Serum
- May 23, 2024
- Game Island
- 1h median play time
Get on SteamIn "Serum," players must survive in a post-apocalyptic world filled with mutated creatures and toxic fog. With a timer on their arm counting down every second, they must explore different biomes, find clues about past events, and brew serums for unique abilities to survive. Players can also search for shelter and modify weapons for greater effectiveness in this race against time.
Reviews
- The game has a unique concept with an interesting serum mechanic that adds urgency to gameplay.
- The art style and immersive environment are praised, creating a captivating atmosphere.
- The core gameplay loop of gathering materials and crafting serums is engaging and offers potential for future updates.
- The game suffers from significant performance issues, including low frame rates and stuttering, even on high-end hardware.
- Combat mechanics are criticized for being clunky and unresponsive, leading to frustrating encounters with enemies.
- Inventory management is tedious, requiring players to move items one at a time without a 'deposit all' option, which hampers the overall experience.
- story39 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed feedback, with some players appreciating its intriguing premise and immersive atmosphere, while others criticize its execution as lacking depth and coherence. Many reviewers noted that the narrative feels incomplete, with unfinished quests and a rigid quest system that detracts from the overall experience. Overall, while the core concept shows potential, the current state of the story leaves much to be desired, prompting some players to recommend waiting for further updates before diving in.
“I really like this system and the core gameplay loop of venturing out, gathering materials for base and weapon upgrades, and dragging them back to camp while also advancing your story quest while out and about. It works really well.”
“The storyline is fantastic, but there are times during play that you will have to find your own path, as the game does not directly point you in the direction of the next area of interest. You will likely have to double back on your path or explore areas that don't appear to lead anywhere.”
“I like that it has voiceovers for the story at hand, and it's solid.”
“The main storyline is unfinished; I had a quest to go to a certain area, but you have to finish the first two areas first.”
“See original review below: after slogging through to the two trolleys, the game just ends, saying 'you have completed all content, congratulations,' like they ran out of money or didn't even bother to finish the story. It's like they wrote chapter 1 and didn't finish the book.”
“The whole story seems like an afterthought, and there is no building of the characters, which is a shame because it feels like a neat core concept that could be a fun addition to the genre.”
- gameplay32 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some praising the innovative time-based mechanics and core gameplay loop of exploration and crafting, while others criticize the combat system as bland and the inventory management as frustrating. Many players appreciate the urgency introduced by the timer, but find the mechanics inconsistent and lacking polish, particularly in tutorials and optimization. Overall, while there are promising concepts, significant improvements are needed for a more enjoyable experience.
“I really like this system and the core gameplay loop of venturing out, gathering materials for base and weapon upgrades, and dragging them back to camp while also advancing your story quest while out and about works really well.”
“Great concept and unique gameplay that you have never seen before in an alchemist game like this.”
“The timer mechanic feels well done, giving players an incentive to return home eventually as well as making time a manageable resource.”
“Combat is very bland with the blocking, heavy attack, and regular attack mechanics, not to mention no area effects such as explosives or triggerable elements on the map.”
“Game is held back very hard by inconsistent mechanics, annoying audio, and poor optimization.”
“Cutting my move speed down 95% so I couldn't get to a chest to unload what had made me encumbered to begin with, coupled with no idea how to do it from inventory, and no meaningful tutorial explaining the mechanic is just chef's kiss level of annoyance.”
- optimization18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant stuttering and inconsistent performance across various hardware setups. While some users report acceptable performance on high-end systems, the general consensus is that the game requires substantial optimization improvements to enhance the overall experience. Early access issues, including bugs and performance hiccups, further contribute to the need for better optimization.
“Decent game with acceptable performance.”
“Performance is okay; I have a 3060 Ti, Ryzen 5 5600X, 32GB RAM, and with DLSS quality, it runs smoothly at 60 FPS.”
“Game is enjoyable and really grindy, but it could be a lot better; it definitely needs a lot of optimization, bug fixes, and quality of life improvements.”
“I'm at medium settings for everything and DLSS performance, and it's 4-29 fps.”
“Game is held back very hard by inconsistent mechanics, annoying audio, and poor optimization.”
“Performance is still not great and no matter the settings there was always some level of stuttering.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the art style and immersive environments, while others criticize performance issues such as low framerates and screen flickering. Although the visuals are considered stunning by some, technical problems detract from the overall experience, indicating a need for further optimization.
“Honestly, I love a lot about the art style and the concepts in this game.”
“Graphics: 10/10”
“[b]- Immersive environment and story:[/b] The game's visuals are stunning, and the atmosphere is genuinely creepy at times, enhancing the immersive experience.”
“The graphics are much lower than my expectations.”
“An update to my graphics drivers helped, but there are still major problems with framerates.”
“No matter what graphics settings I use, the screen flickers almost constantly, like cheap LED lightbulbs, giving me a massive headache.”
- stability7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for being buggy, with players reporting various glitches that affect gameplay, such as issues with the serum system and other mechanics. While these bugs do not render the game unplayable, they contribute to a frustrating experience, particularly in an early access context. Overall, stability is a significant concern that developers need to address.
“A buggy mess.”
“However, the serum glitches were a significant annoyance.”
“Tldr: game has a cool setting, gameplay mechanics are frustrating, game is buggy, and quality of life is extremely lacking in this game.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with many expressing dissatisfaction over the cumbersome inventory management and the repetitive nature of farming for upgrades. While some enjoy the grind, they believe significant optimizations and quality-of-life improvements are necessary to enhance the overall experience.
“Tedious and frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it.”
“- Inventory management sucks; moving things from your inventory to storage is tedious as you have to re-select an item once the previous stack has been moved over one item at a time.”
“- Fails at being a fun crafting game - it looks like there's an idea for a neat tech/serum tree, but items are tedious to store, and breakdown/use is confusing and not intuitive to begin with.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its stunning visuals and immersive, often creepy environment that enhances the overall experience. While the atmosphere and mystery are compelling, players note a significant difficulty spike that may disrupt the flow of progress. Overall, the combination of great concept, atmosphere, and mechanics contributes to a captivating gaming experience.
“The game's visuals are stunning, and the atmosphere is genuinely creepy at times, enhancing the immersive experience.”
“The atmosphere and mystery are great, creating an engaging experience.”
“Great concept, great atmosphere, great immersion, great mechanics.”
- music2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's music and voice acting are generally praised for enhancing engagement, though some players find certain tracks annoying. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the gaming experience, despite mixed opinions on specific pieces.
“I wanted to say that this game is awesome; the voice acting and soundtrack are enough to keep you interested.”
“The music in this game perfectly complements the gameplay, creating an immersive experience.”
“Each track is beautifully composed, enhancing the emotional depth of the story.”
“I'm not a fan of some of the music, which I find annoying.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users find humor in the game's quirky design choices, particularly the frustration of navigating menus with invisible buttons, which adds a comedic element to the experience.
“It's always funny to click through menus with invisible buttons because you can't even use your arrows on the keyboard to navigate to the resolution settings.”
