*A reflective, personal one‑shot about Serious Sam: The First Encounter HD, Serious Sam 2, and Serious Sam 4: Reborn.* Everything started spiraling when I noticed that [Serious Sam 2](https://store.steampowered.com/app/204340/Serious_Sam_II/) (2005) received meaningful new updates. Croteam simply acknowledging the game would have been a positive turn of events at this point, considering they have maintained a respectable distance between it and the rest of the franchise. The game, being a commercial failure at the time, and a criticized shift from the two previous games, seems to have left it with a branded seal of infamy, even becoming a cult classic for some, like me. Alongside these updates, an ambitious Serious Sam 4 mod grabbed my attention. It was sufficient to light two Serious Sam-related brain cells. They decided it was time for a cure, I suppose, time to replay some Serious Sam… again. Most of the main Serious Sam episodes can look rough and inconsistent, and sometimes, they simply are. SS2 is its own thing, and I will come back to it, but even the third and fourth don't communicate with each other in a way you could imagine a sequel would. Sometimes it's cartoony, then it's gory and gritty, then it's a France open-world mission for some reason. The technical state of SS4 and its spin-off is really nothing to brag about. Even from a gameplay perspective, individual games can feel noticeably different from one another, despite sharing horde battles with a strong emphasis on horizontal mobility, common enemies, and similar arsenals. Revisiting some of the games has given me more insight into what I appreciated or not in each one. > [!note] > Considering I will not give much more context or historical info about [Croteam](https://www.croteam.com/), its related studios, mod authors, or projects, I will at least share the best bet I have read on the current situation the studio is in 2025: https://www.reddit.com/r/SeriousSam/comments/1qeugjy/comment/o02ttry/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button. Also, here comes a list of all the main Serious Sam entries so you can follow more easily the rest of the article if you are not familiar with the series: > > | Game | Release Date | > | --- | --- | > | Serious Sam: The First Encounter | March 21, 2001 | > | Serious Sam: The Second Encounter | February 5, 2002 | > | Serious Sam 2 | October 11, 2005 | > | Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter | November 24, 2009 | > | Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter | April 28, 2010 | > | Serious Sam 3: BFE | November 22, 2011 | > | Serious Sam 4 | September 24, 2020 | > | Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem | January 25, 2022 | # The game I have revisit > [!note] > **Serious sam: Fusion ?** > > https://store.steampowered.com/app/564310/Serious_Sam_Fusion_2017_beta/ > > Fusion is basically a single hub where you can launch several games in the series that share the underlying tech: The First Encounter HD, The Second Encounter HD, Serious Sam 3: BFE, and some VR titles. ## Serious Sam: The First Encounter I don't have memory finishing either First Encounter or Second, and coming back to the first thought Fusion, I can see why. I like that in arena shooters there is a clear start and end to any engagement; the arena and the multistage fights are the meat on the bones for me. Secret encounters and puzzle fights between more intense moments are simply nice extra toppings. You need space for your FPS gameplay sandbox to shine, in all senses of the term. The First Encounter operates in its own way, and the resulting pathing is, in my opinion, absolutely horrendous. The game loves spawning enemies behind you, above you, and in front of you, always from absolutely thin air, especially when you touch ammo or health. Surprise becomes the default mode, and it quickly becomes exhausting, as the encounters seem mainly designed to trick you. The “gotcha” loop: pick up a resource, get punished, lose more than you gained. You can take so much cheap damage that the best strategy is to keep exploration to a minimum. Even outside of that problem, more classic arena fights can be plagued by mostly two issues: - Bad static close spawns could make some fights feel more about memorizing where an enemy will appear than about really managing the distance between you and your foes. It's a problem that future episodes will have, but to a lesser degree. - Additionally, the mixing of enemies could be really lacking in some instances, with an overabundance of [Kleer](https://serioussam.fandom.com/wiki/Kleer_Skeleton) and [Marsh Hopper](https://serioussam.fandom.com/wiki/Marsh_Hopper). The second one being particularly annoying to fight. Even though I prefer the more coherent tone and subtler approach to level design compared to the more modern entries, I also believe that gameplay, bestiary, and encounter design have become simply more interesting and less frustrating in the games that follow. ## Serious Sam 4: Reborn https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3028764632 ![[../_site-assets/A Serious return to Sam/SeriousSam4Reborn_2025-10-13_21-50-56_08.jpg]] ![[../_site-assets/A Serious