Today, after being delayed at least once, the long-awaited Serious Sam 4 is finally released on Google Stadia and Steam for $39.99. Taking place before the events of Serious Sam 3: BFE, the last remaining members of the Earth Defense Force, led by Sam “Serious” Stone and his heavily-armed squad of misfit commandos, have to face the full force of Mental’s alien hordes. It’s time to make these nasty aliens pay.
The series is known as a “horde shooter” where you have to dispatch and manage dozens or hundreds of enemies at the same time. To amplify that image, this time around Croteam is said to be utilizing a new feature called the ‘Legion System‘ that allows them to field hundreds of thousands of enemy AI in one map instead. Although a prequel, Serious Sam 4 won’t just feature the classic cast of enemies such as Beheaded Rocketeer, Khnum, Werebull, Headless Kamikaze, and Kleer. It’ll also include brand new horrific monsters like the frantic Processed, repulsive Belcher, the hard-hitting Brute Zealot, and more.
All the new aliens look great but I still can’t get over imagining being chased by 100,000 Headless Kamikazes or Kleers. Or 50,000 of both. Too serious for me.
Unfortunately, multiplayer fans might get a bit disappointed by this entry. Unlike other Serious Sam games, it’s been said that Serious Sam 4 won’t feature online PVP multiplayer and survival at launch. They will be added in post-launch instead. While co-op is also coming back, it will only have four-player co-op, no 16 player co-op, and there’s no confirmation whether split-screen will return or not. Still, Croteam said the game has extra challenges in the form of side quests with modified difficulties for you and your friends to play around with.
