Serious Sam 4
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Serious Sam 4 Trailers
Serious Sam 4 -- Launch Trailer
Serious Sam 4 -- Story Trailer
A CLASSIC RETURNS - SERIOUS SAM 4 // CINEMATIC TRAILER
Critic Reviews for Serious Sam 4
Serious Sam 4 still has the spectacle of hundreds of enemies bearing down on you, but its long stretches of run-and-gun shooting quickly become monotonous.
Mowing down thousands of aliens in Vatican City is worth doing at least once.
There is some joy in the cheesy story, almost like watching a B-movie that's so bad it's still entertaining. The experience could have worked as a parody to other shooters, but the poor level design and inconsistent quality smack of missed potential overall. At the very least, four-player co-op is available, and playing with a small group of friends might be just what Serious Sam 4 needs to ascend from 'lackluster' to 'janky-but-lovable.' Unfortunately, with a $40 price tag, most players would be better off buying Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter and The Second Encounter if they want to re-live the glory days of the franchise.
Rushed is basically the best way to sum up Serious Sam 4. In development for around eight years, I imagine the current global pandemic played a big role in how scattershot everything is. At its core, the weapon feel and early level designs aren't bad. There's a solid game buried under these weird choices, but Croteam seems to have shoved it out the door with little finesse.
Serious Sam is looking seriously tired, with a new sequel that makes only the most perfunctory attempt to doing anything new for the franchise or shooters in general.
Technical issues and tired tropes aside, Serious Sam 4 is a largely successful synthesis of the series' disparate identities.
It's a simple review for a simple game, folks. Serious Sam 4 doesn't wildly reinvent the formula; and really, it doesn't need to. There's plenty of room for old school style FPS games in an ocean of looter shooters and games-as-a-service titles.
Serious Sam 4 is a natural evolution for the series. There is nothing groundbreaking here but it is just such silly and extravagant fun to play.
