Enemy Hordes

Verified Timeline

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, a priest who claims to have found clues leading to the Holy Grail, which he says is a powerful alien artefact hidden inside the Ark of the Covenant. The team is forced to abandon Rome when it is overrun by the army of Lord Achriman. They 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 during the mission. Returning to Rome, Sam meets Nonna, who provides directions to the Vatican. There, Sam 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 defeat Lord Achriman, and Sam kills him personally. Outside the church, Father Mikhail uncovers the Ark and finds a golden sceptre with a snake wrapped around it (likely Aaron's Rod). General Brand then reveals himself 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. Sam escapes by parachute 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's friends have escaped from Brand, and they join a large-scale battle. Brand recaptures Sam and offers both 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 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.

In Their Own Story

The dust settles briefly before the ground trembles again. Sam checks his ammo count, eyes scanning the horizon where the sun beats down on the endless Russian tundra. Then they come: a sea of alien forces spilling from the superportal in Tunguska. The air fills with roars as hundreds of creatures charge. There is no cover here, only the open sky and the relentless push of Mental's army. Sam raises his shotgun, knowing that hesitation means death. He remembers Kenny, killed by Achriman in Carcassonne, and Jones, killed by an alien monster during the Pompeii mission. He fights on, eventually killing Ugh-Zan VI with the golden sceptre and strapping the traitor Brand to an ICBM launched into the portal, destroying it.

Reader's Guide

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 can carry an infinite amount, such as shotguns, a minigun, grenade launcher and sniper. Reloading returns from Serious Sam 3: BFE, but weapons have been adjusted, making this less necessary. The knife from the Encounters returns, replacing the sledgehammer. New additions include a skill tree, side quests, and gadgets. The skill tree is progressed by finding objects called Sirian Artefacts of Might (S.A.M.s). Only 10 S.A.M.s are present within the game, making it impossible to fill out the tree in a playthrough; the player can unlearn a skill, restoring the point and losing the benefits. Side quests are optional objectives that reward items and weapons. Gadgets range from support items that induce temporary buffs to offensive ones such as crystallised black holes that suck up all enemies nearby. Weapon mods unlock alternate fire modes for certain weapons. Vehicles play a larger part than in other entries, as multiple levels have the player use vehicles to traverse environments. Players can also pilot multiple mechs armed with machine guns and rocket launchers; mechs cannot be exited once entered.

Did You Know?

• Development of Serious Sam 4 began in October 2012.
• The game was confirmed in June 2013 via a Humble Bundle sale to help fund it.
• The 'jammer' feature from playtesting was later used in The Talos Principle, released in 2014.
• The game was originally announced as Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass in April 2018.
• The subtitle 'Planet Badass' was dropped because localizing it to other languages was impossible.

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