Serious Sam 4

Last updated

Serious Sam 4
Serious Sam 4.jpg
Developer(s) Croteam
Publisher(s) Devolver Digital
Director(s) Davor Hunski
Producer(s) Davor Hunski
Designer(s)
  • Davor Hunski
  • Davor Tomičić
Writer(s)
Composer(s) Damjan Mravunac [1]
Series Serious Sam
Platform(s)
Release
  • Windows, Stadia
  • 24 September 2020
  • PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
  • 7 December 2021
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Serious Sam 4 is a 2020 first-person shooter developed by Croatian studio Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It is part of the Serious Sam series and a prequel to Serious Sam 3: BFE . The game was announced in April 2018, originally as Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass, was released in September 2020 for Microsoft Windows and Stadia, followed by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S ports in December 2021. A standalone expansion, Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem , was released in January 2022. [2]

Contents

Gameplay

As in other entries in the series, Serious Sam 4 involves fighting against massive hordes of enemies in large areas. Enemies either attack close range or from a distance.

The player does not have a weapon limit, and is able to carry an infinite amount, such as shotguns, a minigun, grenade launcher and sniper. Reloading returns from Serious Sam 3: BFE, but the weapons have been adjusted, making this less of a necessity. The knife from the Encounters returns, replacing the sledgehammer.

Many new additions are present in Serious Sam 4, mainly a skill tree, side quests and gadgets. The skill tree, which is progressed by finding objects called Sirian Artefacts of Might (S.A.Ms), can enable multiple skills such as dual wielding any weapon, riding enemies or using signs as weapons. Only 10 S.A.Ms are present within the game, making it impossible to fill out the tree in a playthrough, and as such the player can unlearn a skill, restoring the point and losing the benefits of the skill. Side quests are optional objectives that reward the player with items and weapons. Gadgets are smaller items which range from support items that can induce temporary buffs to the player to offensive ones such as crystallised black holes that suck up all enemies nearby. Another addition are weapon mods, which unlock alternate fire modes for certain weapons.

Vehicles play a larger part in the game than other entries, as multiple levels have the player use vehicles to traverse some environments. Players can also pilot multiple mechs that appear throughout the game, which are armed with machine guns and rocket launchers. Unlike other vehicles, mechs cannot be exited once entered.

Plot

An unknown amount of time before the events of Serious Sam 3: BFE, a massive portal opens in Tunguska, Russia which serves as a bridgehead for Mental's forces to invade Earth. As the whole planet scrambles to repel the alien invasion, a unit from the Earth Defense Force led by "Serious" Sam Stone is sent by General Brand to Rome to meet Father Mikhail, a priest who claims to have found some clues leading to the Holy Grail, which, according to him, is a powerful alien artefact hidden inside the Ark of the Covenant that may aid them against the invasion. However, the team is forced to abandon the city when it is overrun by the army of Lord Achriman, one of Mental's generals. In order to get back to the city, Sam and his companions retreat to Pompeii, where they remotely use the seismic capabilities of the HAARP complex to trigger an eruption on Mount Vesuvius that disrupts Achriman's air forces. Jones, one of Sam's companions, is killed by one of the alien monsters during the mission.

Upon returning to Rome, Sam meets a gun-toting old lady called Nonna who provides him directions to the Vatican, which Father Mikhail believes contains the next clue to the Grail. There, Sam retrieves a book that reveals the Grail is located in an abandoned church in Carcassonne, France. In Carcassonne, Sam is confronted by Achriman, who kills Kenny, another one of Sam's friends, in front of him before fleeing. With help from the local resistance, Sam and his friends arrive at the church and defeat Lord Achriman, whom Sam kills personally to avenge Kenny. Outside the church, Father Mikhail begins to express doubt that the Grail is really what is hidden inside the Ark of the Covenant. When Mikhail uncovers the Ark, he finds that it actually contains a golden sceptre with the figure of a snake wrapped around it (likely Aaron's Rod). General Brand then appears and reveals himself as a traitor, intending to offer the artefact to Mental to earn his favour. The artefact transforms Brand into a monster who kills Mikhail and captures Sam along the rest of his team.

After awakening inside Brand's transport plane, Sam escapes by parachute to an abandoned oil platform in the Arctic where he obtains a boat and departs to Tunguska in pursuit of Brand. On reaching land, Sam is assisted by a version of himself from the future who provides him with a snowmobile before departing. At the site of the superportal in Tunguska, Sam finds that his friends have also escaped from Brand and joins them in a large-scale battle between the EDF and the alien forces. Brand recaptures Sam and offers both him and the artefact as gifts to Ugh-Zan VI, one of Mental's most powerful warriors, but the alien rejects him. With help from his friends, Sam kills Ugh-Zan VI with the artefact and straps Brand to an ICBM that the team then launches into the portal, destroying it.

