The Serious Sam franchise started back in 1999, and has since spawned four games. The series is a reminder of what first-person shooters were like before Call Of Duty: World War II. With its age, the game isn’t going to win any awards for graphics or gameplay but it’s got enough nostalgia value to keep you playing
“Serious Sam 4 PC Review” is a review of the new game from the creators of “Serious Sam 3.” The game was released on September 20, 2018. It has a Metacritic score of 74/100.
There was a time when standalone expansions to first-person shooters were commonplace. Consider the Blue Shift in Half-Life or the multiple branch mini-campaigns in Duke Nukem 3D. It’s no surprise, therefore, that Serious Sam, the largest retro series in the FPS industry, is still going strong in 2022.
Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem is a’midquel’ to the events of Serious Sam 4, and it’s noteworthy to note that it wasn’t made only by Croteam, but rather by a group of creative modders. It’s undeniably more Serious Sam, but in a shorter five-chapter format.
This mini-adventure follows Sam Stone as he chases the disloyal General Brand, who has made off with a hazardous extraterrestrial item, over the desolate, frigid wastes of Siberia. Siberia, like the rest of the Earth, is largely occupied by Mental’s alien soldiers, so who better than Sam to leave them all in bloody chunks? The next 5 hours or so are filled with immense bloodshed and devastation over a variety of ice landscapes.
“What’s impressive is that, despite the vastness of the landscapes, the action never stops, giving the game a traditional Serious Sam vibe.”
Each mission takes place on its own large terrain, with Sam having the flexibility to travel the world in quest of surprises and side objectives while still completing a single goal to continue. The game has plenty of reasons to hurl gigantic armies of monsters your way, and supplement that with a wildly exciting weapon set, but it’s fair to say that a number of the missions include a bit too much trekking from point A to point B.
What’s impressive is that, despite the vastness of the landscape, the action never stops, giving a traditional Serious Sam atmosphere. If there’s a little pause in the action, it’s generally leading up to a big shootout that either leaves Sam splattered throughout Siberia or leaves the player sweating miserably in front of a pile of Mental corpses. Your trigger finger is unlikely to acquire an itch whether you’re operating cranes at a train station or prowling about an abandoned rural village.
“Throw in vehicle pieces like the aforementioned mech, a tank, and snowmobiles, and you’ve got yourself a lot of toys to play with.”
It loves to go all out with its Russian motif. Serious Sam isn’t one for subtlety, so it’s no surprise that the game is full of uninspired stereotypical characters and jokes, but it does have the occasional flower bloom from the concept, like when Sam straps into a chainsaw-wielding mech while a super-serious orchestral rendition of the Tetris theme plays to the rhythm of Sam’s chainsaw slicing through Mental like an electric carving knife through the wafer-thin ham.
But, other from the location, what else is new? There are new opponents like the scary sentinel owers, who not only operate as a rocket-barrage terrible time for Mr. Stone and his chums, but also serve as conduits for security barriers that prohibit further advancement until Sam destroys their sporadically guarded core.
Also worth noting is Sam’s ability to add a couple additional weapons to his already extensive armory. A fresh new ‘Perun’ crossbow launches explosive darts over a tremendous distance, but the coolest new addition is obviously the laser cannon, which toasts wide swaths of Mental in seconds, extra crispy style.
Targeted missile attacks to smash an incoming throng with red hot death from above are among the devices that come with that weapon platter. When you add in vehicle components like the aforementioned mech, a tank, and snowmobiles, you’ll have enough of toys to play with during your short but explosive time with Siberian Mayhem.
“A lean and mean addition to the Serious Sam family that tries out a few new toys while keeping the Serious Sam awesomeness”
There are a few puzzles scattered throughout the game that don’t really give many problems (transport item x to place y, press the buttons in the proper sequence, etc. ), but they do at least provide a small respite from the apparently unending firefights. The emphasis is rightfully on delivering the gamer with as much guntactular mayhem as possible.
Siberian Mayhem effectively works as a shortened continuation where the plot doesn’t matter too much for those coming in cold for those seeking a bit more Serious Sam, or possibly discover a shortcut path into the series. Siberian Mayhem is a furious single-player first-person shooting game no matter how you look at it.
Performance
Siberian Mayhem scaled well in my opinion. Even on lesser settings, it runs as smoothly as silk and has enough graphic fidelity to make the firefights entertaining to watch. There was the occasional visible framerate hiccup, but nothing to be concerned about unless you had ridiculously high expectations.
Accessibility
Siberian Mayhem provides motion sickness alternatives, as well as configurable HUD and crosshair sizes, in addition to typical extras like subtitles and the like.
VERDICT OF SIBERIAN MAYHEM, SERIOUS SAM
Serious Sam: Lean and Mean is a lean and mean addition to the Serious Sam family that tries out a few new toys while providing more of the same Serious Sam deliciousness we’ve come to expect. It has the occasional incident of superfluous padding in the form of one too many gunfights, but it maintains a breezy, violent pace throughout.
KEY MOMENT IN THE GAME
Putting on a mech suit and unleashing new levels of destruction.
Good vs. Evil
- Combat on the move
- Weapon additions that are useful
- In general, the tempo is good.
- Endless devastation is broken up by puzzles and surprises.
- There was a bit too much walking for such long distances.
- Characters and gags that are stereotypically Russian
- There’s nothing new here.
- Some of the puzzles are a little too straightforward.
Serious Sam 4 PC Review. Serious Sam is a shooter video game series developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. The fourth entry in the series was released on November 30, 2018 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is the first game in the series to be released on next-generation consoles. Reference: serious sam 4 steam.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Serious Sam 4 better now?
A: I am not sure, but apparently it is now a full on VR game.
Is Serious Sam 4 a good game?
Is Serious Sam 4 difficult?
A: Yes.
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