Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem

With violence that borders on cartoonish and an array of weapons that would make Arnie blush, Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem delivers thrills on every front. I’d recommend bringing a friend along for the ride, but Serious Sam‘s no-brakes approach to action is still a worthy venture for anyone going solo.

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.

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.

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.

Full of secrets, desolate and still somewhat gorgeous – Siberia might be the home of bloodshed you were missing in Serious Sam 4. All for the low low(?) price of 30 quid.