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"Scars of Mars" is a strange game with an interesting real-time RPG aspect that fails to live up to its full potential and feels more than a little cheap, but it has the bones of something great. Developed and published by Japanese studio, Acquire, in 2024 for Steam and Nintendo Switch, it is a spin on their usual dungeon crawling offerings with basic roguelike elements. Here's the sales pitch from Nintendo's website (as it's ironically better than its main website):

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"Scars of Mars is a new real-time RPG. During combat and exploration, time flows, so you must make split-second decisions, execute precise commands swiftly, and vanquish enemies within a limited time. It's a thrilling experience that captures the unique tension and satisfaction of the gameplay."

Story: December 6th, 2158

You have been appointed as commander of a humanoid unit on a top secret mission: Resuce the survivors trapped in a Mars research facility that has gone dark, and return them to Earth.

◆Real-time Battle Formations
Take control of four humanoid units in a 3x3 grid during real-time battles. Makes split-second decisions as you command characters to fight, flee or execute your own stratagems on the battlefield. Strategic timing and firm decisiveness will be key to overcoming these trying conditions, all the while running against the clock!

◆Character Customization
Gear up your humanoid squadron to tackle any situation. Depending on their combination of class, frame and equipment, each humanoid can be specialized to take on a variety of roles. Create a slow but deadly long-range sniper, a quick fighter, a devastating combat berserker, or a supportive healer, to name a few. Customize your humanoids as you see fit to create a powerful team!

◆Battery Level
During every run, you'll tread your through a path that forks off into multiple routes. Your humanoids require battery power to operate, battle enemies and investigate the research facility. As you proceed, your battery will slowly drain, no matter what it is you're doing. Draw on your knowledge and make tough choices - delve to the deepest level and aim for the boss, or retreat from combat to gather new items and equipment? Keep an eye on the battery level and gauge what approach would best suit your party.

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Let's forget for a second that the game is very short (ONLY THREE MAIN AREAS), the plot is barebones, the price is a little high for what you get and the artwork was presumably generated with AI (while the art director is Kohki Tanabe who did some work on "Adventure Academia: The Fractured Continent", "Octopath Traveler II" and "Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed - Director's Cut", the stuff in this game looks straight out of "Generic Generative AI Art 101"), the actual gameplay is a lot of fun and feels tense on higher difficulties. As the blurb above suggests, the game juggles risks and rewards well, but there is very little "actual risk" when all is said and done. Why is that? Because while the game takes a few things from other genres and is advertised as a race against the clock, the stakes seldom evolve to anything that would be deemed a timesink and the game is rather generous.

While the game's "Battery" does serve as a timer and trickles away on most screens outside of the camp, safe rooms and pausable menus, you have the ability at several junctions to escape, taking your loot with you and grinding away until your humanoids are nigh invincible... and this grind doesn't take especially long either, as the player has access to "Research Points", "Upgrade Points" and "Credits" (explained later). Research Points allow you to upgrade your humanoids with new abilities and stat increases beyond what equipment can offer while Upgrade Points allow you to take your blueprints / gear, class and frame and boost their abilities. Short runs can amass a lot of junk that you can convert into Upgrade Points and make your humanoids absurdly powerful, not to mention your experience is converted into Research Points (you revert to level 1). Of course, new areas have new enemies, new items, tougher bosses and will offset some of the progress you made, but the game's loop is easy to parse and the game isn't a difficult one.

While collecting goods is fun, the combat will be the meat and potatoes of the game. When you're in an unsafe zone, the player can move along randomly generated nodes that have enemies, event spaces (with positive and negative effects), item reserves and shops to spend credits (a currency only maintained while exploring). There are also radar signals that drain your battery at different speeds and usually stronger enemies have weaker signals (but leveling is very valuable and usually worth the risk). Combat is on a 3X3 grid and the player must quickly move their units around manually to avoid damage and dish out attacks with different traits... just watch out for friendly fire! It's honestly exhilarating... it's too bad it's not in a better game.