A screen can tell you everything you need to know about a video game. What his inspirations are likely to be. How complex it is. Which genres does it have. If the developers give UI or consistency of fonts. In Scum, the latest big hit on Steam and Twitch (at the time this is being written, it's in the top five of viewers on Twitch), it's a menu screen that communicates everything you need to know about it. And his disruptive.
Of course I am talking about the metabolism screen. Across an indent of the inventory menu, the metabolism screen shows every living aspect of your dishonored inmate. Are they healthy? Are they sick? Are they injured? Did they have enough to drink today? There is a ridiculous amount to think about on this screen, as a text from your mother the first week that you live from home.
Scum is – yes, I can hear you moaning – yet another survival game, but it is more horrifying than genre leaders like Ark: Survival Evolved, DayZ and The Long Dark. In Scum you are a prisoner on an island, alone or with other players. Your means of survival take a Donner party approach. You can chop and eat people who kill you for meat, even zombies. If you do not monitor your meters, you can make yourself sick by vomiting or, uh, a problem on the other side.
It is all in the interest of realism and management of a different kind. It has always been said that your body is a temple, and in Scum that expression takes a new life. Of course, you have to survive in the wild, but eat too many olives of shrubs in a row and it could mean bad news for your stomach. It is not only the intake that you have to worry about: vitamins, calories, hydration and perhaps a dozen other elements.
That is where the fated screen comes into play. Your vitality is displayed in the upper left corner. And then there is more: diseases, body control, nutrition, vitamins, minerals and digestion. It is disheartening to look at, stacked with meters and words and figures; frankly there is an amazing amount to keep up with. I am still not quite sure what vitamins and minerals are in what. (It has made survival a bit more difficult than I had thought.) Scum is the kind of game I can imagine players who make obsessive spreadsheets, cross references what corrects what and what drives another.
It is also usually readable, which is a bit remarkable for an Early Access game. There is still an element of cluelessness-sorry that I do not know what minerals are in mine food-But it adds another complex layer to the deliberate survival simulator. We do not usually think of that part of dystopian fiction: how do you stay healthy when there are no healthy options? It is not that you can go to your local Whole Foods for a farm coal salad if you need a health pick-up or whatever. Instead, you succeed.
This in-depth system is largely what sets Scum apart from its competitors in the field. Earlier this year, I praised State of Decay 2 & # 39; s conception of the management sim with zombies subgenre for its community-driven systems. It is part of what a survival game should stand out: a unique quality for which it can stand alone. For The Long Dark it is a combination of logical survival and an amazing art style. For Scum, its uniqueness is square in controlling metabolism. It is the kind of system that is endlessly complicated, frustrating and even rewarding. Although I mostly see people on the internet responding to their pooping and vomiting, I find that the menu that binds it all, makes Foam worth paying attention.
Before Scum was launched on Steam Early Access this week, it was good with pre-alpha. It is clear that Scum has not hit its 1.0 release yet – it is especially clear on the screen for creating characters where sliders like & # 39; crime & # 39 ;, & # 39; BioChem & # 39; and & # 39; woman & # 39; are grayed out, but for what is now in the detailed character adjustment is a wide range of body builds. Plus, some horrible tattoos. (For DLC, Scum even offered a number of Nazi-related tattoos.) After controversy and an apology from both developers Gamepires and publisher Devolver Digital, those specific tattoos have since been removed.) I made my character a 50-year-old man with Juggalo tattoos and a seemingly excellent skincare regime, because it looks about 30.
Although I have the moment to moment, I find my time with Scum bad. Zombies are very annoying and I notice that I only fight when I'm hungry and need meat. Other players are even worse meetings. The Metal Gear lookin & robots are even more of a threat. Melee is generally slow and annoying. If you are a fan of the type DayZ, you will probably find a lot to love in the complex Scum, even in its raw Early Access state. As for someone like me who thinks she can eat more than one slice of watermelon without causing her to vomit, thank you very much, I will probably stick to the survival games that I already know and love. The one where my metabolism is the least of my worries.
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