Serious Sam 3: BFE

Ancient Egyptian ruins and wrecked near-future streets become slaughterhouses in this loud, unapologetically old-school shooter. Serious Sam 3: BFE serves as a prequel to The First Encounter, following Sam “Serious” Stone during humanity’s desperate war against Mental’s alien invasion. Its mood is gleefully excessive: wisecracks, thunderous weapons, and hundreds of enemies flooding the screen at once replace modern military drama. Cover is largely irrelevant when every open plaza turns into a frantic test of movement, aim, and nerve.

Combat revolves around circling enormous hordes, prioritizing dangerous targets, and keeping a constant stream of ammunition flying before the swarm closes in. Sam carries a full arsenal simultaneously, letting players switch from pistols and assault rifles to double-barrel shotguns, miniguns, rockets, and cannonballs without restrictive loadout limits. New monsters such as the towering Khnum and brutal Scrapjack join series regulars including kamikazes, Gnaars, and Werebulls, while melee finishers provide a risky close-range answer when creatures get too near. Five difficulty settings, quick saves, optional third-person view, controller support, cheats, and extensive graphics options make the campaign flexible, while online co-op lets a group turn its large arenas into even more chaotic survival exercises.

What separates BFE from corridor shooters is its commitment to clean, readable arena combat: enemies announce themselves with recognizable sounds, spaces are built for dodging, and victory comes from controlling a crowd rather than hiding from it. The Egyptian setting gives the game a distinct identity, mixing crumbling temples and monuments with devastated concrete cities, though its pacing deliberately favors repeated large-scale battles over puzzle-heavy exploration. It feels closest to Doom’s classic speed and weapon-focused aggression, with a dose of arcade-style score-chasing spectacle. Fans of relentless shooters and co-op carnage find plenty to enjoy, while newcomers should start on a lower difficulty and learn to keep moving before Mental’s army turns every encounter into a stampede.