After the battle, Sam and his remaining friends celebrate while remembering their lost companions. Sam indicates that their next mission will be in Egypt, leading to the events of Serious Sam 3: BFE. In a post-credits scene, the future Sam visits Nonna to tell her that he has a mission for her.

Development

Development of Serious Sam 4 began in October 2012. [3] The game was confirmed in June 2013, when the website Humble Bundle launched a "Humble Weekly Sale" containing several past games from the Serious Sam series to help fund the game. [4] [5] While playtesting the game's "jammer" feature—a movable device that could disable objects in a certain radius—the development team devised that this component and further prospective mechanics would better fit a different type of game, which was developed as The Talos Principle and released in 2014. [6] [7] In September 2015, The Talos Principle co-writer Jonas Kyratzes and his wife, Verena, were announced as the screenwriters for Serious Sam 4. [8]

Serious Sam 4 was announced under the name Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass in April 2018, during the opening of the Reboot Develop 2018 conference in Croatia, with a teaser trailer. [9] One level was demonstrated behind closed doors at E3 2018 that June. [10] [11] At the time, the game was planned to launch in 2019. [11] In May 2020, Serious Sam 4 was re-announced without the Planet Badass subtitle and with a release window of August 2020 for Microsoft Windows and Stadia. [12] [13] According to developers, the Planet Badass title, which had borne out from the game's plot of a few Earthlings fighting against invading forces, was dropped as localizing this part of the title to other languages was impossible to do. [14]

The game was later delayed to 24 September. [15] Devolver Digital stated that, due to an exclusivity deal with Stadia, versions for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One had been postponed to early 2021. [12] [16] However, according to Croteam's communications manager Daniel Lucic, the game was not set for release on those consoles and never had been. He attributed the error to a misunderstanding. [17] The game was released for Xbox Series X/S (including via Xbox Game Pass) and PlayStation 5 on 7 December 2021. [18] [19]

Reception

Serious Sam 4 received "mixed or average reviews", according to review aggregator website Metacritic. The site calculated normalised ratings of 68/100 for the Microsoft Windows version, 65/100 for the PlayStation 5 port, and 57/100 on Xbox Series X/S. [20] [21] [22]

Related Research Articles

<i>Serious Sam: The First Encounter</i> 2001 video game

Serious Sam: The First Encounter is a 2001 first-person shooter game developed by Croteam and published by Gathering of Developers. It is the first in the Serious Sam series. The game follows the soldier Sam "Serious" Stone, who is sent back in time to ancient Egypt in 1378 BCE to uncover information about the technologically advanced civilisation of the Sirians that could help humanity survive the attacks of extraterrestrial forces in the 22nd century. As Sam, the player traverses linear levels, either enclosed or set on open plains, and battles increasingly large waves of enemies with an expanding arsenal. During gameplay, the player can pick up new weapons and replenishment for ammunition and health, as well as review strategic information. In multiplayer, the game has two deathmatch modes and cooperative play for the single-player campaign.

<i>Serious Sam: The Second Encounter</i> 2002 video game

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter is a 2002 first-person shooter game developed by Croteam and published by Gathering of Developers. It is the successor to Serious Sam: The First Encounter and the second game in the Serious Sam series. Taking place immediately after The First Encounter, it follows the soldier Sam "Serious" Stone, whose spaceship crashes back to Earth on his way from ancient Egypt to Sirius, requiring him to seek the Holy Grail to continue his journey. As Sam, the player traverses linear levels, either enclosed or set on open plains, and battles increasingly large waves of enemies with an expanding arsenal. The gameplay builds on that of The First Encounter while adding additional weapons, more enemy types, and platforming elements, and additionally contains the Seriously Warped Deathmatch mod by A Few Screws Loose.

Croteam is a Croatian video game developer based in Zagreb. The company was established by Davor Hunski, Damir Perović, Roman Ribarić and Dean Sekulić, four former classmates, in late August 1992. Croteam is best known for Serious Sam, a series of first-person shooters introduced with Serious Sam: The First Encounter in 2001. The company also developed the 2014 puzzle game The Talos Principle and its 2023 sequel The Talos Principle 2. Croteam employed approximately 40 people in 2020 and was acquired by its long-time publishing partner Devolver Digital in October that year.

<i>Serious Sam 2</i> 2005 video game

Serious Sam 2 is a first-person shooter video game released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox and the sequel to the 2001 video game Serious Sam. It was developed by Croteam and was released on 11 October 2005. The game was initially published by 2K Games, a Take-Two Interactive subsidiary. The game was later made available on Steam on 31 January 2012. While the game was originally released only for Microsoft Windows and Xbox, an unofficial Linux version of the game was created and is being handled by Linux Installers for Linux Gamers.

