Scar-Lead Salvation review: Anime Returnal?

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Generally speaking, when I come across “Compile Heart,” I have a good idea of what to anticipate. This studio is renowned for creating RPGs that focus intensely on one aspect, speeding ahead at full throttle, much like a car swerving into oncoming traffic with a distinct gimmick. They offer a variety of styles, such as the humorous parodies (Hyperdimension Neptunia), the explicit (Record of Agarest War), and my personal favorite, terrifying horror (Mary Skelter, Death end re;Quest). However, Scar-Lead Salvation, the newest production by Idea Factory and Compile Heart, strays significantly from their usual fare. Instead, it’s a third-person shooter that blends bullet hell style evasive maneuvers with roguelike gameplay structure. Think of it as similar to Returnal, but with a lower budget and a more anime aesthetic.

A girl and her stupid robot voice

In a sleek metallic cylinder, you find yourself as Willow Martin, a woman with no recollection of her identity or surroundings. Adorned in quirky sci-fi armor and armed with an assault rifle, you’re immediately thrust into a perplexing situation. A peculiar AI voice echoes through your headset, seeming more like a critique of AI assistants than a helpful companion. The only hint at the puzzle before you is a series of zeros etched onto your face, with one now replaced by a single digit. Surrounding you is an army of robots intent on your demise. Each time they succeed in defeating you, you find yourself back in the tube, the sequence of numbers subtly changing. Your mission: navigate through the ever-shifting labyrinth of deadly machines, or accept defeat and restart the cycle. The meaning behind these numbers and the reason for this ordeal remain a mystery, but they serve as your motivation to persevere.

Initially, Scar-Lead Salvation appears to possess an impressive edge with its title alone that’s incredibly impactful. Character Willow is intriguing, the bullet hell aspect serves as an engaging hook (similar to Returnal), and the fundamental gameplay elements are well-crafted and smooth. She moves swiftly, shoots accurately, jumps high, employs a unique dodge/dash/mirror image ability, and can even punch bullets, harnessing their energy for a moment of invincibility. Quite impressive, indeed! Engaging in combat with robots feels satisfying, showcasing the talent of the trio of developers (Idea Factory, Compile Heart, and Neilo) who managed to create a shooter seemingly out of nowhere. Furthermore, the inclusion of an AI character as a bothersome, useless nuisance fits perfectly for the current gaming climate. Kudos to whoever is challenging this ubiquitous trend in video games!

Too much dead air

In essence, Scar-Lead Salvation stumbles when it comes to the roguelike elements. The competition for this genre is vast, and if you’re not delivering top-notch, you’ll struggle to stand out. The game feels sluggish, expansive, and void of significant interaction. Despite my initial enjoyment from running around and firing shots, I had played for more than an hour without encountering substantial trouble. Even when I did face minor issues, it was barely noticeable. The first level is populated with slow, non-aggressive enemies who take their time to acknowledge me, prepare their attacks, then discharge harmless projectiles that are easy to dodge. The second level offers a slight increase in difficulty, but it isn’t until the third level that you truly come across rooms offering a roguelike level of challenge.

After numerous gaming sessions, I’ve only perished twice in this game, but it’s not because Scar-Lead Salvation is a walkover; quite the contrary, it’s agonizingly slow. The narrative unfolds bit by bit as you advance, and the odd expansive corridors between rooms force you to squander valuable moments of your fleeting existence running through them while nothing much happens. Enemies are like bullet-absorbing entities regardless of the level of your weaponry, and there’s little excitement in terms of gameplay progression or equipment acquisition. I rarely switched weapons or equippable power-ups because there was little motivation to do so. My actions mostly consisted of shooting enemies, gathering the cash they dropped, using it for healing and boosting my weapon stats pointlessly, and upgrading my slotted power-ups. Acquiring new ones felt redundant as it meant losing the ones I already had. What’s the use in starting anew?

Unfulfilled potential

To keep games engaging and exciting, they must strike a delicate balance between progression and challenge. This involves continuing the narrative progress even after death, incorporating an intricate power-up system that makes gameplay sessions diverse and intellectually stimulating, and designing a gameplay loop that is swift to repeat and accommodates both brief and extended play sessions.

Scar-Lead Salvation seems to lean towards a more prolonged gaming experience, encouraging players to take their time and engage in longer sessions, but it aspires to stand alongside games such as Hades and Enter the Gungeon. However, it falls short by not providing a convincing reward system to uphold its promise.

Unfortunately, despite showing promising elements such as impressive boss fights, challenging enemy-filled rooms, and enjoyable gunplay, Scar-Lead Salvation falls short due to its structural issues. These problems make me question if the game truly needed to be a roguelike in the first place. Given that it appears to be inspired by Returnal, it seems we may have overlooked the overall experience while focusing on individual aspects. However, I appreciate the effort, especially from studios new to this genre. Here’s hoping for another attempt – no pun intended.

On May 29, 2025, Scar-Lead Salvation will be released for PlayStation 4 and 5, as well as PC. An Xbox version is scheduled to follow later in the year. For this review, I was given a PC code by the publisher.

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2025-05-23 17:28