SCARF

71%
Game Brain Score Based on 139 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
SCARF Game Cover
Short but sweet, Scarf is an intriguing, enjoyable little game for most of its runtime.
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"Scarf is a single-player, open world mystery adventure game with an interesting plot and delightful graphics. As the player, you'll explore beautiful 3D landscapes with the help of your partner, a dragon-shaped scarf, unlocking new abilities and uncovering the truth behind your story. The game invites you to reflect on the meaning of being a hero and fulfilling your destiny."

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Epic Games
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

71%
Audience ScoreBased on 139 reviews
story29 positive mentions
optimization16 negative mentions
  • The game features stunning visuals and a beautiful art style that creates an immersive atmosphere.
  • The puzzles are generally enjoyable and provide a relaxing gameplay experience, making it suitable for casual players.
  • The game has a charming soundtrack and engaging environmental storytelling that enhances the overall experience.
  • The game suffers from significant performance issues, including stuttering and low frame rates, even on high-end hardware.
  • Players are forced to replay entire levels to collect missed items, which can be frustrating and time-consuming.
  • The controls feel heavy and unresponsive, making platforming less enjoyable and leading to a tedious gameplay experience.
  • story83 mentions

    The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its environmental storytelling and emotional depth, while others find it predictable, underdeveloped, or confusing. Many reviews highlight the beautiful visuals and music that enhance the narrative experience, but criticisms often point to performance issues and a lack of clarity in the plot. Overall, while the game offers intriguing themes and multiple endings, its storytelling may not resonate with everyone, leaving some players feeling that gameplay takes precedence over narrative depth.

    • “The environmental storytelling is amazing.”
    • “In addition to its engaging gameplay, Scarf also delivers a touching story that explores themes of friendship, courage, and self-discovery.”
    • “With its stunning visuals, engaging gameplay, and heartfelt storytelling, it's a must-play for anyone looking for a truly immersive gaming experience.”
    • “The controls are stiff, the puzzles feel like dull, mindless chores, and the story - which is clearly trying oh so hard to be very deep with its solemn narration - is nothing but vapid drivel and a waste of your time.”
    • “I finished the game and yet, I have little understanding of what actually happened, or what the nebulous story was trying to portray.”
    • “It's not even worth going out of your way to find these hidden story bits either, as the game has nothing interesting to tell at all, and the story is extremely bland and underdeveloped.”
  • graphics63 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the stunning art style and vibrant visuals that create an immersive atmosphere. However, performance issues, such as poor frame rates and bugs, detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration among players. While the aesthetics are often described as beautiful and engaging, the technical execution leaves much to be desired, impacting gameplay enjoyment.

    • “Amazingly beautiful game which is pure eye candy, has one of the best stylized graphics I've ever seen.”
    • “The game's art style is simply stunning, with vibrant colors and lush environments that create a sense of immersion and beauty.”
    • “The visuals are outstanding; it doesn't matter if you play in high or low settings, the game looks awesome always, and its art direction is really good.”
    • “I expected more from the visuals.”
    • “The performance is very poor, with problems like audio crackling and terrible, stuttering fps even on low graphical settings.”
    • “I was only able to play on the lowest possible graphic settings and fps was still bad.”
  • gameplay50 mentions

    The gameplay of "Scarf" has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its chill mechanics and engaging puzzles, while others criticize it for being simplistic and unpolished, leading to a lack of excitement. The game features a variety of platforming mechanics centered around the scarf, but many feel that the level design and overall execution fail to create a consistently engaging experience. Despite its beautiful art style and touching story, the gameplay is often described as sluggish and hindered by technical issues, making it a title that may appeal more to those seeking a relaxing experience rather than challenging gameplay.

    • “But what truly sets Scarf apart is its gameplay.”
    • “With its stunning visuals, engaging gameplay, and heartfelt storytelling, it's a must-play for anyone looking for a truly immersive gaming experience.”
    • “Despite being short, Scarf offers a great variety of mechanics and situations, staying interesting and fresh throughout the whole adventure.”
    • “Sometimes it just stops because the game decides that breaks other mechanics (even though better puzzle design would easily solve that).”
    • “Its rather unpolished all things considered, most animations and character movements aside, and the mechanics never get more complicated than 5 variants of jumping (jump, double jump, glide, grapple, etc) used to cross increasingly longer gaps.”
    • “I would call this an okay game with a pretty art style and a decent story, but it's too much held back by sluggish platforming and puzzle gameplay and stilted controls.”
  • optimization37 mentions

    The game's optimization is severely lacking, with players reporting frequent stuttering, frame drops, and audio crackling, even on high-end PCs. Many reviews highlight that performance issues are game-breaking and detract significantly from the overall experience, with frame rates often dropping below 20 fps. Despite some enjoyable gameplay elements, the persistent technical problems make it difficult to recommend.

    • “The optimization could've been better too; there are parts where the FPS drops a lot for some reason.”
    • “Enjoyable little platformer for a few sessions of fun, even though it was poorly optimized for the later levels.”
    • “Could be a tad better optimized when it comes to the visuals, but other than that - everything is great gameplay-wise.”
    • “Buggy and unoptimized; even with a beast of a PC, you're going to experience stutters and lagging.”
    • “It has so many performance issues that should have been fixed long ago yet still linger, making the game a slog to play.”
    • “The performance is very poor, with problems like audio crackling and terrible, stuttering FPS even on low graphical settings.”
  • music28 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its charm and atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience with a cozy and relaxing vibe. Reviewers note that the soundtrack complements the visuals beautifully, with each level featuring fitting background music that supports the storytelling. While some found the character's vocalizations a bit distracting, the overall consensus is that the music significantly contributes to the game's enchanting ambiance.

    • “This game is very light on mechanics both in terms of platforming and puzzles but that really works in its advantage as it allows you to better soak in the absolutely gorgeous graphics and entrancing soundtrack.”
    • “The soundtrack helps with the storytelling and getting you to feel the right emotions in specific moments, which is really important for these types of games.”
    • “The art direction and the music deserve all the love and recognition for their achievement of making the game more than a puzzle platformer but a really insightful and beautiful experience.”
    • “This may be a bit of a nit-pick, but with the backing soundtrack being noticeably quiet, there seemed to be an unusual repetition and emphasis on the hero's continuous grunts of exertion whenever he did anything.”
    • “Writing this review, I can't remember any of the tracks off the top of my head, but none of them made me want to turn the music off or bothered me at all.”
    • “The music and puzzle have high potential with one major flaw at the end.”
  • atmosphere9 mentions

    The atmosphere of "Scarf" is widely praised for its breathtaking visuals, whimsical charm, and ambient soundtrack, creating an engaging and immersive experience. However, some reviewers feel it lacks originality compared to other indie platformers, suggesting that while the atmosphere is stunning, the overall execution may not meet expectations.

    • “From the moment I stepped into the charming world of Scarf, I was immediately struck by its breathtaking visuals and whimsical atmosphere.”
    • “But the graphics are nice with a smooth cartoony style, and the soundtrack is ambient and atmospheric.”
    • “Absolutely stunning in atmosphere, color, and just...wow.”
    • “I'd definitely wait for a sale, though I would recommend Omno over this one, as it's another recent indie 3D platformer attempting very similar things to Scarf with its gameplay, atmosphere, and even art direction, but with significantly more polished execution.”
  • emotional7 mentions

    The game "Scarf" is praised for its touching narrative that delves into themes of friendship, courage, and self-discovery, creating an emotional journey for players. Its well-crafted story and memorable characters, combined with stunning visuals, contribute to a deeply immersive experience that resonates with players long after they finish the game. Overall, it is recommended for those seeking a heartfelt gaming experience.

    • “In addition to its engaging gameplay, Scarf also delivers a touching story that explores themes of friendship, courage, and self-discovery.”
    • “Through its well-crafted narrative and memorable characters, the game invites players to embark on an emotional journey that will tug at their heartstrings and leave a lasting impression.”
    • “Beautiful game with a touching story.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and uninspired, often describing it as boring and confusing. Despite its visual appeal, the repetitive tasks detract significantly from the overall enjoyment, leading to a perception of the game as unfinished and lacking in engaging mechanics.

    • “The game appears to me unfinished and rather tedious with nothing significant that sets it apart from other games in this given genre.”
    • “Even the performance issues aside, which definitely impacted my enjoyment of the game, the game itself is at its core not good enough to recommend beyond that - it's just very tedious to play without being particularly clever or feeling particularly good to move around in.”
    • “Said tasks are just tedious, boring and confusing.”
  • stability4 mentions

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent bugs, stutters, and lag even on high-end PCs. Players have encountered janky mechanics that allow unintended map traversal, leading to frustrating game-breaking scenarios. Overall, the game is perceived as being in a poorly optimized and buggy state.

    • “Buggy and unoptimized; even with a beast of a PC, you're going to experience stutters and lagging.”
    • “The game is janky and buggy. I managed to make my way across sections of the map where I wasn't supposed to be. This especially holds true when I randomly walked up to a wall and found myself on the other side without being able to come back, so I had to go to the main menu and start from the checkpoint where I left.”
    • “This game is left in a buggy state that can be game-breaking if you're not careful.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    The game has limited replayability, with some players noting that while it offers alternative endings and collectibles, the lack of a save feature for previously discovered items detracts from the experience. Overall, many feel it does not provide enough incentive to revisit after the initial playthrough.

    • “Replayability value: yes, to achieve the other endings and discover all collectibles.”
    • “There's a warning telling you so before re-entering, and that's fine, but saving what you already found would have been much better for replayability.”
    • “The game is not remotely replayable and definitely not good enough to warrant that.”
    • “There's a warning telling you so before re-entering, and that's fine, but saving what you already found would have been much, much better for replayability.”
    • “In my opinion, the game just doesn't have the replay value to warrant that and it's not worth it to me to go back and get those last two achievements.”
  • humor1 mentions

    The game is noted for its humor, providing a funny experience despite its short length. Players appreciate the comedic elements woven throughout the gameplay.

    • “This game is packed with hilarious moments that kept me laughing throughout.”
    • “The humor is spot-on, with clever jokes and witty dialogue that never gets old.”
    • “I love how the game uses absurd situations to create laugh-out-loud scenarios.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

67% average critic score

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Play time

5hMedian play time
5hAverage play time
5-5hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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