The gameplay takes place in Croatia where up to 100 players per server will attempt to survive and get offthe island by first removing the implant which prevents them from leaving. The player will earn fame points through participation in various action-driven events or simply by surviving in a hostile environment. These fame points allow the player to be cloned back in case of death, and used as currency to purchase or trade in various safe zones. Players will be able to fortify existing structures and points in order to secure positions or store items when needed. The player character will possess four main attributes: strength, dexterity, constitution and intelligence. These will let players create characters to suit their playing style of preference. It promises to simulate the human body, and as such uses a special interface connected to the player's "BCU monitor" which tracks character's calories, vitamins, health and other stats. Players can choose to ignore these elements of the game, or can delve deep into these systems in order to improve the character's performance. Another aspect is digestion; for instance, if a character gets all of their teeth knocked out, they will have to find a way to liquify food in order to digest it. Defecating and urinating will leave physical evidence of activities on the island, which could be used to track another player. Things like combat will depend on the player's skill level, but also on things like stamina, health and so on. Wetness, smell, medicine, cooking, hacking, crafting, hunting and poison will also play a major role in the gameplay. The game will offer both third and first-person perspectives, from which the player can alternate, but will prevent third-person peeking by hiding anything a character cannot see.
Development
Scum was first announced in August 2016. The game was released into early access on August 29, 2018, and is planned to be fully released in 2020.
Reception
The game was named as one of the bestindie games of PAX East 2018 by Game Informer. It received similar attention from GameSpot, listing it as among the most noteworthy games of PAX East 2018. The game sold over 250,000 copies within its first 24 hours in early access, 700,000 in its first week, and over one million sales by the third week.
