After 3 games rated M by the ESRB, which is funny because I didn't review a game rated M in 2024, it's time for a review of something more tame. Scar-Lead Salvation is, for now, the most recent game published by Idea Factory International, the game is explicitly described as a sci-fi roguelite shooter...I really don't have experience with roguelikes or roguelites or whatever and Scar-Lead Salvation is my first game described as a roguelite...I have a lot to say about Scar-Lead Salvation, so...let's begin.

Story: Definitely the best aspect of Scar-Lead Salvation. The main character is Willow Martin, a woman with no memories or knowledge of how she got in that place (a military facilty), she is contacted by an AI who aids her and through the conversations with the AI she will learn about the facility, who she really is and the outside world. It's not the most original story of course, but at this point a lot of stories can't be described as such, like other things in the sci-fi genre, it involves aliens of some kind (Contactors) but I still consider it an engaging and interesting story where you always want to learn more, the things that are revealed with the conversations/discussions between Willow and the AI can take you by surprise. Definitely a 7/10 at least, 8/10 at most.

Graphics: Despite being a recent game, the PS4 version of Scar-Lead Salvation is not impressive, objectively speaking there are a lot of PS4 games that look better, even if I compare the game only with games published by IFI, it's not the best game graphically speaking, Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online and Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters look better. Willow's 3D Model looks really nice, the 2D art in the main menu looks great and there is some variety in the designs of the enemies you fight throughout the game, the robots and bosses look great more or less, however, Scar-Lead Salvation is very, very repetitive when it comes to the environments, it's a military facility that doesn't change much throughout the game, and it's pretty much a case of ''normal'', ''ice'' and ''fire'' in that order, where the second area or section is cold and it looks the same but with a different color or something like that and not much else, and that's without mentioning the fact that the walls and/or textures look pixelated or low resolution. Thanks to the 3D models, 2D art and menus/UI, it's almost an 8/10...almost. A 7/10 is good for this category, the game has good graphics or it looks nice, but that's it.

Sound: With the exception of the music for the bosses and the main menu theme (more or less), the music in Scar-Lead Salvation is not memorable and it's not music I'd describe as ''good'', it's a functional soundtrack that serves its purpose and the music is fine for the most part but not much else. There is also a lack of variety in sound effects, all the robots use the same explosion sound when they are defeated...the voice acting is better than the music and sound effects (or sound design), Scar-Lead Salvation has English voices (a big reason why I got the game in the first place) and the English dub is great, I don't know who voices the characters in English but the acting is pretty good, that said, when only the voice acting is great and everything else is okay or decent, I would say that it's fair to give this category a 6/10...maybe 7/10 if you want to be very generous.

Addictive. Scar-Lead Salvation is a third-person shooter like The Order: 1886 and School Girl Zombie Hunter (the last game I reviewed), however, unlike those games that have defined areas with a design or layout that never changes, Scar-Lead Salvation makes you go through corridors and rooms that feel pretty much the same...because this is a roguelite game or a game with roguelike elements I guess, the doors you'll have to use always change, even in the context of the game they say that trying to map the place doesn't make sense because which doors work is something that's always changing and you never know where you'll appear if you go through a portal with the exception of a few portals that take you to fixed locations. Now, I don't know if it's the roguelite design of Scar-Lead Salvation, but the fact that the rooms and hallways are pretty much the same and that if you lose, only key items and the levels of special skills (which are called EXO skills if I remember correctly) remain...those are aspects that make the game less fun than it would be, and at times, the game is more frustrating as a result, but more than anything else, Scar-Lead Salvation may be less enjoyable thanks to its roguelite design and even though it's a third-person shooter without a cover system (something I always appreciate) I still would rather play Uncharted: Golden Abyss for example. Like other games in the genre, Scar-Lead Salvation only has one playable character but you have access to a lot of weapons, the weapon variety is good enough and at least 3 or 4 weapons are very fun to use, the controls are functional (they can be remapped), and the boss battles are great...unfortunately, the game has performance issues, yes, performance issues are common in video games and few video games (relatively speaking) have a perfect framerate or performance but Scar-Lead Salvation, at least on PS4, really suffers from stutters/performance issues during the boss battles more than anything else, honestly it's even worse than School Girl Zombie Hunter in that area, even School Girl Zombie Hunter has better performance and in Scar-Lead Salvation the performance issues in the boss battles (for the most part) really affect the experience, at times the game probably has a framerate of a single digit, it can be very bad. Destroying robots is always fun and the game is enjoyable to an extent, but if the game wasn't a roguelite shooter and had defined areas and if the game had better performance, it could have been a great game, but in the end, even with the many weapons to use, the great bosses (bad framerate aside), and the EXO skills that make you stronger, it's not a great game.

Depth: If you ignore the story and want to beat the game as quickly as possible, it's a game that should take you at least 15-20, and that's only if you don't lose a lot, if you take your time and pay attention to the story, 20 hours at least. Scar-Lead Salvation, unlike other games published by IFI, lacks unlockable content, there isn't a gallery, or something to listen to the music of the game...nothing. The game doesn't offer much, definitely a 6/10 at best.

Difficulty: It's a difficult game where you'll probably die a lot, I lost at least 11 times throughout the game and if you die, you lose Elm Chips (money) and one weapon, it's a roguelite shooter, so, the game really punishes you for losing, but as I said, that aspect of the game actually makes it more frustrating at times...maybe it's my lack of experience with a roguelite game or my preference for games that aren't roguelikes/roguelites...or both. Not the most difficult game of all time (especially with the most recent update, version 1.04) but still kind of difficult or challenging.

Scar-Lead Salvation is a fun game that is brought down by its flaws, it could have been great but putting aside that the game is a third-person shooter in a subgenre of games, there are a lot of other third-person shooters that are better in my opinion, in the end Scar-Lead Salvation is only a good game at best and It doesn't surprise me that a lof of people consider it an okay game or even a bad game that isn't worth playing. Still, I don't regret playing Scar-Lead Salvation and I consider it an enjoyable game with several flaws or negative aspects. If you are interested in the game or can get it for a low price ($30 or less), I would say it's worth it, but keep in mind, it's a game like School Girl Zombie Hunter in the sense that the clothers of the main character get torn, when it comes to fan service it's not on par with that game or even most Neptunia games, but yeah, if has fan service like most games published by Compile Heart and/or IFI, if you don't have a problem with that and it's a game you're interested in...you might like it.