Serious Sam: The Random Encounter
- October 24, 2011
- Croteam
Get on Steam"Serious Sam: The Random Encounter" is a turn-based RPG set in the Serious Sam universe. The game features fast-paced combat against hordes of enemies, retro-style graphics, and a blend of humor and action. Players control a team of characters with unique abilities, navigating through randomly generated levels to defeat the ultimate boss.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique blend of turn-based RPG mechanics and bullet-hell gameplay, providing an interesting twist on the Serious Sam franchise.
- The retro pixel art style and soundtrack are enjoyable, capturing the essence of classic games.
- The humor and self-aware dialogue add a fun element to the experience, making it entertaining for fans of the series.
- The game is plagued by technical issues, including frequent crashes and poor performance on modern systems, making it frustrating to play.
- It is very short, with a playtime of around 1-2 hours, and lacks depth and replayability, especially with no leveling system or meaningful progression.
- The combat can feel random and unbalanced, leading to frustrating encounters where players may feel they have little control over the outcome.
- gameplay125 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this title is a unique blend of JRPG mechanics and bullet-hell action, offering a fresh but often frustrating experience due to poor balance and repetitive mechanics. While some players appreciate the originality and humor, many criticize the lack of content, uneven difficulty, and a general feeling that the game is not fully fleshed out. Overall, it presents an interesting concept that struggles to deliver a satisfying gameplay experience.
“The idea is great; shmup mechanics totally fit the Serious Sam universe, while familiar monsters from Serious Sam games, together with familiar weapons, add both fun and tactical variety.”
“This time we witness a monstrous hybrid between JRPG games (the world map), bullet-hell (actual gameplay), TBS (your characters take turns but not the enemy), and all of this accompanied by our worst enemy - the RNG god.”
“The challenge the devs set themselves was to combine Serious Sam gameplay with its polar opposite gameplay type (turn-based RPG) and make it work.”
“Poor balance, frustrating mechanics, and a lack of serious action make this one spin-off that didn’t need to happen.”
“The gameplay is uninspired, and comes across as an idea that wasn't fully fleshed out before being tossed out the door with minimal concern for balanced weapon selection.”
“In a few words, it's boring; the problem mostly comes from its gameplay mechanics, it's just bland and boring.”
- graphics47 mentions
- 49 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a retro, pixel art style that some players find charming and fitting for the franchise, while others criticize it as simplistic or lacking depth. Overall, opinions are mixed; many appreciate the colorful and cartoonish aesthetic, but some feel it falls short of expectations, describing it as "soulless" or "not astonishing." Despite the varied reactions, the graphics are generally seen as enjoyable within the context of the game's mechanics and pricing.
“+ nicely-drawn pixel art graphics and great cartoon art style that fits Serious Sam perfectly”
“+ awesome graphics”
“+ retro style graphics and music/sound fx”
“Wow...where was my graphics? The pixel crap was really bad.”
“This sounds simple (and looks simple thanks to the 16-bit style graphics), yet somehow the developers of Nuclear Throne still managed to mess everything up.”
“Speaking of style, I’d like to touch on the art style for a short while because I (like many others) am a huge fan of pixel art styles in games, but here it’s not exactly terrible, just feels kinda soulless and I don’t know why.”
- music44 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its charming, retro-style soundtrack reminiscent of GBA games, while others find it repetitive or strange. Some users noted that the music enhances the overall experience, despite occasional technical issues like looping sound effects. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a redeeming quality, contributing positively to the game's aesthetic.
“+ excellent GBA-style soundtrack”
“I really enjoyed the music while I played the game!”
“I think if it wasn't for somewhat decent music, I'd have said this game has no redeeming qualities.”
“I open the game up expecting Vlambeer's trademark poor programming and wasn't disappointed: [i]SS: The Random Encounter[/i] [spoiler]as experienced by Anne Frank on August 4, 1944[/spoiler] constantly freezes for multiple seconds at a time while looping Sam's screaming instead of music.”
“Some of it (especially the drumming) sounds like MIDI, and the rest is simply synth-based music.”
