Game Island are a European game development studio that was established back in July of 2020 as a subsidiary of The Dust S.A. who are known for games such as The Inquisitor. Game Island studios were specifically created to bring the teams passion of producing story-rich survival experiences for players to experience and explore. Their first game ‘Serum’ certainly fits the bill as it certainly has roots in the survival genre but is also heavily story driven and more action orientated than a lot of other titles it shares the genre with. Thanks to Game Island and Topltz Productions we got our hands on the game for an early playtest session.

Every good game has a special mechanic that keeps the player hooked and drives the narrative forward and Serum aims to do this by using time. In Serum you play as the games main protagonist named Adam who from the intro of the game appears to be stuck away from home and his wife on some research facility as some kind of medical tester, as the intro progresses though it is apparent something major has gone wrong and you are launched into the game to unravel what has occurred. One thing that is immediately apparent though is that the world you are in is toxic and you have a timer embedded in your arm, you need to constantly inject serum into your veins to shield yourself from the worlds toxins and you arm clock is a constant reminded that time is always ticking leaving you one step closer to needing your next dose. The toxicity of the world and your constant need for hits of serum aren’t the only things you need to worry about though as the worlds inhabitants are also affected by the blight which makes you there enemy and they will constantly try to attack you.

The games world is very impressive graphically and gives off S.T.A.L.K.E.R. like vibes, everything is rusty, grimy, and dilapidated and the games whole atmosphere serves up a sense of unease. The games first hour or so serves as a tutorial of sorts and gives you hints and clues as to what is happening in the world via radio messages and notes that can be read. Eventually the game guides you to your base which is where you will be spending a fair amount of time crafting the things you need to survive in the games harsh, cruel world. Thankfully your serum timer doesn’t count down while you are in the base and there is also a machine in the base that will put 2 minutes onto your serum timer if you are running low, which is handy if you need to duck out of the base quickly to farm some items. You will also be introduced to the various crafting aspects of the game with the most important of these being serum crafting, you can collect various plants and substances in order to create your own serums that will not only add more time to your survival timer they can also provide other beneficial effects to you as well. You can harvest the plants needed to create different serums anywhere in the world around you as you explore, you can also reproduce the resources you harvest by planting them in your base and growing them.

Serum is filled with mystery and an intriguing story that pushes you through the game as you try to discover more about the situation you are in and ultimately how to get out of it, the game provides a unique blend of survival horror laced with puzzles and combat action, though the combat in itself could use a lot of work as it is one of the weakest parts of the game at the moment, it feels very floaty and feedback from hitting enemies or being hit yourself is non-existent, combat is not very satisfying at all. Optimisation is another area that needs a lot of attention here as the game does suffer from a fair amount of frame hitching particularly when entering new areas of the map. All that being said Serum is definitely one to put on your Steam wishlist if you are a fan of survival games, I am certainly looking to unravel the full story once the game is released into early access later this year.

The game is slated to launch into Early Access this May, you can add it to your wishlist via this link.