REVIEW – If you start today’s prescription with a pun, you can also tell that on the one hand, you need to spice up the not outstanding product. On the other hand, you might not have lasting memories of the game called Scarf.

Uprising Studios will not rise to its name with this game.

Platt-former

I would describe the story as relatively forgettable, as our hero seeks to avenge the death of a great mother dragon. The scarf in the game’s name has gameplay implications, as it will grant us several abilities in this three-dimensional platformer as the successor to the deceased fire spitter. It is necessary. Otherwise, it would be an even more forgettable product. It means that the double jump and gliding seen in other games of the same style will also come to the fore, and it’s all thanks to our clothing product. (The writers’ block effect that stayed with me for days might be gone, but the stupidity remains.)

So there’s no need to expect revolutionary innovations in Scarf, which doesn’t last long either, as it takes between five and six hours to get to the end. But there is one thing we will certainly have no problem with within that time: the controls. I’m not joking when I say this: the handling is quite pleasant; maybe the jumps themselves didn’t feel like a hundred per cent but having experienced the benchmark of the late nineties thanks to Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, perhaps my overly boomer mindset is speaking here.

What Crash 3 didn’t have, however, was the inability to climb up a small outcropping automatically, as you have to jump on those too, which made me ask myself “why?” in short order. Other problems, namely the good old invisible walls, nicely prevented me from going where I thought I could. Perhaps the level design wasn’t so thought out then? That aside, it’s worth getting off the beaten track for the often hidden collectables, of which the Inks are the most important. Uprising Studios wanted to encourage players to not just go from point A to point B without any detours because they give us a more detailed background story via these items. Scarf is one of those games where the developer doesn’t outright tell you the story. For example, you have to look at the paintings on the walls, or the reactions of the characters you are hunting, to see the bigger picture from a distance because the idea that not everything is as it seems is accurate. The story might feel one thing on the surface but under it, it might become something different altogether.

Orbing along

There’s more to the platformer than that. The puzzles can be found on a somewhat scaled-back level. In the more expansive areas, the spheres need to be collected, and let’s just say that it’s not that difficult to do, which I think is a game design move made due to greater accessibility. In this way, Scarf can appeal to a younger age group, who may be less inclined to stop playing through and may not need help with this approach. Moreover, for those unfamiliar with the genre, this design is equally beneficial.

I hadn’t even mentioned the visuals yet. Scarf has quite bright colours and an uplifting design. The three worlds all underline this idea, not to mention our protagonist’s similarly positive train of thought. And in the background, the soundtrack makes a pleasant impact. Although I can’t think of any bars, in my defence, I am a musician, so I am more likely to be reminded of a melody line by a sudden memory from my subconscious, for example. In short, it’s good, and it fits the genre and style.

It’s the abrupt ending that pulls the whole experience down in terms of rating, as (not to mention the drop in Scarf’s underwater performance; I think the studio went a bit overboard here…) it may leave the player with more unanswered questions, which is odd because the proper ending also gives me this requiem feeling. Somehow it’s missing something, and maybe they decided to do it on purpose because if there is a sequel, that’s precisely why they chose to do it.

VI.5

Scarf gets a six out of ten because I think it’s a bit short. The replayability doesn’t help (it’s essentially linear, which is understandable for a platformer… at this rate, replaying the game would mean you’re essentially going into speedrunner territories, and you’ll learn everything by pure muscle memory). Something is missing from the ending (the game itself can be considered short: five, six hours isn’t that much, mainly due to a lack of challenge all along), performance is lacking here and there, but the visuals and soundtrack aren’t too bad. Thus, the game could get a seven out of ten, but I’m lowering the rating because I wouldn’t call the game revolutionary, which isn’t bad, but I think it will be one of the free player action games at the end of the year. I can recommend a purchase for fans of the genre, but that is pretty much it.

-BadSector-

Publisher: HandyGames

Developer: Uprising Studios

Genre: platformer

Release date: December 23, 2021