Serious Sam: Shatterverse
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Critic Reviews for Serious Sam: Shatterverse
Serious Sam: Shatterverse is an incredible pitch which should be a genuine joy to play. However, it's not. The progression is awful, the moment-to-moment gameplay is okay at best, and it's got more than it's fair share of bugs as well. It's just not what it could have been. This is a game that could be saved by patches, and I hope it is, but on release, it's just not fun.
Shatterverse is fun when it manages to enrich its roguelite recipe and the builds finally take direction, but before getting to that point it takes a lot of patience and the willingness to overlook several uninspired elements.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Devolver Digital ended up with a dead game that seemingly no one knows why it was made or who it was even made for - and unsurprisingly, nobody bought it. Honestly, that's probably for the best. The gameplay isn't interesting, the roguelike mechanics are barely there, and playing with fewer than five people is both boring and frustrating.
Review in Russian | Read full review
It’s not exactly the best Serious Sam game out there, but it’s certainly serviceable and an interesting entry in the roguelite space.
Personally, when I look at Serious Sam: Shatterverse as a piece of pure entertainment, the only thing that really let me down is that it just doesn’t have the frequency of true bedlam moments that I like in my Serious Sam titles.
This new Serious Sam offers a side of the franchise we haven't seen before. I seriously doubt whether that is the right direction. You’ve seen the environments at some point, the enemies become very recognizable after a while, and the gameplay is too much of the same to become truly addictive. After quite a few loops, you’ve seen it all pretty quickly. The progression you make slowly but surely is the most attractive aspect of the game, but it is too slow. Co-op is where the game is most fun, and it is practically mandatory to play it. In that regard, however, I would rather see the good old campaign return instead of this roguelite approach that has now been chosen.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Serious Sam is one of those games you can just load up, hit a few rounds of killing aliens, and feel satisfied with what you have achieved. Shoot, punch, heal, kill it’s simple and fun, a great way to end or start your day. The sheer fact that we are still making this type of game in 2026 is just a testament to what a solid community can do when you make something fun. If you’re a fan of the series, this entry will satisfy your inner Sam.
There is nothing inherently wrong with Serious Sam: Shatterverse. It ticks all the boxes. It’s a perfectly serviceable first-person shooter / roguelite hybrid that uses its source material well enough to conjure up a half-decent excuse for a plot, and a varied arsenal of weapons for you to use against hordes of familiar enemies. I guess my main issues with it are how grindy it is, requiring you to play multiple runs before being able to unlock anything worth giving a crap about, and the simple fact that it is yet another roguelite in a sea full of painfully similar competitors.
