This game is a solid experience if you're looking for a fairly linear game with an alright sci-fi setting. Game itself felt like it had potential with some of the early mechanics it introduced, which were never brought up again. Interesting map biomes, though the enemy variety is lackluster. It is very easy to 100%, and even the game's hardest difficulty can be a cake walk. That being said, don't expect anything novel. You've likely played this type of game with this type of setting a thousand times, so wait for a sale before you buy the game. Due to being in an oversaturated genre with plenty of standout games I have to give it a 6/10.

I'll probably finish it, cause the game is pretty short anyway, but I hardly get any fun from Scars Above. I've been lured by the souls-like tag, have barely read any reviews, and these were my grave mistakes.

This is NOT a souls-like game - it's just a mediocre third-person shooter on rails that emphasizes its weak story over gameplay. The only thing that might resemble Dark Souls here is the local bonfire system, which is absolutely useless. It only serves as a save point, so forget about customizing or upgrading your character.

There are no levels, no 'souls' for killing enemies, no equipment/weapon drops, nothing. The player can only unlock some perks/abilities after finding enough violet cubes, which can also contain weapon upgrades. Believe me, though, it sounds a lot better on paper than it is in reality, because:
- cubes' location is predetermined, so the progression is strictly tied to the story,
- every weapon has one upgrade, which is also found in particular moments of the story (the player can only miss and never unlock them),
- there's no coming back to previous bonfires after advancing too far, so what's missed stays missed (see previous point).

As stated before, monsters give no experience (beyond scanning the species the player met for the first time), so there's no point in fighting them unless it's mandatory to progress. Sometimes, it's just more efficient to outrun them. There are FOUR weapons (also unlocked gradually, so expect to unlock the 4th one near the last chapter of the game), but there's no real fun in using them. Each represents another element (fire, water, ice, acid), and every monster has its own weakness, so the player ends up shuffling the gear to match the currently fought monster/element.

All in all, it's a rather annoying, boring, and absolutely uninventive game. If you really need to play it, don't waste your money on the full price as it can be bought for 3$ on sale.

An underdeveloped game with unrealized potential, laziness, wokeness, and a lot of missed opportunities.

Q: Would I recommend?
A: Wait until it's around 90% discounted and then try. Other than that, no, don't bother.

[+]
1) Somewhat thoughtful weapon types and gadgets
2) Easy to use UI and controls

[-]
1) Woke
2) Underdeveloped
3) Ugly characters
4) ♥♥♥♥♥♥ pants
All characters butts, especially that alien, look like they had a big dump in their pants.
5) Performance all over the place
I was getting either 120 FPS or 50 FPS, depending on the scene.
6) Grass bricks FPS
And other open-area effects, too.
FPS drops to 40-50 in those areas.
7) Underutilized gadgets
The game gives you a lot of gadgets with special abilities,
but you only use them when the game want you to use them...
8) Stiff character movement
Character movement is very poorly animated.
9) Missed story, gameplay, and design opportunities
The game has the basics, but that's it. The devs didn't bother to develop something unique.
10) SCARS???
Not even once the game says what SCARS mean...
11) "You solved all puzzles" achievement
What? What puzzles? This game had puzzles?!

Conclusion: 3/10