After 8 long years in Early Access on Steam, the highly acclaimed hardcore survival simulator finally launched its 1.0 build on June 17th 2025. Developed by Gamepires, SCUM markets itself as a multiplayer open-world survival simulator packed to the brim with gritty realism and a wealth of character customisation options. This ambitious, hyper-realistic take on the hardcore survival genre attracted legions of fans to the game over its lifetime on Steam’s Early Access program.
For a hardcore survival simulator, the main story for SCUM is pretty straightforward. Set in a world where private corporations rule the world and corruption runs rampant, all who speak ill of the powers that be are hunted down, charged with crimes against society, and labelled as terrorists. Players take on the role of one of these prisoners, being forced to survive and fight to the death on a private island owned by the entertainment company TEC1. The player’s unlikely survival would then be broadcast to the world for the entertainment of the rich, akin to an even more twisted The Hunger Games.
A review key was provided by Jagex.
Gameplay
SCUM throws the players straight into a gigantic island where they must fend for themselves and survive the threats that lurk around. As of the current patch of the game, the playable map is sized at a whopping 225 square kilometres, with its massive size, diverse terrain and numerous structures providing several points of interest and challenges for players to explore.
Death is imminent: wild animals, armed mechs, and terrifying undead can find players at any moment.The main non-player threats in SCUM can be categorised into 4 different groups – Wildlife, Puppets, Mech, and the newly added NPCs.
- Wildlife: The diverse wildlife roaming throughout the map of SCUM aids in improving the immersion of the game. Players are able to make use of the Hunting system in the game to further engage with the wildlife, leading to a more realistic environment.
- Puppets: A staple of the survival simulator genre, Puppets are SCUM’s take on zombies. In the setting, Puppets are the corpses former prisoners who have been taken over the Bio Control Unit, a chip implanted into the prisoners’ spines. These Puppets move unpredictably as they barrel towards the players.
- Mechs: Another threat that players have to contend with are Mechs, a general term encompassing all the mechanized automata patrolling the island. These mechs are usually heavily armored and have specific patrol patterns. Players need to use high firepower to take them out, or opt to use stealth to avoid them.
- NPCs: A new addition to the game, NPCs are new characters added into the game. They can be friendly and offer assistance or quests to the players, or hostile and try to kill players on sight.
SCUM also offers extensive and intricate crafting and base-building systems to aid the players in their survival. Whilst some players might find SCUM’s crafting and base-building systems to be unintuitive and tedious, the complexity and realism add a breath of fresh air to the game as compared to the streamlined crafting often seen in modern games. Admittedly, the steep learning curve and tedium of these systems might put off some players, but they do provide a strong sense of accomplishment when players manage to master them.
Just like most other hardcore survival simulators, the core gameplay loop is simple: you spawn in, get gear and food, build a base, and survive. However, what SCUM lacks in its gameplay loop, it makes up for in its system depth. When it comes to the game’s systems, the developers of SCUM have truly redefined the concept of gritty realism.
In addition to survival against external threats, players also have to manage their character’s nutrition, metabolism, and even bodily functions, all of which have their own dedicated systems to keep in mind. To illustrate the in-depth nature of these gameplay systems, the metabolism and nutrition systems will track everything from calorie intake and vitamin levels to fatigue and wounds. Different foods will have different nutrition and hydration levels, whereas different wounds would require different treatments.
Unfortunately, the combat mechanics in this game can sometimes be a hit or miss. The gunplay in this game is intricate and realistic, with features such as realistic ballistic simulation and weapon jamming, which add a layer of depth not commonly seen in the modern shooter genre. This makes gunfights in this game feel much more challenging and rewarding, especially when compared to other PvP or PvE games on the market.
On the other hand, the melee combat in this game feels extremely clunky and awkward, and there seems to be some issues with the hitbox registration. This, coupled with the lack of feedback on successful hits, makes melee combat feel extremely unresponsive. Considering the importance of stealth in this game, the melee combat can be quite frustrating when it fails.
My Thoughts
In essence, SCUM is not for the faint of heart. The steep learning curve and punishing gameplay can be extremely daunting for a new player. True to their marketing material, the game is tailored for the most hardcore of survival simulator fans with a penchant for punishment.
For fans of the genre, the game is extremely impressive for its price point. Between the size of the open world map and the modular basebuilding available to the players, one can easily spend hundreds of hours being immersed in this bleak, dystopian universe. Combine that with the intricate and complex survival and crafting systems in the game, and this creates a one-of-a-kind gaming experience you wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else.
However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for SCUM. Their 1.0 build released to mixed reviews on Steam, especially with older fans citing bugs and a lack of promised features in the full release. Despite that, the developers are working hard to fix the bugs and implement requested features into the game. In fact, Gamepires is probably one of the most transparent developers in the industry at the moment, posting Dev Talks to address community feedback and Community Showcases to show appreciation to their players on a weekly basis. They constantly interact with their community, answer lingering questions, and accept community feedback, and it shows in the updates of the game.
In conclusion, SCUM is not a game that is suited for everyone. It is a punishing hardcore survival sandbox that lives true to its name. The steep learning curve might seem intimidating at first. However, if you can get past the early learning pains, the game offers a satisfying experience that you can’t find in any other game in the genre. I am certain that with Gamepires at the helm, the game will only get better with time.
This article was contributed by Zhen Zhang.
