Scarf is a charming little indie 3D platformer with a lot going for it. Mixing 3D platforming and puzzles, you take on the role of a little blue Hero and partner up with a red dragon that takes the form of your scarf. Travel through a bunch of unique worlds on your quest to retrieve energy in the form of souls stolen from your dragon partners mother by the natives living on the world, killing her in the process. It’s your basic fare for such a title, but not everything is at it seems.
What Scarf does really well is impress on almost all levels. The artistic styling is fantastic and looks stunning as you travel between worlds. It really does feel like I was playing some lost fable from a people far removed from my own, but one that still made sense. And while it’s a simple story on the surface, there is this underlying thread that made me question just what really was going on. Scarf does all of this without any form of combat or penalty for death, something quite impressive.
I figured that I would get bored playing through Scarf because of this but that simply wasn’t the case. What I did find was about six hours of game time spent on Scarf in a single session. Sure, I might have been stuck in bed fighting off a bad flu, but even if I wasn’t bedridden I would have been hooked with this adventure. Scarf oftentimes seems generic but always teases something more, something darker just under the surface, something that can only really be seen if you like to explore as much as possible.
I have a bad habit of looking into every nook and cranny of a game world for no other reason than pure curiosity. More often than not I find nothing, especially in big AAA games, sometimes I find some small secrets or Easter Eggs, but in this case I found a story that is far more than it seems. I don’t want to ruin your own experience, but understand that Scarf is more than it seems, but only if you choose to look. So, it’s not too weird that the game features a couple of different endings. In fact, I went back to play again because of this in order to experience the full story.
Gameplay is super simple. You are in search of missing souls pieces that have been stolen in order to create new worlds by the inhabitants of the universe. To do this you have your dragon scarf that absorbs souls from those that have stolen them. It’s your job to find these people, the more you collect the higher the unlock meter grows on the final stage door that will send the dragon back home. You’ll jump, glide, and swing using your Scarf dragon ally as you solve environmental puzzles on your quest to reach new areas. Each world holds at least one soul that you’ll need to figure out how to gain access to. It’s simple and by the numbers, but it’s the story and how you experience it where Scarf really shines.
As you play and uncover secrets and pieces of the fable you’ll be tasked with reconstructing your own version of the facts in each world created by these stolen souls. You may find yourself questioning what it means to be a hero and what your place in this story might actually be. Hero? Pawn? Something in between? These are all things you’ll have to wrestle with, all in a game that seems like your standard 3D platformer. I love this as kids can easily play the game and have a fun time simply playing a solid 3D platformer while adults will get something totally different from the very same game.
Scarf is a lovely game that is equally relaxing as it is deep. That said, I can easily see reviews for this one all over the map. Those that play it like a video game just getting though it will probably see nothing all that special other that the visuals, while those that choose to explore and piece together the larger narrative with appreciate the story that weaves through the gameplay. I, for one, loved the experience and easily got lost in the world thanks to solid gameplay, fun puzzles, and great visuals. It’s a mix of great art and sound direction that made me want to come back and get the full picture.
So, while Scarf doesn’t reinvent the wheel or push the genre forward, the game is a solid indie release that hits all the right points for me. It’s an easy recommendation and I hope it does well enough to find a home on the current slate of home consoles down the line as I’d love to see it on a huge television. So, go out and give this title some love as the team from Uprising Studios deserve it.
Scarf is a charmingly beautiful adventure that feels like a long lost fable and makes you question just what it means to be the hero of the story
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