Returnal is still one of the best games available on the PS5, even if, deep down, I don’t like how it managed to steal the thunder from so many other roguelikes, just due to the fact it was the first high-budgeted roguelike to be made by a console manufacturer. It’s still a really fun time, and highly replayable, due to its exciting presentation, great controls, and arcade-like structure. But if you are a big fan of it, and would love to play something that blatantly copies its gameplay, have I got a game for you. Let me present you Scar-Lead Salvation.

Enter a room. Destroy all robots. Loot. Go to the next room. Repeat.

Have you ever asked yourself, what if Returnal were anime-coated? No? Well, regardless of that, Scar-Lead Salvation is exactly the answer to said question. It’s yet another third-person shooter with roguelike elements, an arcade-like structure, a futuristic setting involving aliens and robots, and a plot all about piecing a mystery together by collecting clues and logs. It is blatant of a copy as one can be, but I can’t exactly say it’s a terrible game. Even if it’s published by Idea Factory, the makers of the many underwhelming Hyperdimension Neptunia games, it is a lot more competent than other outings from the publisher.

The setting is pretty simple. You play as an amnesiac waifu locked inside a mysterious military facility full of murderous robots, all while an intergalactic war is happening outside, something that looks like it’s a lot more interesting than the sheer amount of metal corridors that comprise this never-ending base. Your task is to explore the ever-changing layout of the base, kill everything in sight, and, with the help of an AI that never shuts up, escape this base and remember more about who you are.

These laser grids are the closest to a puzzle you’ll find in this game.

In true Returnal fashion, if you die, you revert back to the beginning of the game. Gameplay-wise, Scar-Lead Salvation follows Returnal to a tee. You have two weapons, arcade-like aiming, a dash and a physical move. Enemies keep shooting evadable orbs you can either parry or avoid with your dash. Keep killing everything in sight until you reach a terminal that lets you upgrade the strength of your weapons. You can also upgrade your stats with some additional items. A pretty standard gameplay loop that actually works quite well. It’s beyond dumbed down and simplistic, but the controls are decent.

The problem is that the game is PAINFULLY repetitive. The level design is one of its biggest issues, since each level of the military facility goes on forever. There are no puzzles or anything else that may cause a variation in each room; you get in, destroy a bunch of robots, collect loot, and move to the next samey corridor. You gotta do this over and over and over and god damn over again until you finally reach a boss battle. Those fights are a highlight, without a doubt, but they are also the moments in which Scar-Lead Salvation struggles the most with its framerate. Which is odd, considering that the game, like all Compile Heart titles, looks like a PS4 title at best.

Boss battles are a highlight. Still, they aren’t that hard to defeat.

The other thing that irritated the hell out of me was the dialogue. No, it’s not that the voice acting is bad; in fact, it’s actually pretty good. The problem is that there’s just too damn much of it. The protagonist and the so-called AI keep talking throughout the whole game, and while I appreciate the attempt at building a world and some lore through exposition, the two never stop talking to each other. It’s just too much dialogue to pay attention to while you are shooting and avoiding getting shot at the same time. The worst part about it is that the dialogue exchange just isn’t interesting. Scar-Lead Salvation ain’t something I wanted to play whilst paying attention to its plot. It feels arcadey and it should have been as straightforward as it could have been.

The more damage you take, the more revealing your outfit becomes. So subtle, Japan.

I somewhat expected a lot worse, but this is far from being a must-have. The best thing I can say about Scar-Lead Salvation is that it is a competent Returnal clone with some decent controls. Sadly, it is bogged down by a cheap presentation and obscenely repetitive gameplay loop, even for a roguelike. I kept playing it to see if something interesting would eventually happen, but nope. It was a neverending barrage of repetitive rooms, simple combat, a ton of expository dialogue, and the occasional jiggle physics. If anything, it actually made me want to play Returnal instead.

Scar-Lead Salvation is available now on PS4, PS5 and PC.

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of Scar-Lead Salvation was provided by the publisher.