SCUM is an open-world multiplayer survival game that distinguishes itself from the crowd through extreme attention to detail. As Tyler explained in his April preview, it tracks—among other things—individual vitamin and mineral levels, body temperature, muscle mass, stomach volume, and even the number of teeth remaining in your face. It's unusual, to say the least. And it's coming to Steam Early Access on August 29.
Aspects of numerous previous survival and battle royale games appear to come together in SCUM. There's obviously a PUBG-style competitive element to it, and it's presented as a voyeuristic near-future game show, similar to SOS or the late Radical Heights. But the Steam listing says "knowledge and skills are the ultimate weapons for long-term survival," which includes combat proficiency but also security system hacking and other "knowledge-based skills." Do well and you'll receive life-extending gifts from your corporate sponsors; do poorly and you'll die, but you might come back with all those skills intact—as a zombie, apparently, and yes, they're in the game too (though they're called 'puppets').
The big question about SCUM is whether the ability to monitor your vitamin K intake proves to be a small piece of a large, engaging puzzle, or just a weird novelty that wears off after five minutes. Open-world survival is a tough biz to break into at any time, and making the survival element more akin to actual survival is a risky move: Most of us, if dropped in the wilderness with nothing but a spot of helpful advice about scrupulously monitoring our calorie intake and workout regimen, would just keel over and die. But if nothing else, it should be a nice break from banging a rock against a tree to make an assault rifle.
SCUM was the first game featured in Devolver Digital's incredible E3 2018 show, embedded below. I would strongly encourage you to watch the whole thing, but the relevant bit (with maybe a spot or two of possibly NSFW language) begins at 4:56.
