Scars Above combines Returnal's survival gameplay with exploration and puzzles

Mad Head Studio from Serbia allowed us a first look at their upcoming action 'horror' adventure. Scars Above is the name of the atmospheric title that introduces us to the astronaut Kate. The young woman investigates strange alien technology on an unknown planet's surface. The environment does not react kindly to her and shortly after she begins the examination Kate finds herself ambushed by monsters. We followed her journey through a couple of stations until she fought off a large stone gorilla.

The parallels with Returnal will be noticeable by those who recently played Housemarque's Roguelike. However, Scars Above differs from this game in some key elements: Besides fighting, the investigation part of the strange planet plays a major role. Environmental puzzles are a big aspect of the exploration, as we burn cobwebs that block our path, or create temporary ice platforms that help us cross poisonous swamps. We will also examine dead aliens in order to gain insights that might prove useful later on in the game

According to the developers, Scars Above is designed to be a challenging action game with emphasis on combat and exploration equally. The single-player game is planned to release on PC and consoles next year.