Serious Sam 4

 PC
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 341 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 206 out of 341
  2. Mixed: 62 out of 341
  3. Negative: 73 out of 341

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Rtheom
    Sep 26, 2020
    7
    Unfortunately, it's lacks the awesome enemy corridors from previous iterations, which is what I was looking forward to the most, but it kind of makes up for it by creating even more enemy variety than before, and mixing it up nicely to make the battles slightly different each time. Still, I miss the days of standing at the end of a "hallway" and mowing down thousands of enemies allUnfortunately, it's lacks the awesome enemy corridors from previous iterations, which is what I was looking forward to the most, but it kind of makes up for it by creating even more enemy variety than before, and mixing it up nicely to make the battles slightly different each time. Still, I miss the days of standing at the end of a "hallway" and mowing down thousands of enemies all charging at you. That's not to say the battles aren't big, just not as big as I was hoping for. I assume they did this as a trade off for better graphics, which I'm not certain was a worthwhile trade.

    TLDR: Fun, particularly if you're a Sam Fan, but I'd recommend Serious Sam 3 over this.    … Expand
  2. agent13
    Dec 12, 2020
    5
    I played serious sam 1 when i was a kid and i really liked it, it was a very cool and enjoyable game back in early 2000s I didn't play 2 and 3 but I had been waiting for 4 since it was announced and how disappointing it is, the game looks like an early 7th gen game but that's tolerable
    it's story and character design is dull and stupid the enemies also have bad 3d models despite good    I played serious sam 1 when i was a kid and i really liked it, it was a very cool and enjoyable game back in early 2000s I didn't play 2 and 3 but I had been waiting for 4 since it was announced and how disappointing it is, the game looks like an early 7th gen game but that's tolerable
    it's story and character design is dull and stupid the enemies also have bad 3d models despite good designs in the artbook
    surprisingly serious sam 4's gameplay and level design hasn't made much progress since serious sam 1, you just have to fight waves of enemies spawning in a bad order with their 0 AI and that becomes boring very fast I'm glad that the game isn't really long like doom at least this is better than doom.
    overall this game isn't what I hoped that would be I'm not sure if it worths playing    … Expand
  3. Nobilis1984
    Sep 29, 2020
    5
    A relic from ancient times. yes i'm a fan of the first and second part. They were fun but the gameplay was cheap.
    Part 3 was then less good and was boring.
    Now we have part 4 and that looks better, but the old gameplay is so through. Finally lock the game series in the closet and leave it there.
  4. Karlosos
    Sep 29, 2020
    7
    Good for relaxing and playing in the evening. But it would want more. Maybe the DLC could do it.
  5. quickfinger
    Jun 4, 2021
    7
    This is a good game. This game is pure comedy, so it has to been reviewd as such. Despretentious fun with nice grapthics. Serious sam has never been know for its story, so dont hope for such here because its almost non existant. For this one point taken.
    Starts really well, with amazing textures on walls, paitingns, statues etc... but in the middle of the game to the end looks like    This is a good game. This game is pure comedy, so it has to been reviewd as such. Despretentious fun with nice grapthics. Serious sam has never been know for its story, so dont hope for such here because its almost non existant. For this one point taken.
    Starts really well, with amazing textures on walls, paitingns, statues etc... but in the middle of the game to the end looks like developers got sloopy and you will encounter dubious "art" retrated in canvas, horrendous windows at houses among other things. Not to mention repetitive models and randomnize like scenarios at castle phases. Like, passages that leads to nowhere etc... Its almost like if you were dreaming instead of being in a real world fighting aliens. For that one point taken.
    Difficulty is not balanced. I played most part of the game (90%) in hard difficulty, but bosses were so hard that you will have to lower to easy if you inteend to proceeed. For that 1 point taken.
    For the first time serious sam has friends and that was a plus. So far its our avarage serious sam as always. So far this is the best game so far. I recommend if you are a fan or if you LOVE kill a TON of aliens.
    There are better options out there ? Yes there is. But man, this game is fun and graphics are outsanding.    … Expand
  6. Diaboliquin
    Oct 10, 2020
    6
    I don't know how can someone give a 10 to this unpolished mess. Dated graphics but subpar performance, dull gameplay mechanics and level design. Maybe with a few patches this game could be enjoyable.
  7. nitorita
    Dec 23, 2021
    7
    After what was arguably a lackluster installment (BFE), this new addition to the franchise is essentially more of the same, but in a different context. There are some different weapons and monsters as well as the addition of item-based power-ups and a passive upgrade aspect. Croteam has maintained the modern day setting and sprint-based gameplay that was introduced in BFE while adding someAfter what was arguably a lackluster installment (BFE), this new addition to the franchise is essentially more of the same, but in a different context. There are some different weapons and monsters as well as the addition of item-based power-ups and a passive upgrade aspect. Croteam has maintained the modern day setting and sprint-based gameplay that was introduced in BFE while adding some extras.