- humor32 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of goofy, tongue-in-cheek elements that capture the essence of the Serious Sam series, though it often falls flat compared to expectations. While there are funny moments and clever dialogue, many reviewers note a lack of substantial jokes and a reliance on cheesy humor. Overall, the game is seen as entertaining with its unique blend of mechanics and humor, but it may not fully satisfy those seeking the depth of comedy found in other titles.
“And is a hilariously on-point demake that captures the essence of the classic Sam games.”
“+ goofy but funny tongue-in-cheek trademark humor.”
“Take the ironically hyper-serious series, make it a turn-based RPG, but make it look, feel, and play almost entirely as a side-scrolling shooter, and you've got a recipe for one hilarious adrenaline rush.”
- stability24 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent crashes, freezes, and glitches that can lead to lost save data. Players report that the game is often unplayable, with some experiencing freezes at the splash screen and others having to restart entire acts due to bugs. Overall, the game's stability is a major concern, detracting from the experience and requiring urgent patches.
“Also sometimes the game crashes - in worst cases, it freezes so you need to kill the process by task manager and in even worse scenarios - the game deletes your saves.”
“I can't get this to work; it just freezes at the splash screen.”
“You know what, as much as I try to get positive fun out of games, this one is too broken to tolerate glitches and must be shamed until patched.”
- story18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The story in the game is criticized for being overly simplistic and underdeveloped, with a runtime of less than two hours that fails to support a larger campaign. While the familiar Serious Sam plot elements and fun action are appreciated, the overall presentation is deemed cheap, and the scripted RPG format limits player engagement with the world. Many players feel that the narrative does not effectively integrate with the gameplay, resulting in a lackluster experience.
“The story is simple, the action is fun and there are plenty of enemies to contend with.”
“They succeeded, but the result wouldn't be good enough to support a large campaign, hence the tiny length of the main 'story' mode here.”
“The plot is what we all know and love from Serious Sam games.”
“The main story is very short, taking less than 2 hours to complete.”
“Keep in mind this is a scripted RPG, so there are no shops, no 'real' overworld, and every item or weapon you acquire is part of the rigidly scripted story, which is underwritten even for a Serious Sam game.”
“The plot is a joke and fails to deliver a compelling narrative.”
- replayability9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is hindered by its repetitive battles and lack of meaningful incentives, such as achievements or additional content, which diminishes the motivation for players to revisit it. While the randomness of encounters and a well-designed combat system provide some value, the overall experience is considered too short and lacking depth to sustain long-term engagement.
“Another thing which I’d like to point out (even though I’m sure it’s more of a personal thing) is the obvious lack of achievements for this game since there are none at all and that (for me at least) really hinders and takes away from all of the replayability that this game could have had.”
“It really has a nice idea of having a shooter combined with a JRPG system, only to not develop it any deeper or have any good replayability.”
“This also has a big impact on its replay value, because without featuring any kind of achievements or incentives (like extra content), a typical user will not want to have another go at it just for sheer fun.”
“Another thing which I’d like to point out (even though I’m sure it’s more of a personal thing) is the obvious lack of achievements for this game since there are none at all, and that (for me at least) really hinders and takes away from all of the replayability that this game could have had.”
“The battles are repetitive, sure, but that’s the whole point of the experience, I guess, the randomness of the encounters, which are supported, actually, by a well-made combat system that makes the game worthy of notice (probably the only truly good thing) and gives to the product the value of replayability (since the game is short, way too short for that price), although in my opinion, even the replayability isn't as great as it sounds for this game.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to unavoidable damage, underpowered weapons, and tedious battles that require memorization of paths. The poorly designed lives system exacerbates the issue by forcing players to replay multiple encounters before facing bosses again, making the grinding feel unrewarding, especially in later levels.
“Memorizing paths through levels and bosses is extra tedious thanks to the bizarrely misplaced lives system, kicking you back to the start of the room (read: behind 5+ pointless fights) before you can slump back to the boss to keep learning their patterns.”
“And in later levels, the grinding is not worth it.”
“Seriously, if unavoidable damage, underpowered weapons, and tedious battles are a turn-off, you’d best look elsewhere for your sam fix.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is notably poor, contrasting sharply with the smooth performance typical of mainline Serious Sam titles, where players experience seamless gameplay while facing off against enemies.
“It's the antithesis of mainline Serious Sam games, where performance is buttery smooth and Sam's enemies are the ones screaming.”
