Serious Sam has been a series of shooter games that's hard to ignore ever since its first game was released back in 2001. While the first two games in the series were made in a custom game engine based on the mechanics of Doom, the franchise eventually grew and saw multiple unique interactions, including some from indie developers.
With a new game in the franchise currently in early access and a mod sanctioned by the developers called Serious Sam Origins on the way, there's no better time to take a look at which games in the franchise are the best to play through today. One quick note: While I Hate Running Backwards has levels where players use Sam, as it's not strictly a Serious Sam game, we've left it off this list.
15 Serious Sam: The Greek Encounter
Of all the indie-made Serious Sam games, The Greek Encounter is easily the worst, making it no surprise that it's been mostly forgotten by fans. The top-down shooter only has three stages, sprite-based graphics, and a strange gun system that doesn't allow players to switch back to previous weapons if they switch. It's currently not available to even download or purchase legally, though not many people are looking for it anyway.
14 Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack!
Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack is one of the goofiest games in the Serious Sam Indie Series. Yet, running around without a head and having bombs for hands can only be fun for so long. The game is rather inexpensive, which makes sense for an endless runner game, but many players found the gameplay grew stale a bit too quickly when it was released. There's only so long a game can be fun without some variety thrown in!
13 Serious Sam Advance
Some remember Serious Sam Advance as the worst game in the franchise as it was widely panned by critics, but it has a surprisingly high amount of good user scores across review websites. While it may not be the best Serious Sam game itself, many players found it to be one of the best shooter games to appear on the Game Boy Advance. While there are certainly better Game Boy Advance exclusives, hardcore fans of the series might be able to enjoy this one for a short period of time if they can get over the console's limitations.
12 Serious Sam: The Random Encounter
The Random encounter boldly attempted to combine turn-based RPG gameplay with bullet hell mechanics to mixed results. While some were impressed by the two-man indie development team at Vlambeer for the unique combo, others found the game to be repetitive, boring, and downright monotonous. At least the game only takes a couple of hours to play through which makes it perfect for those curious enough to give it a try.
11 Serious Sam Double D XXL
Another game in the Serious Sam Indie Series, Double D XXL was also met with mixed reviews upon release. While some players adored the extreme difficulty of the game, others considered it to be no more than a reskinned Contra clone.
Its new game plus modes and challenge modes did add a lot of gameplay variety for a simpler budget game which does deserve praise. It also has the signature humor the series is known for making it worthwhile to play for most hardcore fans due to its low price.
10 Serious Sam: Next Encounter
With a majority of Serious Sam games coming out for the PC and Xbox over the years, it's easy to forget one of its spinoffs appeared on the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. Next Encounter contained as many weapons as it did wacky characters — seriously, a scary clown and an Elvis impersonator are playable. Its graphics may have been a bit questionable, but its co-op and multiplayer modes were an utter blast to play. While critics felt mixed on it, gamers embraced Next Encounter with open arms.
9 Serious Sam 4
Serious Sam 4 didn't come out to rave reviews upon release which was reasonable considering it needed a full Christmas update to help with frame rate drops. It's possible that the game facing delays during development as well as having an exclusive deal with Stadia at the time may have contributed to programming issues. While Serious Sam 4 had some great weapons and the kind of ridiculous storyline fans have come to expect from the series, it was met with mixed reviews by those that played it.
8 Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem
While Siberian Mayhem was an expansion to Serious Sam 4, it was also a standalone game on its own that came with many improvements. The game originally began life as a mod but those creating it were hooked up with the developers at Croteam to make it into an official title. With new weapons, interesting skills, and several new levels to explore, it was considered to be a solid update that had higher quality than the original.
7 Serious Sam 3: BFE
BFE may not have brought tons of innovations to the shooter genre, but a game focused purely on decimating enemies, testing reflexes, and blasting through difficult levels was incredibly refreshing when it was released back in 2011. This unique prequel managed to have sixteen-player online play as well as a four-player co-op campaign. Plus, BFE's unbeatable scorpion has become an anti-piracy legend. If its Jewel of the Nile expansion is included, BFE had tons to offer players.
6 Serious Sam 2
Serious Sam 2 was actually the third game in the franchise. Croteam created another brand-new game engine — Serious Engine 2 — alongside the game that was only ever used on this particular title. It allowed programmers to actually edit levels while they were still playing them, which was incredibly unique and impressive.
However, many critics and gamers alike considered the game to just be more of the same upon release. It had most of the same weapons and gameplay that fans of the series had come to expect, which could be a huge positive or a negative depending on who is asked.
5 Serious Sam's Bogus Detour
After game designer Jochum Skoglund put a small Serious Sam Easter egg into Crackshell's Hammerwatch, the company was asked to try and make a game for the franchise and delivered in spades. The game was brutally difficult and chaotic in the best way and the four-player online co-op mode made it even wilder. Not to mention it had a survival mode, a versus mode, and a full-on game editor that allowed players to make incredible custom content.
Bogus Detour was by far one of the best games in the series not created by Croteam themselves.
4 Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope
Serious Sam in VR was a phenomenal next step for the series. Being able to feel truly immersed while blasting the series' signature enemies with ridiculous weapons is an absolute blast. The Last Hope was extremely popular with critics and gamers alike, making it one of the best modern games in the franchise.
Eventually, other games in the series would become VR compatible due to how successful it was including The First Encounter, The Second Encounter, and BFE.
3 Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
The intense fun factor of The Second Encounter made it stand out among all the realistic WWII shooters that were all the rage back in 2002. It built upon the extremely popular first title with stronger level design. With a deeper knowledge of the Serious Engine that was created specifically for the series, the Croteam programmers really brought something exciting to the table.
While some may criticize it for being nothing but frenzied shooting with wild physics, it contains a special charm that cannot be denied.
2 Serious Sam: Tormental
Serious Sam: Tormental is currently in early access on Steam and has been met with extremely positive reviews. The general flavor of the franchise works well as a rogue-lite and its signature Serious Sam levels of difficulty will make anyone with twin-stick shooter skills be on the edge of their seats. Tormental was also nominated for several awards as well back when it first premiered in 2017 which is a testament to its quality.
1 Serious Sam: The First Encounter
It's hard to find a game better than the first. Even after all these years, The First Encounter still holds up today, especially with its HD and VR remakes. Blowing up aliens in 3000 B.C. Egypt is just that satisfying! It feels like everything the original Doom wanted to be but brought to a whole new level. If any fans of the series have somehow missed out on the original, they should make sure to fix that ASAP!