Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter

Ancient Egyptian ruins become a war zone as Sam “Serious” Stone races through temples, deserts, tombs, and alien-infested valleys to stop Mental’s invasion. Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is a loud, unapologetically old-school first-person shooter built around overwhelming enemy swarms rather than cover systems or slow tactical advances. Its remastered visuals give the original campaign sharper environments, dramatic lighting, and a cleaner presentation while preserving its frantic early-2000s personality. The tone is gloriously ridiculous: screaming bomb-men rush your position, headless soldiers fire from afar, and colossal bosses loom over the battlefield.

Combat revolves around constant movement, weapon switching, and managing huge groups before they surround you. Sam begins with simple firearms but steadily collects shotguns, rocket launchers, laser weapons, miniguns, cannons, and other tools designed to erase entire packs of monsters. Levels mix wide-open arenas with secret-filled corridors, key hunts, environmental hazards, and occasional platforming, though the real challenge is surviving the next escalating encounter. Difficulty settings significantly change enemy numbers and aggression, making it approachable for casual shooters or punishing for players who want the classic Serious Sam ordeal. The full campaign also supports cooperative play, letting a group turn its chaos into a shared firefight.

What separates it from most modern FPS games is its commitment to pure arena combat: no reload obsession, no cinematic interruptions, and no hesitation between enemy waves. Encounters become hectic spatial puzzles where strafing, retreat routes, projectile timing, and the right gun matter as much as aim. The HD version remains faithful to the original’s level design, so some navigation and dated jokes show their age, but its speed and clarity still hold up remarkably well. Fans of DOOM, Painkiller, or retro shooters with enormous enemy counts find plenty to enjoy, while newcomers should start on a lower difficulty and learn to keep moving.