<i>Serious Sam 3: BFE</i> 2011 video game

Serious Sam 3: BFE is a first-person shooter video game developed by Croatia-based indie development studio Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It is part of the Serious Sam series and the prequel to the 2001 video game, Serious Sam. The game takes place in 22nd-century Egypt, during Mental's invasion of Earth, as implied in The First Encounter. The game features a 16-player online, as well as a 4-player splitscreen co-op campaign mode. The game was first released for Microsoft Windows on 22 November 2011. The OS X support for the game followed shortly after and was released on 23 April 2012. The Linux version of the game started being worked on after a high number of requests, where the first Linux-related update was the porting of the game's dedicated server. The game itself, however, was released one day after Valve opened the beta branch for "Steam for Linux", namely on 20 December 2012.

<i>Serious Sam</i> Video game series

Serious Sam is a video game series created and primarily developed by Croteam. It consists predominantly of first-person shooters. The series follows the advances of mercenary Sam "Serious" Stone against Mental, an extraterrestrial overlord who attempts to destroy humanity at various points in time. The first game, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, was released for Microsoft Windows in March 2001. Several spin-offs were developed by other developers, such as a Palm OS conversion of The First Encounter by InterActive Vision, Serious Sam: Next Encounter by Climax Solent, and Serious Sam Advance by Climax London. All three were published by Global Star Software.

<i>Serious Sam: The Random Encounter</i> 2011 video game

Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is a 2011 role-playing and bullet hell game developed by Vlambeer and published by Devolver Digital. It follows Sam "Serious" Stone travelling to the future in search of his nemesis, Mental, teaming up with mercenaries on the way. The player controls Sam and his accomplices through confined levels, engaging in battles through random encounters. These pit the player characters against large waves of enemies, and the player controls the weapons and items each character uses against them in five-second turns.

<i>Serious Sam Double D</i> 2011 video game

Serious Sam Double D is a 2011 side-scrolling shooter game developed by Mommy's Best Games and published by Devolver Digital. The game follows Sam "Serious" Stone traveling through various historical settings to destroy the horde of his nemesis, Mental, and its teleportation beacons. As Sam, the player navigates 2D levels and can use the "gun stacker" to create vertical stacks of up to six weapons that are fired simultaneously. Enemies appear from all sides and their corpses can be used as platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devolver Digital</span> American video game publisher and film distributor

Devolver Digital, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games. The company was founded in June 2009 by Nigel Lowrie, Harry Miller, Graeme Struthers, Rick Stults, and Mike Wilson, five executives who had been involved with Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, which published games on developer-friendly terms, but due to the high cost associated with releasing retail games saw themselves acquired and dissolved by larger companies. To avoid this, Devolver Digital instead turned to digital distribution channels.

<i>The Talos Principle</i> 2014 puzzle video game

The Talos Principle is a 2014 puzzle video game developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It was simultaneously released on Linux, OS X and Windows in December 2014. It was released for Android in May 2015, for PlayStation 4 in October 2015, for iOS in October 2017, for Xbox One in August 2018, and Nintendo Switch in December 2019. Virtual reality-enabled versions for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive were released on 18 October 2017. A DLC entitled Road to Gehenna was released on 23 July 2015.

<i>The Talos Principle 2</i> 2023 video game

The Talos Principle 2 is a puzzle-adventure video game developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. A sequel to The Talos Principle (2014), the game was released for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S in November 2023 to generally positive reviews.

<i>Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope</i> 2017 video game

Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope is a 2017 first-person shooter game for virtual reality (VR) developed by Croteam VR and published by Devolver Digital. One or two players fight waves of enemies, including bosses, across five thematic planets. The enemies approach from a 180° field and the player can use dual-wielded weapons while moving across a limited space. To develop The Last Hope and experiment with other VR implementations, Croteam VR was established as a specialised division of Croteam. Devolver Digital announced the game at E3 in June 2016 and launched it in early access that October. After several updates, it was released in September 2017 for Windows with compatibility for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift VR headsets. The Last Hope received mostly positive reviews, with post-release reception lauding the game's gameplay and visuals while criticising difficulty spikes and issues with the online multiplayer mode.