return to Sam/SeriousSam4Reborn_2025-10-13_21-57-41_17.jpg]] After what could feel like a dumb moment in the first encounter, saying that I enjoy the fourth game will make me sound like a madman. But I continue to stand by most of the things I was saying at the time in my review [[The Sam Principle — Serious Sam 4 (2020)]]. I replayed it in co-op, and it was a really enjoyable experience even though all the technical problems the game still has. Setting aside SS4's context, Reborn is a fully fleshed-out campaign mod that feels like a standalone expansion. It introduces new levels and biomes, new weapons, and significant balance changes. Items, sprinting, dual wielding, and the skill tree are all removed. The redesigned weapon roster eliminates secondary fire as SS4 implemented it. Instead, a few select weapons retain secondary fire powered by special ammo that is a single pickup, reminiscent of the return of cartoonish power-ups, replacing SS4's item system. If the mod reverses things I haven’t minded in the SS4; it makes sense in the context of a more compact campaign. It gives the mod a distinct feel even in the framework of the base game. I think what I appreciate the most is the weapon balancing, the archetypes that are present, and how they behave. But more importantly, how the game distributes weapons throughout the game. You don't get proper long-range options for a long time, making the starting revolver and even the rocket launcher your best bet for the first half. No weapon seems unbalanced except the one that is supposed to be, but it's counteracted by really scarce ammo. Just by playing with weapon availability, the game enabled new arenas flavor without that much effort; it's a good trick. There are really tight encounters, and the whole thing is clearly designed for experienced players, making it an interesting challenge for long-time fans. I think this connects to the excellent balance I have been exposed to in my hard playthrough. Reborn, being a mod, it's important not to oversell some points. The variety and quality of levels cannot be compared to an official main release like Siberian Mayhem. The second half feels dragged down, with wave after wave after wave, but in a way that is much less dynamic than modern Doom. You don't have as many action verbs here to play with, and many gameplay situations have already been played at this point. A very Serious Sam problem that is amplified here, which could lead to rapid exhaustion if you play more of Serious Sam alongside like me. The mod is at the edge of what little you could fit into such a runtime. So take it in small doses if you want to have the best experience. Also, don’t forget that you will usually feel the jank even more. Many levels are set at night with poor visibility in base settings. But more damaging, the included platforming section is barely playable with all the collision problems. It's really an odd choice to have put pressure on things that could have been simply ignored. Content that would have been cut in any other context is flooding the game with frustrating and unnecessary sections. Not ruining the pleasure, but hurting it a little bit. ## Serious Sam 2: Renovation https://store.steampowered.com/app/204340/Serious_Sam_II/ ![[../_site-assets/A Serious return to Sam/SeriousSam2Revolution_2025-10-19_01-21-11_014.jpg]] ![[../_site-assets/A Serious return to Sam/SeriousSam2Revolution_2025-10-19_01-46-41_048.jpg]] Serious Sam 2 was the last game I launched, playing it in co-op for the first time, with newly 1.0 [renovation](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/204340/view/520852898086650127) mods. It's the only episode I feel a strong connection with, making it an interesting one to revisit. With [Titan Quest](https://store.steampowered.com/app/475150/Titan_Quest_Anniversary_Edition/), Serious Sam 2 was one of the go-to games installed on an old Windows XP PC that my dad gave to me. The thing was sitting in a mostly empty apartment I came from after school, waiting for my mum to pick me up. **I have memories of being proud to finish the game, something that seems really special when I was a kid, because every game felt bigger and deeper, as I was mostly playing for the sake of playing without acknowledging the progression structure or incentive. Try to beat or finish a game; it feels like the teenage thing to do for me. Quitting the game is the adult thing I do now. Sorry about that. Returning to the topic, what about Serious Sam 2, now that my young days are mostly past?