Game Island, a Polish development studio, recently hosted a Q&A session for their story-driven survival game, Serum, revealing new details about the story, combat, and co-op feature.

In the near future, a catastrophic event known as “The Blight” swept through the world, killing off most of the world population and nearly bringing the species to extinction. The only cure that was known was a mysterious serum created by the EVAS Corporation.

Effectiveness of the serum was limited as the infection continued to mutate, requiring more potent variations. It is believed that continued use of this substance was causing odd mutations in the patients who took it.

It is now year 2060, and you are on the island where the main ingredient of the cure was initially discovered. You have a countdown timer on your arm that, when it gets to zero, your life as you know it will end. You will need to explore the world, looking to create a serum that will extend your life.

During your exploration, you will find different ingredients to construct new serums. However, each substance you try will have various effects and will lighten your timer before you need your next dose. The development team did not disclose how many different varieties of serum you can create; they would rather let you find that out on your own.

During your search, you are going to come across several threats. Players will be able to craft an array of melee and ranged weapons that will deal different types of damage, so you will have to find out which weapons work best on the different creatures you encounter. The combat will have a blocking mechanic, but there will be no target lock, as the team wanted to ensure the free flow of combat throughout the game.

Serum will be a co-op game that will allow players to work together to find a cure, though only the host will take on the role of the main character and the other players will take on the role of survivors to help them in their quest.

The game was originally designed in Unreal Engine 4 but has been rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 to bring all the new features of this engine. In its current development cycle, it is only planned for PC, with a possible port to consoles at a later date. The game is not optimized for play on the Steam Deck at the moment, but there is a possibility that may change before its release.

Serum is set to launch into Early Access on Steam in the first quarter of 2024.

What do you find most intriguing about the game? Let me know in the comments below.