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 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 remotely use the HAARP complex to trigger an eruption of Mount Vesuvius that disrupts Achriman's air forces. Jones, one of Sam's companions, is killed by an alien monster during the mission. Returning to Rome, Sam meets Nonna, who directs him to the Vatican, where he retrieves a book revealing the Grail is in an abandoned church in Carcassonne, France. In Carcassonne, Achriman kills Kenny, another friend, 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 uncovers the Ark and finds a golden sceptre with a snake wrapped around it. General Brand then appears as a traitor, intending to offer the artefact to Mental. The artefact transforms Brand into a monster who kills Mikhail and captures Sam and his team.

After escaping Brand's transport plane, Sam parachutes to an abandoned oil platform in the Arctic, obtains a boat, and departs to Tunguska. On land, a future version of Sam provides him a snowmobile. At the superportal in Tunguska, Sam finds his friends have escaped and joins a large-scale battle. Brand recaptures Sam and offers him and the artefact to Ugh-Zan VI, 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 launches into the portal, destroying it. After the battle, Sam and his friends celebrate, and Sam indicates 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 he has a mission for her.

Reader's Guide

Gameplay involves fighting massive hordes of enemies in large areas. The player has no weapon limit and can carry an infinite amount, including shotguns, a minigun, grenade launcher, and sniper. Reloading returns from Serious Sam 3: BFE, but weapons are adjusted to make it less necessary. The knife from the Encounters returns, replacing the sledgehammer.

New additions include a skill tree progressed by finding Sirian Artefacts of Might (S.A.Ms), which enables skills like dual wielding any weapon, riding enemies, or using signs as weapons. Only 10 S.A.Ms are present, so the player can unlearn a skill to restore the point. 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 role, with multiple levels using vehicles to traverse environments. Players can pilot mechs armed with machine guns and rocket launchers; mechs cannot be exited once entered.

Did You Know?

• Development began in October 2012.
• The Planet Badass subtitle was dropped because localizing it to other languages was impossible.