New updates for SCUM are here to give us some extra darkness in the survival for SCUM
The updates keep on flowing out for SCUM as we get ever closer to the full launch of the game on the PC. We are almost there, if the numbering convention that Gamepires is giving us is anything to go on, as we have the 0.9 update here and now. An update that feels like it is going to add in a mix of the familiar from all forms of various pop culture into SCUM while giving us so many other updates to enjoy in the mix. If you are into multiplayer survival games this one is. I am sure you might not have clicked on this link if you are not, after all.
As you will see in the following trailer for the SCUM update, we get hints of all of the sci-fi horror films in the mix. From Alien to Predator to many others as we see the male characters getting a bit of an overhaul and more enemies and weapons in the game so we keep helping both sides finish with all of their living out there. Many of them feel like they were lifted right from Dead Space and placed right into SCUM here. More of an homage than any kind of IP theft, before you start to think that is the path we are going down as we talk here.
SCUM — Smokin’ Hot v0.9
Jagex and Gamepires have launched the Smokin’ Hot update for the multiplayer survival game, SCUM, today. This update coincides with a 60% off sale on Steam and brings with it a complete overhaul of SCUM’s male character models, alongside dangerous new enemies, a brand-new weapon type, and some significant changes to the game’s skills and attributes.
Following the improvements to female characters in last year’s Call of Beauty update, Smokin’ Hot introduces reworked male character models into SCUM, alongside plenty of new customization options.
It’s not just the fellas that are getting a glow-up though. There are two monstrous enemies that can now be found in the bunkers – the hulking Brenner, equipped with a scorching flamethrower; and the nimble Razor, who’ll close in on players and cut them down with knife-like limbs.
Alongside the addition of Brenner and Razor, bunkers have been overhauled to allow players to increase their Intelligence attributes for the first time. New puzzle mechanics found within the bunkers allow players to gather important data, which can then be traded in for an Intelligence increase at the Doctor. The Intelligence attribute is more important than ever, too, now influencing the experience gained on all player skills.
Smokin’ Hot also introduces some important improvements to SCUM, including an XP rebalance which will make it easier and more worthwhile for players to level up any of their skills. And for those prisoners more interested in brawns than brains, the update adds the Light Machine Gun, a brand-new class of weapon for players to get their hands on.
SCUM is a multiplayer open-world survival game that offers unprecedented levels of character customization, control, and progression, where knowledge and skills are the ultimate weapons for long-term survival. Players are put into the role of a prisoner forced to fight for their life in a bloodthirsty TV show, earning the support of viewers, producers, and corporate sponsors along the way.
SCUM is available to play now in Early Access on Steam, with discounts on the base game and all DLC running from 3-10 August.
While I have yet to play SCUM at all, this new update does make it land firmly on my radar. Since I am not a fan of Early Access games and their practice of them, even if I fully understand their needs in the corporate setting of the industry. What does catch my eye is that this all looks like a solid love letter to the IPs that inspired all of this and that the team has been taking the years needed to make SCUM a solid title when it does hit that 1.0 launch out there. That could be soon, but for now, we are just going to have to enjoy this update and see where it all goes from here.
Have you been playing SCUM since the start or does this get you excited to see what else the game will have to offer up out there? Do you like all of the little nods in the mix or is that more of the nostalgia-baiting that we hate over here? When do you suspect we would see the full build of the game and will it be before the end of the year here? Take to the comment section and then feel free to discuss it all as you so wish to do. We will have more for SCUM in the coming months, so please keep checking back for all of that and much, much more.