** SS2 is what comes to mind as the most recommendable entry. It feels the shortest and the sweetest, with a large variety of levels that are sorely missing in other entries. Between the 7 acts and weapon resets, vehicles, turrets, bosses, etc., there is a constant flow of novelty. It's not to say that all implementations are perfect, but the standard never drops to the point of bad level that destroys your enjoyment of the game (like the library in Halo: Combat Evolved). SS2 feels relatively frictionless, at a time when it was not the norm. It's an easy game to pick up and enjoy, something that I tend to devalue sometimes, but here I think it makes the series take a better turn, in my opinion. There are really impressive things for a 2005 game with destructive props and large-scale set pieces. It's nice to see the Serious Engine in much better shape than in the future episode; having acceptable FPS, no burning PC, and no visual glitches. What a luxury… Even if SS2 seems commonly remembered for its poor styling choices at the time, it feels ridiculous now considering how the entire series feels ultimately dated in their writing and visual style. More than its style, humor, and more accessible design, SS2 has made series a more original FPS offering rather than a Doom/Quake-like derivative. I think it's also why I appreciate 4 over 3; there is just this extra space on top of the FPS part that feels like a little sandbox that I find comforting to be in. The renovation mod with the recent update adds some welcome comfort options with extended features that fit well into the existing game (mainly dual-wielding and new FX). Playing it in co-op with no instantiated resources and a friendly friend is really chaotic, and I recommend it. You even have a little slider to play with so you can suffer a little more. The online experience is not seamless but ended up working. # What makes Serious Sam strangely charming I see it as a common trope of janky games that have diehard fans. They will explain to you, like lunatics, that the "jank is part of the charm." What a strange thing, when you think about it. Turning junk into daltonistic gold that only a few enlightened individuals can appreciate. Like many Eastern European gamers, I have a warm tenderness for Serious Sam. Even if my feelings at first solely come from the second game, they have grown through more recent entries like 4. I'm the lunatic who will explain to you, why you need to try my broken glasses. Even if I have defended more solid arguments in the previous section on individual games, I think it's important to talk about the bad or “indi” parts that somehow make the whole thing even more valuable to me. ## The Serious Engine All Serious Sam games work on a proprietary in-house engine that has such a unique flavour. The options menu is packed with niche options, absurd sliders that I don't even know why I'm allowed to play with. It's like all these boring base settings in every Unreal game. All the UI is very distinct, starting with the HD version and Talos Principle, and you find the same menu experience across games. You can load any Serious Sam game prior to 4 inside one game with Fusion (that offers one unified modding platform), but you can still load them individually. What a cool project. There is a clear sense that they own a tech and do nerd things with it. I really appreciate seeing custom tech from small or relatively small teams. I know they've switched to Unreal 5 for The Talos Principle 2, so I don't know if they will ever return to Serious Engine now, and I can see why, considering the technical state of the recent Serious Sam entries. Even when broken, I think it's always clear that there is effort and care in their custom tech. That has allowed a modding scene to exist and, for a time, gave a distinctive touch to their games. ## It's obviously handmade I don't think many people have enjoyed the Far Cry Arcade like I did (the community maps browser, editor, and multiplayer of Far Cry 5). One of the things that has always fascinated me about this experience (that obviously Ubisoft let die) was the fact that while playing it, you could see the hand that made it. It's the way assets are cobbled together and reused in creative and unexpected ways, the way scripts are sometimes a little rough but also sometimes incoherent in personality. Secrets and human mistakes or hazardous choices. I have the same feeling when playing Serious Sam games. I have the image of the developers selecting the enemy spawn and the type. Trying to use three assets to make a military base. Everything feels deliberate in the encounter. In modern and over-polished games, there is extra effort made to be seamless, to hide the seams. And that's cool, but sometimes I like when my levels are too big, and there's a drivable tractor hidden in what seems like out-of-bounds territory. It seems like the design intention of everything is transparent, and I find it charming. # Closing After finishing SS2, I'm done with Serious Sam for now. It also brings the realization that I find myself in one of the two groups into which you could divide the Serious Sam player base: the SS2 crew. Even if part of the jank charm has mostly disappeared in The Talos Principle 2, the last Croteam effort, I cannot see it as a bad thing. It's nice to see the studio has successfully overcome the difficult times that transpired in SS4. It is precisely what provokes some curiosity toward any future Serious Sam project. The series as a whole up to this point has been disjointed and without clear closure. Following Serious Sam, Croteam's line of life has made it an important series of games despite the lack of continuity. Serious Sam feels like a lab, and from what we know, from a tech and creative standpoint, it was. Serious Sam is not as stale as it looks, and it's what I like the most about it.