Serious Sam: Tormental

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76%Audience ScoreBased on 137 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

Fun and challenging top-down twin-stick shooter with roguelite elements and solid core gameplay mechanics.
Wide variety of weapons, perks, and characters with unique abilities, providing gameplay depth and replayability.
Charming art style and catchy music that fit the Serious Sam theme with humorous writing and engaging boss fights.

Repetitive level design with the same bosses and limited enemy variety, reducing run diversity and overall depth.
High difficulty and punishing mechanics with no save or quit options mid-run, leading to frustration for many players.
Visuals and controls occasionally feel clunky or under-polished, with performance issues when too many effects occur on screen.

gameplay
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
69%
8%
The gameplay of Serious Sam: Tormental is a fast-paced, punchy roguelite twin-stick shooter with solid mechanics like melee, dodging, and environmental interactions that add depth and challenge. While some find it repetitive or frustrating due to basic controls and cramped spaces, many appreciate its rewarding risk-reward systems, weapon variety, and overall smooth, addictive action. It offers enough content and unique twists to engage players who enjoy classic, old-school gameplay with roguelike elements.
- “The game at first glance seems cheap, but there's really quite a lot of depth and gameplay here.”
- “Discussing the positives, the game mechanics, like melee, are well implemented, being risky at the same time as rewarding, or like the spikes in the game, which can be used to bait enemies, creating a well-implemented environment.”
- “The gameplay is fast paced, fluid and responsive - exactly how you would expect it to be from a team that comes from the Croteam incubator.”
- “In the end, what turns me right off is the combination of gameplay mechanics and poor basic control.”
- “Seems to break a big part of the intended mechanics and feels like a very badly rushed and ill-conceived feature.”
- “And the mechanics they added in should have been left out if they weren't going to polish and tweak them into something worthwhile.”
graphics
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
57%
9%
The game's graphics feature a low-poly, colorful, and cartoonish art style that some find charming and fitting for a lighthearted Serious Sam spin-off, while others criticize it as simplistic, blocky, and not aligning with the franchise's traditional aesthetics. Visuals are described as pleasant and crisp but occasionally plagued by glitches and monotonous design. Overall, opinions on the graphics are mixed, with praise for their unique personality and critique for lack of polish and seriousness.
- “Serious Sam: Tormental is a 3D roguelike with low-poly graphics that's quite fun with good mechanics.”
- “The artstyle is also surprisingly nice and gives the game its own identity while staying within the goofy tone of Serious Sam.”
- “Visuals are crisp and vibrantly colorful, with an almost last-gen 3D appearance that would make the game feel at home on a modern handheld console.”
- “It's far below the state of the art visuals gamers expect as a result of their decisions.”
- “But really this game feels extremely bare-bones in all ways (graphics, sounds, music, mechanics, controls).”
- “It's hard to criticize the graphics because I somewhat knew what I was getting going in, but I didn't expect it to be quite as monotonous and lazy as it ended up.”
music
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
40%
15%
The music in the game is generally praised for fitting the gameplay well, being catchy, invigorating, and charming, often composed by a recognized artist. While some find it monotonous or generic during combat, most reviewers highlight its positive contribution to the overall atmosphere, with smooth integration and a desire for more tracks or a purchasable soundtrack.
- “The soundtrack was composed by Damjan Mravunac just like most other entries in the series, who once again knocks it out of the park.”
- “The music is invigorating and appropriate for what you're doing.”
- “Shooting feels fantastic, the music is amazing and the writing made me laugh several times.”
- “But really this game feels extremely bare-bones in all ways (graphics, sounds, music, mechanics, controls).”
- “The music has you wanting to deafen yourself within seconds - thankfully it transitions between scenes etc, but in combat it is utterly monotonous beyond belief.”
- “The music features unobtrusive sort of driving generic rock tracks.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The story has seen significant improvement, featuring multiple characters with unique upgrades, voiced dialogue, and a more involved plot culminating in a chaotic final boss fight. However, quests can be inconsistent in difficulty and lack clear indicators for quest givers or rewards, which may hinder the overall narrative experience.
- “The story has had a major overhaul and for the first time Sam can properly confront and talk to series villain Mental himself, or at least part of him.”
- “It is a lot more involved and interesting than what little plot there was in previous versions, ultimately culminating in a hectic and chaotic final boss fight.”
- “It's all tied together with a story that you progress through as you play.”
- “No story.”
- “Lastly but not least, the quests are somewhat appalling while some are extremely hard compared to the normal game difficulty.”
- “No icon in hub to indicate which NPC is a quest giver or has a reward.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor is well-received, praised for being on-brand with classic series references and a charming, entertaining vibe. It combines wit and brutality, appealing to longtime fans with nostalgic and playful writing that enhances replayability. Overall, the humor contributes significantly to the game's enjoyable and distinctive personality.
- “Cute visual style with wonderful music and funny references to the original game together create a very charming vibe.”
- “Shooting feels fantastic, the music is amazing, and the writing made me laugh several times.”
- “There's also classic Serious Sam humor, which helps lighten the game and makes you feel motivated to play again and again after you die.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
Replayability is generally praised for its generated maps and diverse weapon and upgrade combinations, providing many hours of enjoyment. However, some users feel the game lacks uniqueness, which may limit its long-term appeal. Overall, it offers strong replay value, especially considering the content available at its price.
- “The replayability is strong due to the generated maps and unique combinations of weapons and upgrades.”
- “No need for a sale on this one; for the asking price, you get a lot of content, replayability, and many hours of enjoyment.”
- “Massively re-playable with a graphics polish that fits perfectly.”
- “Replayability can be an issue, as the game is not unique enough to stand out from the pack.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization shows some stutter when many elements appear on screen, with effects sometimes masking performance issues. However, early access updates have significantly improved these problems from the alpha stage.
- “Kinda stuttery optimization where there's a lot of things happening on the screen at once.”
- “Those matrix effects try to hide the poor optimization.”
- “The alpha had performance issues, but going to early access has resolved all of the issues I had.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features appealing graphics and aesthetics but is marred by occasional glitches and persistent bugs. Stability issues have remained unresolved for years, impacting the overall experience.
- “Game's pretty buggy aside from this as well, and there are seemingly the same balance issues I had 3 years ago.”
- “The game offers some nice graphics and a nice aesthetic, although there are some ugly glitches here and there; it is pleasant all the same.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding requires additional resources, such as a second life, indicating it can be time-consuming and may need extra effort to progress.

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64%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews

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10h Median play time

10h Average play time

10-10h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Serious Sam: Tormental is a arcade shooter game.

Serious Sam: Tormental is available on PC, Steam Deck and Windows.

On average players spend around 10 hours playing Serious Sam: Tormental.

Serious Sam: Tormental was released on April 8, 2022.

Serious Sam: Tormental was developed by Gungrounds (Macanga Games j.d.o.o.).

Serious Sam: Tormental has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked Serious Sam: Tormental for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

Serious Sam: Tormental is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Juicy Realm, Rogue Stormers, Doomsday Hunters, Nuclear Throne, Blazing Beaks and others.

Serious Sam: Tormental

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gameplay

graphics

music

story

humor

replayability

optimization

stability

grinding