Serious Sam 4

Lore & Background

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. A unit from the Earth Defense Force led by 'Serious' Sam Stone is sent by General Brand to Rome to meet Father Mikhail, who claims to have found clues leading to the Holy Grail, a powerful alien artefact hidden inside the Ark of the Covenant. The team is forced to abandon Rome when it is overrun by Lord Achriman. They retreat to Pompeii, where they trigger an eruption of Mount Vesuvius to disrupt Achriman's air forces. Jones is killed during the mission. Returning to Rome, Sam meets Nonna, who directs him to the Vatican. There he retrieves a book revealing the Grail is in an abandoned church in Carcassonne, France. In Carcassonne, Achriman kills Kenny. Sam defeats and kills Achriman. Father Mikhail finds the Ark contains a golden sceptre with a snake figure (likely Aaron's Rod). General Brand reveals himself as a traitor, transforms into a monster, kills Mikhail, and captures Sam and his team. Sam escapes, obtains a boat, and departs to Tunguska. A future version of Sam provides him a snowmobile. At the superportal, Sam's friends escape Brand. Sam kills Ugh-Zan VI with the artefact and straps Brand to an ICBM launched into the portal, destroying it. Sam indicates their next mission will be in Egypt, leading to Serious Sam 3: BFE. In a post-credits scene, the future Sam visits Nonna with a mission.

In Their Own Story

The desert wind howled, carrying the scent of ozone and blood. Sam adjusted his grip on the double-barreled shotgun, the weight familiar and comforting against his shoulder. Above him, the sky was a bruised purple, torn open by the jagged hulls of Mental's dreadnoughts. A roar echoed from the dunes as a Titan emerged, its massive form shaking the sand beneath Sam's boots. He didn't flinch; he had faced worse, and he would face this too.

Reader's Guide

Gameplay involves fighting massive hordes of enemies in large areas. Enemies attack close range or from a distance. The player can carry an infinite amount of weapons, including shotguns, a minigun, grenade launcher, and sniper. Reloading returns from Serious Sam 3: BFE but is less necessary. The knife from the Encounters replaces the sledgehammer. New additions include a skill tree (progressed by finding Sirian Artefacts of Might, or S.A.M.s), side quests, and gadgets. Only 10 S.A.M.s exist, so the tree cannot be fully filled; skills can be unlearned. Side quests reward items and weapons. Gadgets include support items and offensive ones like crystallised black holes. Weapon mods unlock alternate fire modes. Vehicles play a larger part; multiple levels have the player use vehicles. Players can pilot mechs armed with machine guns and rocket launchers; mechs cannot be exited once entered.

Did You Know?

• The game was originally announced as Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass, but the subtitle was dropped because localizing it to other languages was impossible.
• Development began in October 2012, and a Humble Weekly Sale in June 2013 helped fund the game.
• The 'jammer' feature from playtesting was repurposed into The Talos Principle, released in 2014.
• The game received 'mixed or average reviews' on Metacritic, with scores of 68/100 (Windows), 65/100 (PS5), and 57/100 (Xbox Series X/S); OpenCritic reported 38% of critics recommended it.