Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem

More of the traditional Serious Sam gameplay that gets to the point faster than the main game, whereas it still runs poorly.

Siberian Mayhem is an entertaining little jaunt for fans of Serious Sam 4. It’s a quick five levels to run through, and I wish it had been a little longer, but for all the new weapons and vehicles it introduces, it keeps the familiar Serious Sam formula fresh and fun without overstaying its welcome. Siberia doesn’t seem an obvious destination for those looking to escape the seasonal bleakness this Winter, but for fans of pulse-pounding action, Siberian Mayhem hits the sweet spot (with a cannonball).

For me, trying to figure out what makes the strange character of Sam Stone tick was enough to keep me interested ever during the slow bits of Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem. Even for those less captivated by the protagonist, I’d still give the game a solid recommendation. It’s a solid shooter with a fair bit of charm. While it’s certainly not the most original or daring work to grace the medium, it’s competent, fun, and priced appropriately.

Ultimately, if you’re a hardcore Serious Sam fan, I’m sure you’ll have a jolly time with Siberian Mayhem. However, if you were hoping for this to be the next big iteration of Serious Sam, or for this to be groundbreaking in any way, then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.

There’s little that’s particularly groundbreaking in Serious Sam’s brand of predictability, but there’s also comfort to be found. As Sam said, the fights are their own rewards, after all.

If you loved the time you spend with original Serious Sam 4, this new expansion can be right up your alley.

Serious Sam Siberian Mayhem is a standalone expansion for Serious Sam 4 and the first game co-developed by modders and fan community. It’s not a brand new game, but a more of the same. Even if there are some cool addictions, gameplay feels a little outdated. The game is fun as ever though some performance issues and the lack of a competitive multiplayer mode ruin overall experience.

Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem is another action-packed old-school shooter with tons of enemies and interesting weaponry. Although the gameplay is good, minor bugs and design mistakes can spoil your impression.

While it does not dramatically change the radical dinosaur that is Serious Sam 4, it does provide more unbridled carnage that defines the series – just now with a distinctly Russian flavour. Blasting enemies with dual-wielded AK-47’s and joking about vodka define the experience, and while it may not appeal to everyone, I know a lot of us will get a kick out of it.

Inevitably, Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem doesn’t do much to attract newcomers to the series. It is what it is: an expansion designed to offer Serious Sam 4 fans more hair-raising combat encounters, with a sprinkling of new enemies and weapons. It’s disappointing that some of the technical issues that have plagued Serious Sam 4 since launch still persist, but if the idea of having an entire army of Headless Kamikazes running your way yet again gets you hot under the collar, it’s well worth the investment.

Siberian Mayhem improves on Serious Sam 4 in several areas, except where it mattered most: performance. The expansion’s poor framerates and tech issues are a shame when it has better level design and fun secrets.

All I need from such a simple first-person shooter is an array of badass guns and hundreds of stampeding enemies. Siberian Mayhem has that, but it failed to get some important aspects right – its maps are too bloated and the optimization is poor despite subpar graphics. It could have been a great game, but turned out merely decent.

Serious Sam - Siberian Mayhem is an insanely driving and cool action game that ends exactly when you already want to take a break from the constant screams of opponents, pieces of meat that fill up the monitor and special effects. Siberian Mayhem brings absolutely nothing new to the genre - in fact, the game quite successfully steps on the same rake that the original Serious Sam 4 went on. However, they managed to make a good game that is just fun to play.

How much fun you’ll have in the bleak, frozen landscape depends on how much you are still smitten with mid-90s first-person shooter mechanics. Serious Sam would rather die than apologize for being what he is. Those looking for an evolution or some sort of next step in gameplay design may as well look elsewhere. All encounters in the game play out exactly the same way they have for the last thirty years. You can mix things up with weapon choices, co-op, and difficulty settings, but that’s about it. 2016’s Doom received loads of (justified) praise for finding a way to push this genre forward. Siberian Mayhem is clearly content to keep touring with the hits. While I won’t drag it for being true to itself, only devout followers of the church of Sam need apply.

The additional enemy types and weapons are appreciated, but the gameplay is still riddled with bugs and performance issues. Given that it’s a standalone game priced at $20, I expected more content considering the full base game is priced at $40. For the amount of content offered versus the price, I suggest playing Serious Sam 4 first, which has been patched up since launch and is usually on sale. However, if you’re just craving more Serious Sam, well then, this game is for you.

Ammunition-fueled ATV trips, Mech piloting sequences and taking down squid-operated choppers levels of insane action can’t save Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem. No matter how varied the environments or silky smooth the gunplay and weapons may be this time around, it’s clear the franchise is in need of more of a shakeup. Blowing through waves and waves of extraterrestrial threats doesn’t take long to blur together and once more feels like going through the motions. It’s frustrating too; creating a game with the help of loyal fan modders is arguably as true as the franchise can get. Still, it struggles to impress. Maybe it’s high time the Serious Sam series take notes from its most recent setting: traipsing away on ice for a little while.