    This game as a whole felt unpolished and likely rushed, as Croteam did not put in much effort to flesh out the world. There are many areas with absolutely nothing in them, which disincentivizes exploration. Secrets are not all that secret and do not grant you much. Side missions are largely traps that don't reward you with much by the time you finish them. Certain weapons see limited use due to swarming or environmental limitations. Cutscenes are uncanny and jokes are unnaturally forced.

    This game sports graphics that are even less detailed than BFE and are shockingly unoptimized. Croteam could have reused the same engine for BFE and that may have provided an even smoother and likely more aesthetic result. It is jarring to see textures constantly loaded during gameplay, even though the game already takes a lengthy time to load assets before a map begins. The inconsistent lighting and shadows are unpleasant to see. Cutscenes and scope zooming causes your FPS to tank as well.

    Overall a decent installment, but one that strays further from the heart of the Serious Sam franchise. This sequel did manage to keep my attention better than the previous due to its increased difficulty, but it felt like there was no real sense of exploration and that weighed on my enjoyment heavily. It is evident that Croteam is taking a more modern, cliched approach to the series that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.    … Expand
  8. gold
    Jan 22, 2021
    5
    Текстуры подгружаются прямо перед глазами и возобновляется подгрузка как только отварачиваешся. Игра скучнее 3 части.
    Итог: 5.003/10
  9. Kpaxmal
    May 17, 2022
    7
    The game is controversial for evaluation, but I will try to explain in detail the value judgment about this game.

    Background. I bought the game on pre-order, on the first day of release I started playing the game on the "SERIOUS" difficulty level and in 5 days I almost completely completed it, but I could not go through the last chapter, because I went taken to the army. Before I was    The game is controversial for evaluation, but I will try to explain in detail the value judgment about this game.

    Background. I bought the game on pre-order, on the first day of release I started playing the game on the "SERIOUS" difficulty level and in 5 days I almost completely completed it, but I could not go through the last chapter, because I went taken to the army. Before I was completely sent to serve, I watched the end of the game on YouTube. After serving in the army (December 2021) and until April 2022, he did not touch the games, but then he again replayed the game on the "SERIOUS" difficulty and completely passed it in 6 days, provided that came out a lot of updates and fixes were released in this game over the year.

    Plot:
    The alien invasion must be stopped. Briefly and clearly. From part to part, the essence of the incident does not change and it is not explained how they got to the planet (except for the final boss, but this is not the beginning of the game, so he went far and deep). For the first time we see minor NPCs who just sometimes can run after you and for the most part only appear in cutscenes. But honestly, with such graphics and facial animation, it's better not to see cutscenes and it's better to skip them all the time. The characters are almost not revealed, almost everyone looks pretentious and cool in appearance, but you can’t remember at least someone by their characteristic.
    Rating: 6/10

    Graphic arts:
    If you compare part 3 with 4, then there is almost no difference, but optimization ... My computer, although not so powerful (part 3 at high settings 60 fps), but so as not to show stable 60 fps at minimum settings... All the time friezes due to loading, even if you look at the floor. The beginning of the game, where there is a lot of cannon fodder, at low (not minimal) levels, it gives out 60 fps, and in the first chapter, where you start on an empty map, it lags to hell from loading the map and models, which becomes unplayable (sags up to 20 fps). And so these friezes will haunt even on strong cards, processors throughout the game.
    Rating: 4/10

    Sounds:
    The music is top, the sounds match, the voice acting is normal.
    Rating: 10/10

    Gameplay:
    You can mark only new chips that are. Skills that can make the game easier, but don't force them to be used to beat the game. Not many new weapons. 3 new weapons, 3 improvements to old weapons and secondary devices 4. Monsters were also almost not added, bosses with several phases. On 1 map they will give the opportunity to ride a motorcycle and on 2 maps on robots.
    Rating: 7/10    … Expand
  10. Teemuer
    Oct 12, 2020
    7
    Ok Serious Sam game if not taken too seriously and just take it as a good old fashioned shooter.

    Good: - Lots of guns - Skilltree (dual wield and riding some enemies) - Coop - Dry puns - lots of enemies - music is good Bad: - Story - Horrible player models and animations.. - Bad optimization - Level design is stupid and most areas are empty and pointless? - Bosses are    Ok Serious Sam game if not taken too seriously and just take it as a good old fashioned shooter.

