Devolver Digital and Croteam have announced the existence of Serious Sam 4, the next sequel to the long-time first person shooter series and a follow-up to 2011’s Serious Sam 3: BFE.
In a press release, Devolver stated the next game will mark the return of Sam “Serious” Stone as he rallies the Earth Defense Force to take their planet back from Mental’s alien invaders. Hordes of enemies are looking to give Sam a hard time as he fires back with upgradeable weapons, “perfectly-timed” one liners and countless rockets.
The game will also feature familiar enemies, including the Headless Kamikaze, Scrapjack, Kleer and Werebull. Other new enemies such as the Processed, Belcher and Brute Zealot add new challenges for players who have to dodge their special attacks and switch to heavier artillery accordingly.
Adding to the experience, Serious Sam 4‘s campaign can also be played cooperatively with four friends online while its missions and side quests. Game modifiers can also change up the game’s mechanics to spice up the challenges while a legion system throws thousands of enemies at players in one session. Battlefields expand Serious Sam‘s, corridors and open shooting environments while giving players more space to dodge bullets and send their own back.
Serious Sam was born in 2001 as Croteam had developed The First Encounter for PC and Xbox. Its signature comedy and run-and-gun mechanics were solidified while Sam became locked in a nineteen-year-old conflict with invading alien ruler “Mental”. Sam also gains the ability to time travel after harnessing the Time-Lock, leading to some wacky level designs in Ancient Egypt, an alien homeworld and war-ravaged America.
The series gained an official sequel in 2005 before the First and Second Encounter were remastered in 2009 and 2010 with updated graphics and shooting controls. Serious Sam: BFE was released in 2011 and delivered a campaign set before the events of The First Encounter. According to its product page on Steam, Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass is also a prequel to the series, adding a new part of Sam’s story before he frantically travels through history and masters the Time-Lock.
Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass comes out August 2020 and is available for pre-order with bonuses for the PC and Google Stadia. A version for PS4 and Xbox One have yet to be announced.