Serious Sam 4 Reviews
I'm not the world's biggest fan of shooters, but I have a soft spot for Serious Sam. It's partly because it exists to make fun of the rest of the genre, and do so in a colourful, easy-going way such that it's the equivalent of a Sunday morning cartoon. It's also all-action, but in the right way. I find more realistic shooters stressful when I'm being swamped from all sides, but Serious Sam does such a great job with the power fantasy that you'll look at a screen filled with 100 ugly beasties... and wish they had brought friends. I enjoyed getting re-acquainted with Serious Sam earlier in the year with the collection. With Serious Sam 4 I have a game that should have done better on the PlayStation 5 hardware, but is a new favourite shooter anyway.
If you haven’t tried the Serious Sam games, now’s the time. This entry truly starts at the beginning, serving as a great jumping off point for anyone to get acquainted. It’s a return of the classic run’n’gun first-person shooter with some damn funny punchlines, and Croteam gives it new life with a story and improvements all around. Serious Sam 4 is resplendent, with astronomical hordes of enemies to dispatch by devastating and varied weaponry – this is Croteam’s best shooter yet.
An action-packed adrenaline shot to the head that lives up to the rest of the classic FPS series, Serious Sam 4 provides a lot of high-end fun sprinkled with death and destruction.
A fast & furious classic shooter that will have you losing shoes & living with the screams of the Headless Kamikaze echoing in your ears long after you’ve finished playing.
Croteam is still on a roll with Serious Sam. A saga that is limited to facing hundreds of enemies at the same time in the open field and never gets boring. Of course, let's hope that in the fifth installment the crusade of our Sam against Mental advances a few more steps until the inevitable final confrontation.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It may not revolutionize the formula, but the new iteration of the engine allows the game to unleash thousands of enemies at the same time, giving the player levels of chaos and destruction they have rarely witnessed in a video game. I can close an eye on some of the jank when I can blow up dozens of headless kamikazes, with Sam delivering intentionally corny one-liners after, and I suspect other people who grew up on this franchise may be able to do the same.
For those who want a brutally raw retro-styled shooter where constant carnage is the order of the day, Serious Sam 4 will sate the bloodlust of even the most maniacal gamers. Not only that, but it’s genuinely funny and well-written, and the trials and tragedies Sam experiences tugged at my jaded heartstrings far more than I expected them to. Many would not enjoy Serious Sam 4 because gunning down endless waves of slavering aliens and mutants becomes brutally relentless – but if you’re a hardcore shooter purist, that’s exactly what you’re looking for.
Serious Sam 4 keeps its promises and turns out to be a more than average old-fashioned shooter, but don't expect a great deal of innovation, variety or excellent graphics.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I declare myself a fan of Serious Sam. I always have been, and not secretly. Croteam has always had in its hands a product that is based on the purest fun that an FPS can offer, shoot your enemies and enjoy it in the best way. And again, they're still exceptional for it. This fourth installment is a dream come true for many, but it could have been much better, because the technical problems with which this console version has arrived, undoubtedly affect the experience. We know that the differences are obvious, but in this stretch of the end of the year where an incredible shooter like Battlefield 2042 is "the worst" of those that have come out in relation to its technical problems, Croteam is not exactly in a good position.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Joy, cheerfulness and the gleeful sounds of carnage accompany us in the carefree fragfest that is every battle, but still Serious Sam 4 feels old: it's like going back to the nineties without anything having changed. In its simplicity, Serious Sam 4 is the very essence of old school shooters, condensed into a dozen hours of gameplay. It represents first person shooters as they were in the beginning, in the fabulous beauty of their original sin: a bloodthirsty naivety made of exaggerated weapons, alien bits and frenetic battles against unreal hordes of enemies.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you like the idea of running and gunning, feeling well and truly outnumbered but having a chance to defeat the odds then this could well be up your alley. If you require a bit more polish and seriousness (pun semi intended) in your game then this may be more down a dark path.
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 returns to the classic FPS genre in this new prequel full of massacre, high-caliber weapons and short jokes. The classic arrives with the same bases as always and a fun multiplayer mode that will delight fans of the saga and can leave new players somewhat cold.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Serious Sam 4 has done seriously well for a series that hasn’t seen a mainline game in nearly 10 years. Croteam went all out on this one and has filled it to the brim with rewarding gameplay, hidden goodies, and a great soundtrack to boot. Unfortunately, there are a few kinks in this pipe, such as the sub-par story, weird character models and animations, and other gameplay bugs. But no doubt, you’ll only be interested in carving through hundreds, if not thousands, of enemies with a huge arsenal of skills, weapons, and gadgets, and that’s exactly what Serious Sam 4 has done so well.
Serious Sam 4 succeeds where it needs to, and fails where it's not really all that important. An unchanging series that is a must for fans.
Serious Sam 4 is a very good game in an underwhelming package. There's no doubt that the relentless carnage and large levels hit the sweet spot of old-school FPS charm in the solo and co-op modes. It feels good to shoot, dodge and scramble to pick up items at a frantic pace. The various bugs, long load times, and lackluster presentation drag things down significantly. It is well worth playing if you need a classic shooter fix, but be prepared for rough times until a few patches come into play.
Serious Sam 4 offers seriously good old-school action game with plenty of great one liners. However, the vehicles feel really useless and the graphics are weirdly bad.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Despite some (mostly successful) attempts to tweak the formula, this is, at its core, Serious Sam exactly how you remember it.
The truth is, even if 2020 didn’t need Serious Sam 4, it’s here anyway. The game considers loyal fans through it’s added levels of customization while acknowledging new fans with some narrative moments to get to know this insane cast of characters. Some aspects feel dated in the graphics and AI, but when hundreds of enemies are running your way, none of that matters because all you can think about is what weapon you’re going to use to take out the trash.
As a new Sam player, I had a ton of fun in both the single-player and co-op modes. I spilled a lot of sweat reloading the last save-game many times until I barely made it through alive. Finally succeeding in killing all the waves of enemies gives you that thrill of accomplishment that many games strive for but few achieve. The soundtrack is one of the highlights of the game. It works with the action very well except for inconsistent timings. Graphics on the other hand feels outdated, and not even the high-res textures can save it from appearing disappointing.