:
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. Some things were not meant to be discovered… A colossal and enigmatic alien structure appears in Earth’s orbit and stuns the entire world; humanity names it ‘The Metahedron’. The Sentient Contact Assessment and Response team (SCAR) – consisting of scientists and engineers – is sent to investigate. Things don’t go as planned and the Metahedron hauls the team across space onto a mysterious extrasolar planet. Playing the role of Dr Kate Ward – a SCAR member – who wakes up dazed, alone in a strange, hostile environment. Determined to survive, you set out to find your crew and unravel the mystery behind what’s happened.
