The Serum

Serum, developed by Game Island and published by Toplitz Productions, was released on May 23, 2024, in early access, and is initially available for Microsoft Windows.

It is a game focused mainly on survival, with RPG elements, set in a contaminated world, full of dangers and puzzles, featuring Adam, initially a test subject involving the Serum, who wakes up in a world completely out of control, with the objective of surviving and returning to his family.

Surviving in hell

The story of Serum is very interesting, the way the apocalyptic atmosphere is created and fed, all the setting and the constant struggle against the clock, together with the powerful Unreal Engine 5, which brings beautiful graphics, is enough to form a very competent set.

As I mentioned before, we play as Adam and we are test subjects for the Serum, which, besides benefits, also presents various side effects and has a lifespan, so when the clock reaches zero (located on your wrist), you start to die due to the toxins present in the environment, which are neutralized by the action of the serum.

From there, we start our journey, initially with the help of Richard, one of the Serum researchers, whom we contact via radio and explore the various biomes offered, each with specific characteristics and diversified enemies.

Thus, we collect items, plants, notes, materials for crafting tools and weapons, as well as managing camps and types of outposts.

Remember that the time counter on the clock is paused while we are in safe zones, such as the camps mentioned above.

It is important to highlight that the Serum has variations, as it is up to us to manufacture it, we can choose from some variants, which have changes in benefits and side effects. It is possible to find serum bottles scattered around the map, but they mainly serve to help maintain a plentiful stock to be replenished over time.

Serum has a very easy-to-understand and manage resource system, most items are found scattered around the world or as loot from defeated enemies, these items can be used in the refining machine and converted into other items, which are used for the crafting process of weapons, tools, and new types of serum.

In addition, we have a health bar, an energy bar to manage, and some spaces to use items more quickly, being a very minimalist interface, but with all the necessary information, since the auxiliary menus are accessed through keyboard shortcuts or controller.

Combat and serum management

The combat in Serum is good, but I believe it is not enough to be considered a key point, the fights with large and small enemies are cool, but do not require very advanced mechanical knowledge, being just, in my opinion, a factor for the construction of items and resource management.

During my experience, combat was a bit punitive due to the scarcity of resources at the beginning of the game, some low-offensive enemies ended up killing me because I had low health due to lack of serum or not paying attention to the clock.

However, this is not a factor that diminishes the importance of combat itself, it is just a matter of habit and familiarity with commands and movement, as well as good management of the tools at our disposal.

Serum is a project with a lot of personality, although the apocalyptic and survival theme is already a saturated slice of games, Serum manages to be a good highlight in the middle, both for its setting and consolidated mechanics, and for its excellent graphic quality, which contributes greatly to immersion.

A promising release

The release of Serum is a positive point, as the graphic quality and animations are truly impressive, in addition to the very direct and responsive mechanics, everything gives a good sense of immersion, the dialogues and interaction with the environment are the points that pleased me the most.

The game, in general, is easy to play, the tutorials are complete, although intrusive, appearing on the screen regardless of what you are doing, but they teach us all the basic mechanics.

The game is localized in various languages, but only has English dubbing, a negative point, in my opinion, since subtitles alone may not be enough for some audiences.

The game's audio is very good, the quality of the effects is surprising, the dubbing also deserves attention, in addition to the soundtrack that causes constant tension.

A very satisfying experience

My experience with Serum was good, the game's setting brings a lot of suspense, the dark and gloomy scenarios, with radioactive bodies and animals, are features that really bring a satisfactory immersion, the constant tension of the serum running out and the pressure of always having a reserve for emergencies is another factor that contributes greatly.

The game optimization was not very good in the test build we had access to, some changes in the graphic properties were necessary so that the gameplay would not be affected by micro-stuttering and abrupt FPS drops, however, as it is an early access, such problems will be corrected upon release.

The game offers a good quality of life, with minimalist menus, relevant tutorials and tips, and good localization tools to help understand the interface.

For this review, the game was experienced on PC, using the Steam platform. I thank Game Island and Toplitz Productions for providing the access key.