    Good:
    - Lots of guns
    - Skilltree (dual wield and riding some enemies)
    - Coop
    - Dry puns
    - lots of enemies
    - music is good

    Bad:
    - Story
    - Horrible player models and animations..
    - Bad optimization
    - Level design is stupid and most areas are empty and pointless?
    - Bosses are easier than most of the enemies.    … Expand
  11. EnigmaXtreme
    Oct 11, 2020
    6
    Serious Sam has been a series that has never taken itself too…well, serious, I played the HD remake of the original on the Xbox 360 several years ago and found it to be an absolute blast. You were just a guy with all the weapons in the world mowing down the craziest designed aliens in the world, there was nothing better than launching a cannonball into a group of those screaming headlessSerious Sam has been a series that has never taken itself too…well, serious, I played the HD remake of the original on the Xbox 360 several years ago and found it to be an absolute blast. You were just a guy with all the weapons in the world mowing down the craziest designed aliens in the world, there was nothing better than launching a cannonball into a group of those screaming headless guys with bombs to their hands.

    This time around he’s even not alone, Sam and his team at the Alien Artifact Acquisition (the other AAA) are in Rome to acquire the Holy Grain which is inside the Arc of the Covenant, which itself is an alien artefact. If that doesn’t make sense to you, don’t worry it doesn’t really get in the way of all the alien killing you’ll be doing. Your team consist of all the cliches, the smooth-talking black guy, the foul mouth gun touting Mexican, the badass women in aviators that the main character has surely done the nasty with and of course, Kenny.

    I have to give major props to your teammates as well because unlike so many other games, they are actually useful during combat. Especially during harrier moments when you seemingly have everything running towards you its nice to know your team will be actually shooting the enemies rather than just randomly all over the place. However, that is really as far as my praise can go because my god this game can CHUG!

    No matter what settings I changed, no matter how low the resolution or presets I set it too, my poor graphics card gets an absolute beating from this title. The game even opens up on fighting a giant horde of monsters reminiscent of the ending of Avengers Endgame and the game will slow down to like 10 frames a second. Thankfully, it cuts away after 30 or so seconds but even then the game’s performance is just pitiful, textures not loading properly, audio cutting out and it just refuses to keep a decent framerate to the point where even just turning can be an exhaustive effort.

    Party of One: Serious Jeff Plays Some Serious Sam 4 - Giant Bomb
    The design of the world and the characters leave much to be desired as well, the enemies look like they were taken right out of the previous Serious Sam released back in 2011 and as for the level design, it honestly just looks like Croteam just copy-pasted levels from The Talos Principle and called it a day. Enemy encounters don’t really change things up and just give us bigger and bigger waves of enemies which, no surprise, makes the framerate chug even worse. It’s bad enough just trying to get a lock on where the Screaming Kamikaze’s are running from thanks to the audio without them blurring together with all the enemy enemies.

    I honestly want to like Serious Sam 4, it has been almost a decade since the last title came out and there are definitely some good points, the characters and story are so bad it’s actually hilarious, especially Kenny who is basically Woody Allen crossed with a wet sock and the weapons do have the right amount of oomph, the way a double shotgun clears an area or mowing down the big guys with dual-wielding chain guns is an absolute dream. But you wake up from that dream quick smart with just how badly the game works, even after a hotfix was released while writing this review did I find the game still not running properly. Admittedly my rig isn’t the newest at the current moment, but a quick glance on the Steam forums show that even people with the latest RTX’s are having serious issues getting this to run.

    Serious Sam 4 may have some potential, but right now I am serious when I say give this game a pass.

    ….yeah I’ll get my things.    … Expand
  12. ProfAmateur
    Oct 29, 2020
    7
    So i played until release 1.05, here's how it was until this point.

    Pros - Weapons and their additional second fire - New simple skillsystem - Plenty vehicles like mowing machine, motorcycle and giant robot - New enemies - Some badass abilities like black hole are really funny - Updates like Halloween Event Cons - Graphic not that bad, but not innovative either - Various    So i played until release 1.05, here's how it was until this point.

    Pros
    - Weapons and their additional second fire
    - New simple skillsystem
    - Plenty vehicles like mowing machine, motorcycle and giant robot
    - New enemies
    - Some badass abilities like black hole are really funny
    - Updates like Halloween Event

    Cons
    - Graphic not that bad, but not innovative either
    - Various visual bugs, even the cutscenes have weaknesses
    - Performance, even with a mediocre PC it is hardly possible to have smooth frame rates
    - Only Story mode, there are no other modes like in the previous serious sam, i really hope they will add it afterwards    … Expand
  13. zulgord
    Sep 30, 2020
    6
    Good game that stays true to what made me love this series. A bit disappointed in some aspects, as in areas I really felt like I was lost and the game would explode on me. Optimization problems did pop up a bit, but it wasn't anything too serious. However overall, I don't feel like this game is any better than the previous titles, in fact in a lot of areas it does fall short compared toGood game that stays true to what made me love this series. A bit disappointed in some aspects, as in areas I really felt like I was lost and the game would explode on me. Optimization problems did pop up a bit, but it wasn't anything too serious. However overall, I don't feel like this game is any better than the previous titles, in fact in a lot of areas it does fall short compared to them. A shame, as it could be a really amazing title.… Expand
  14. matee75
    Sep 15, 2022
    6
    Inconsistent subtitles, long loading screens, buggy and ugly graphics even after two years the release. The soundtracks was one the best things of the game. Unbalanced gameplay.
  15. Dexis
    Nov 11, 2020
    6
    it was good but later there was a bug somehow
    Compared to Serious Sam 3 BFE, Serious Sam 4 is just rushed project

