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SCARF

Short but sweet, Scarf is an intriguing, enjoyable little game for most of its runtime.
SCARF Game Cover
72%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
optimization, replayability
77% User Score Based on 112 reviews
Critic Score 67%Based on 15 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCEpic GamesPlaystation 5Playstation 4Xbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStation
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SCARF Game Cover

About

SCARF is a single player open world role playing game with a mystery theme. It was developed by Uprising Studios and was released on December 23, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"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."

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
SCARF screenshot
SCARF screenshot
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+11
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77%
Audience ScoreBased on 112 reviews
story30 positive mentions
optimization12 negative mentions
  • Gorgeous atmosphere, art style, and visuals that create a relaxing experience.
  • Engaging narrative with interesting storytelling and multiple endings.
  • Easy puzzles and gameplay mechanics that are accessible for all players.
  • Slow character movement and pacing that can detract from the overall flow of the game.
  • Lack of replayability due to the need to restart levels to collect missed items, losing all progress.
  • Technical issues such as poor optimization and performance problems, especially on certain platforms.
  • story
    52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is a mixed bag, featuring a beautiful setting and intriguing narrative elements, including dark themes and multiple endings. While some players appreciate the minimalistic storytelling and visual artistry, others criticize the plot for being shallow and lacking depth, with only one significant plot point. Overall, it offers a blend of exploration and storytelling that can be engaging, but may not satisfy those seeking a rich narrative experience.

    • “With good narration and multiple endings, the game is quite intriguing, providing the player with a great story to follow.”
    • “Despite the game's innocent appearance, the story is surprisingly dark, with eldritch elements and hints of Lovecraftian horror creeping into the gameplay.”
    • “Its three worlds are packed with exploration, platforming, some puzzling, and a nice story that starts in one way but then evolves into a different truth.”
    • “There isn't much story either...”
    • “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.”
    • “Now don't go expecting a game with a lavish story and lovable characters; this is just a simple game that you play just to enjoy the beauty of your surroundings and the fun abilities of your scarf!”
  • graphics
    49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features stunning visuals and a beautiful art style that captivates players with its vibrant colors and atmospheric design. However, despite its aesthetic appeal, performance issues such as stuttering frame rates and high resource demands detract from the overall experience. While the graphics are praised for their charm and simplicity, the technical execution leaves much to be desired.

    • “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.”
    • “It's a feast for sore eyes, and a carefully crafted work of art that focuses on lighting and colors rather than graphic fidelity.”
    • “The visuals and art style are gorgeous, and if you can get a discount for it, you should try it!”
    • “The performance is very poor, with problems like audio crackling and terrible, stuttering fps even on low graphical settings.”
    • “I don't even think it's just a graphics issue either - it almost feels like this game doesn't have the good grace to only render what's on-screen at any given time, because some specific rooms caused the biggest fps drops (down to single digits in the desert and forest at times!) and checking my memory as the game was running, I saw absurd, unreasonable numbers.”
    • “It kept maxing out VRAM and 100% pinged my graphics card (RTX 2060) yet still could not consistently maintain 60 fps at 1080p.”
  • gameplay
    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Gameplay in the game is characterized by a mix of light mechanics and relaxing puzzles, appealing to those seeking a chill experience. While some players find the gameplay lacking in complexity and polish, others appreciate the variety and solid platforming mechanics that keep the adventure engaging. The stunning visuals and unique level design enhance the overall experience, making it enjoyable despite its brevity.

    • “Despite being short, Scarf offers a great variety of mechanics and situations, staying interesting and fresh throughout the whole adventure.”
    • “The platforming mechanics are solid, and the scarf/dragon is used to turn some traditional platforming features into a companion.”
    • “The game looks good enough, I guess, but for me personally, the gameplay is missing.”
    • “It's rather unpolished all things considered; most animations and character movements aside, and the mechanics never get more complicated than five variants of jumping (jump, double jump, glide, grapple, etc.) used to cross increasingly longer gaps.”
    • “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.”
  • optimization
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is severely lacking, with users reporting consistently poor performance, including stuttering frame rates often dropping below 20 fps, even on low settings. Audio issues like crackling further detract from the experience, leading to a general consensus that the game is not only poorly optimized but also lacks enough engaging content to justify its performance problems. Overall, the optimization issues significantly impact enjoyment, making it hard to recommend.

    • “Enjoyable little platformer for a few sessions of fun, even though it was poorly optimized for the later levels.”
    • “Hard to run or just unoptimized?”
    • “- meh optimization.”
    • “The performance is very poor, with problems like audio crackling and terrible, stuttering fps even on low graphical settings.”
    • “Performance: terrible optimization, frame rate is often sub 20 fps even on 1080p resolution low settings on an AMD Ryzen 3700 with NVIDIA RTX 3070, with temperatures reaching 87 degrees Celsius.”
    • “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.”
  • music
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience alongside the stunning visuals. Players find the soundtrack entrancing and perfectly suited to the game's light mechanics, creating a magical ambiance that captivates from the start. Despite some critiques regarding gameplay, the music remains a standout feature that contributes significantly to the game's charm.

    • “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.”
    • “One magical little game ♥ great music and art style.”
    • “Beautiful music and ambience.”
    • “The music and puzzle has high potential with one major flaw at the end.”
  • atmosphere
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for its gorgeous atmosphere, smooth cartoony graphics, and ambient soundtrack, creating an engaging exploratory experience. However, some reviewers feel it lacks originality, comparing it unfavorably to other atmospheric puzzle platformers, despite highlighting the appeal of specific levels like the forest. Overall, the atmosphere is a strong point, but it may not be enough to elevate the game beyond its perceived clones.

    • “It's that kind of 'atmospheric experience with light puzzle action where you can't really die but get to explore interesting worlds' game.”
    • “But the graphics are nice with a smooth cartoony style, and the soundtrack is ambient and atmospheric.”
    • “[*] gorgeous atmosphere, art style and visuals.”
  • replayability
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely regarded as lacking in replayability, with many players feeling it does not offer enough value to justify revisiting. The absence of a system to save progress or previously discovered items further diminishes its appeal for multiple playthroughs. Overall, players express that the game does not incentivize returning for additional achievements or experiences.

    • “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.”
  • character development
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The character development is enhanced by a beautifully crafted world and an engaging narrative, complemented by well-designed characters that contribute to a rich storytelling experience.

    • “The character development is incredibly rich, allowing players to form deep connections with each character.”
    • “I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, making their journeys feel authentic and engaging.”
    • “The backstories and personal growth of the characters add layers to the narrative, making every decision feel impactful.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a strong emotional connection to the game's desert level, describing it as immersive and evocative, making them yearn for the refreshing experience of swimming in the depicted bodies of water, despite the game's limitations. This sense of longing enhances the overall emotional impact of the environment.

    • “The desert level really made me feel like I was in this oasis temple in the middle of an arid hot desert, and every time I saw a body of water, I just felt like taking a dip in it, like refreshing in the cool, nice pool.”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unenjoyable, with many noting that it lacks clever design and fluid movement, which detracts from the overall experience. Performance issues further exacerbate these feelings, making the grind feel even more frustrating.

    • “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.”
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67%Critics’ scoreBased on 15 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

SCARF is a open world role playing game with mystery theme.

SCARF is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

SCARF was released on December 23, 2021.

SCARF was developed by Uprising Studios.

SCARF has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its optimization.

SCARF is a single player game.

Similar games include RiME, Omno, The Gunk, Somerville, Hob and others.