Though the Saturn version of Scorcher was hyped in the press during its development, the completed game underwhelmed most critics upon release. Reviews typically commented that despite its prolonged development cycle, Scorcher's graphics were still cutting edge,[14][18][19][20] but that the gameplay design is flawed and overall mediocre.[14][17][18][19][20][21] Lee Nutter of Sega Saturn Magazine, for example, called it "A graphically excellent racing title where the gameplay appears to have been more of an afterthought than an integral part of the game.",[20] and Next Generation summarized that "Scorcher is a good game, with many things going for it, but Scavenger's preoccupation with making it look cool rather than play great make it a sad epitaph for the once-promising company."[18]