    Bugs i have found
    -Subtitle didn't appear in the right time
    -Texture Load

    I enjoyed the gameplay but just to say this game may filled with bugs
  16. nastyjes
    Aug 17, 2023
    7
    It's still good old Sam. All innovations are good. The return of two-handed shooting, useful alternative shooting modes, various gadgets - all these things fit perfectly into the gameplay. This game is as good as TSE and BFE.
  17. LT_Gruber
    Mar 18, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Serious Sam 4 is still a good game but falls short. It has the same “mixed bag” feeling that I also experienced with Serious Sam 3.

    The story is classic in true Serious Sam style. Mental is invading the earth again and this time, almost conquered it all. Instead of being the almighty hero, like the previous games, you are now part of a resistance movement that opposes Mental’s forces, who have occupied countries all around the world. You need to find “The Holy Grail”, which contains a special weapon to turn the tide. You travel through Rome, France, and meet various characters along the way that accompany you.

    That all sounds fine and dandy, but in a Serious Sam game, you don’t need a team?! You are death itself, blasting everything and everyone in your way to bits. Now, your kills and carnage are being stolen by random NPC’s that travel with you.

    The main reason that I disliked the game so much is the military, Call of Duty style of playing. Sam only talks in Nay Seal slurs, you are in a U.S. Army squad, you talk about “The mission”, it just does not feel like Serious Sam anymore. This was already a big shift in Serious Sam 3, but here, they take it to a whole new level. It is U.S. army simulator 3.0 (oh yeah, with some monsters). I do not want to hear things like FUBAR, hot LZ’s, affirmative, roger that, on your six etc. It is not fitting of a Serious Sam game.

    Serious Sam 4 also tries really, really hard to make you bond with all the characters and new squad mates that it introduced. I cannot explain why, but it does not work. All the characters try too hard to be cool and memorable, but are all empty shells that do not add anything to the game. And then there is the interaction between them and Sam, which is very awkward and cringy most of the times.

    Speaking of Sam, his famous one liners and short, but powerful responses are all gone and replaced with awkward and shallow dialogue in which he tries a mix between being badass but wise, and compelling at the same time. This was already a problem in Serious Sam 3, but in this installment, it got even worse.

    The graphics look beautiful and can be considered next gen. The Ray Tracing, the lighting, the detail, it is all very good. Animations and gib effects look solid. The only problems are the textures that pop in last minute in cut scenes and big areas. The design of the eyes on every character, however, is terrible. They are wide open and look lifeless. It almost looks like every single person in Serious Sam 4 is pumped full of cocaine or speed to forget their troubles.

    The new enemies and weapons are nice and all look good. A lot of original foes are present and completely redone, and some are created specifically for Serious Sam 4. It is a nice mix and a nice addition to the existing roster.

    A big issue in the game are the huge, massive, gigantic, absurdly large maps in which the levels are played. Ninety percent of the map is empty, with nothing to do. You get lost, you feel that you missed a lot of stuff but no, it is just decoration. Many times I searched whole hectares of empty space, just to find out there is really nothing there. I then want to return to the position I need to go, only to find out that I approached it from the wrong side, and need to make a huge hike back to a certain entrance.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 74 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 45 out of 74
  3. Negative: 2 out of 74
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 4, 2021
    60
    Sam lost the last remains of creativity. The result is an ordinary megalomaniacal action with a charismatic protagonist who faces endless hordes of monsters. Shooting is fun, the rest is dusty gray. [Issue#307]
  2. CD-Action
    Dec 18, 2020
    70
    Serious Sam remained true to its legacy and therefore is charmingly archaic – which is not a flaw in this case. It’s easy to point out that side missions are uninspired and fail to provide the diversity they were supposed to introduce, or question the quality of graphics and optimization, but it’s not really that important when burying enemies under piles of bullets is so much fun. [12/2020, p.34]
  3. Cubed3
    Dec 2, 2020
    70
    Croteam has yet to surpass its first two Serious Sam games, with Serious Sam 4 basically being one more entry; one that is great fun, but far from an evolution of the series. The flaws are aplenty, although they are rarely very serious (pun not intended), making this fourthquel more disappointing than bad - because, make no mistake, this is very good. Sure, it's not the best Serious Sam game… but still a Serious Sam game. Fans of serious action will understand.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »