Indie title Serum is a first-person survival experience, developed by Game Island, that recently entered early access on Steam. Serum thrusts gamers into a post-apocalyptic landscape populated by mutated wildlife and humans, deadly traps, and other dangers. The mysterious titular substance is seemingly both the cause of these disasters and still possibly the world's salvation, as players must explore, extract, and experiment with it to ensure their skills and equipment are up to par.
Now that Serum has entered into the arena of the survival gaming space, Game Island CEO and director Michal Ojrzynski spoke with Game ZXC about how he and the development team ​​focused specifically on the genre for their debut title. Ojrzynski also shared his thoughts on Serum's evolving designs, the studio's approach to the genre, and the overarching appeal of survival games.
Sons of the Forest Fans Shouldn't Miss Out on Serum
Sons of the Forest's unique detailing gained it lots of fans, and upcoming title Serum follows a similar blend of crafting and tension.
Serum Game Director On the Vast Potential and Range of Survival Titles
The Survival Genre is Thriving
With games like Palworld, Ark: Survival Ascended, and many more, survival crafting games have seen a rise to prominence in recent times. When asked about his take on what was described as the "renaissance" that the genre seems to be experiencing, Ojrzynski remarked that it's because the genre is so diverse. Specifically, he said,
Some have elaborate building systems, like Valheim , for example. Other games, like The Long Dark, focus on showing and providing as realistic an experience as possible. That’s why we chose this genre as well, because the games can be quite different from each other and offer a unique experience for everyone. That’s what I think is great about it, because everyone can find something that they like within it, and why it’s popular right now and will continue to be.
How Serum Adds its Own Recipe of Survival Elements to the Blend
While it is an original vision, Serum does contain hints of recognizable properties, with Ojrzynski pointing out that some fans compared it to The Forest due to one of its main biomes. Fallout and the BioShock series were also mentioned, along with the Justin Timberlake film, In Time. On the ways that Game Island iterated on Serum to take its core concepts and apply them optimally to the aspects of survival and crafting. Indeed, it's a very mechanic-heavy game, appealing to those who appreciate deep systemic gameplay, but it all comes back to a core conceit. Ojrzynski noted that:
The unifying factor between our various systems, enemies, and combat, as well as world exploration, is the serum. Everything is connected and related to it. We had many early “crazy” ideas, ones for skills like fireballs, freezing effects, and such. We also had some for throwing weapons attached with chains, something like Scorpion from Mortal Kombat. We then worked on choosing the right ones which fit best to the concept and climate of the game.
He also emphasized that Game Island is keeping a close eye on player feedback during the early access period, having introduced multiple patches and requests since launch. With this ongoing support, as well as future plans for co-op and expansion of Serum's main mechanics, the title is set to be a unique and engaging experience for survival game enthusiasts.
Serum
Created in Unreal Engine 5, Game Island's Serum is a survival game that is in early access. Played from a first-person angle, the game features a brewing system to create different serums and also combines melee and ranged combat.
