Scars Above Review (PS5) | Push Square

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With an intriguing set-up, likeable lead, and aspirations of grandeur, Scars Above is a sci-fi adventure game that we really wanted to like. Unfortunately, the experience is held back by lacklustre combat, abysmal map design, and a central narrative that ultimately fails to launch.

After a mysterious alien artefact known as the Metahedron appears in Earth’s atmosphere, a crack group of scientists and engineers, known as SCAR — Sentient Contact Assessment and Response – is sent to investigate. You play as Dr. Kate Ward, who, upon investigating the artefact and along with the rest of the team, finds herself transported across the galaxy to a mysterious and inhospitable alien planet.

At least initially, the plot is engaging as Kate sets out to discover the fate of her compatriots and comes to grips with the hostile world around her. It's not long, though, before the shine starts to come off the experience.

You spend most of Scars Above’s modest runtime (around six or so hours) exploring various passageways, battling alien beasts, and solving puzzles to progress. Given it's a smaller-scale project, it's still remarkable how quickly the experience devolves into repetition and frustration. For clarity, Scars Above retails for $39.99, or £34.99. Not factored into that price, however, is your time, whatever it's worth to you, and that's where the sales proposition falls down.

There are several different biomes you'll venture to over the course of your travels. While some have mechanics associated with exploration (such as setting a specific kind of foliage on fire to stave off hypothermia, or freezing worm-infested water in order to cross), none are particularly inspiring. There is no map, which isn't so much an issue the first