<i>Deliver Us the Moon</i> 2018 video game

Deliver Us the Moon is an adventure-puzzle game video game developed by Dutch game development studio KeokeN Interactive. It was first self-published as Deliver Us the Moon: Fortuna for Windows on September 28, 2018. The game later saw an expanded release on October 10, 2019, with Wired Productions serving as the publisher for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions on April 24, 2020. The game was released for Google Stadia on June 1, 2022. The game was also released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on June 23, 2022. Deliver Us the Moon was marketed as a science fiction thriller set in an apocalyptic near future; the game follows a lone astronaut who is sent to the moon on a mission to avert humanity's fate towards extinction after Earth's natural resources have been depleted. The original and re-released Windows versions released in September 2018 and October 2019, respectively. The Windows and PlayStation 5 versions were met with mixed reviews, while the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were met with more positive reviews by video game publications.

<i>Serious Sams Bogus Detour</i> 2017 video game

Serious Sam's Bogus Detour is a 2017 twin-stick shooter game developed by Crackshell and published by Devolver Digital. One to four players traverse levels set in Egypt, Greece, and on the Moon, collecting weapons to be used against waves of enemies placed throughout the open areas. Character upgrades can be purchased using stars, which can be found within levels or obtained through experience points gained by killing enemies. Deathmatch and survival modes can be played with up to twelve players.

<i>I Hate Running Backwards</i> 2018 video game

I Hate Running Backwards is a 2018 shoot 'em up game developed by Binx Interactive and published by Devolver Digital. One or two players traverse procedurally generated levels using several characters, including Sam "Serious" Stone, the protagonist of the Serious Sam series. The screen scrolls vertically as the player character runs backwards through a partially destructible environment and battles enemies approaching from the bottom of the screen. The player can use two weapons, a melee attack, and an "ultimate" ability that requires the prior defeat of several enemies.

Typhoon Studios Inc. was a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal. It was founded by Alex Hutchinson, Yassine Riahi, and Reid Schneider in early 2017 and acquired by Google in December 2019, becoming part of Stadia Games and Entertainment (SG&E). After releasing its first game, Journey to the Savage Planet, in 2020, Typhoon Studios was shut down alongside SG&E in February 2021.

<i>Journey to the Savage Planet</i> 2020 video game

Journey to the Savage Planet is a 2020 adventure game developed by Typhoon Studios and published by 505 Games. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on January 28, 2020, followed by a Nintendo Switch port on May 21, 2020, and a Stadia version on February 1, 2021. An upgraded version of the game titled Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee of the Month Edition for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S was released on February 14, 2023.

<i>Serious Sam: Tormental</i> 2022 video game

Serious Sam: Tormental is a 2022 twin-stick shooter and rogue-lite game developed by Gungrounds and published by Devolver Digital. One or two players traverse procedurally generated levels across several stages set in the mind of Mental, the antagonist of the Serious Sam series. They use two weapons each, of which the primary weapon can be enhanced through "mods" found throughout the game. The unlockable player characters can perform dodge rolls and a unique special ability. Upon the player character's defeat, the player is reset to the start of the game. After completing all stages, the players can use black keys to unlock power-ups from a vault. The stages then loop with increasing difficulty.

<i>Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem</i> 2022 video game

Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem is a 2022 first-person shooter game developed by Timelock Studio and Croteam, and published by Devolver Digital. A standalone expansion to Serious Sam 4, the game was released on 25 January 2022 for Windows, and on 6 October 2022 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

References

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  2. ↑ O'Connor, Alice (10 January 2022). "Serious Sam shoots through Siberia in a standalone expansion this month". Rock Paper Shotgun . Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
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  4. ↑ Savage, Phil (7 June 2013). "Serious Sam 4 to be funded through the seriously good Humble Weekly Sale". PC Gamer . Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
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  6. ↑ Wawro, Alex (2 March 2015). "Reactive game dev: How Serious Sam 4 became The Talos Principle". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
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  8. ↑ Chalk, Andy (25 September 2015). "The Talos Principle writer signs up for Serious Sam 4". PC Gamer . Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
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  10. ↑ Gach, Ethan (19 June 2018). "Serious Sam 4 Is Aiming For 100,000 Enemies On Screen At Once But It's Not There Yet". Kotaku . Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  11. 1 2 Singletary, Charles Jr. (22 June 2018). "Serious Sam 4 Interview: First Encounters of the Badass Kind". Shacknews . Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  12. 1 2 Fingas, Jon (20 May 2020). "'Serious Sam 4' arrives on PC and Stadia in August". Engadget . Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
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  17. ↑ Lucic, Daniel [@danny_hr] (15 September 2020). "SS4 won't be available on PS4 or Xbox One. It was never supposed to. (...) not necessarily fake news, more of a misunderstanding" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022– via Twitter.
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  19. ↑ Tailby, Stephen (7 December 2021). "Serious Sam 4 Launches on PS5 Today, Looks Utterly Ridiculous". Push Square . Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
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  21. 1 2 "Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  22. 1 2 "Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
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