Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem
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Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem is a downloadable first-person shooter for Windows PCs. This is the latest chapter in the Serious Sam franchise, and it's a stand-alone title, which doesn't require a previous title to play. The gameplay features intense violence, blood and gore. You goal is to stay alive by killing as many monsters as you can, using a variety of weapons, across five huge levels. Creatures can be dismembered, decapitated, and impaled. They often scream in pain. You can perform a finishing melee move, using a knife, too, by stabbing an enemy in its eye. There's some mild profanity in the dialogue as well.
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What’s It About?
In SERIOUS SAM: SIBERIAN MAYHEM, you're out to track down General Howard Brand in the Tunguska region of Russia, and in doing so, must destroy creatures unleashed by "Mental" (a.k.a. Tah-Um), responsible for overtaking planets with its vicious horde of loyal monsters. It's Sam's job to ensure Earth won't be next. Played from a first-person perspective, Sam uses various weapons to kill enemies, as he accomplishes various missions through five main chapters. From frozen tundra and arctic coastlines to abandoned towns and creepy forests, your goal is to stay alive as long as possible (including skirmishes against tougher boss fighters), picking up ammo, health and armor. Much of the gameplay involves killing creatures, but there are some elements of puzzle-solving, exploration, and riding in vehicles. Without giving too much away, the story has some twists and turns, too, including new characters you'll meet, side missions, and some secrets to explore, too. You don't need to know anything from previous Serious Sam games to play this one. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem also offers a cooperative multiplayer option (over the Internet).
Is It Any Good?
This is an over-the-top shooter that's a throwback to the genre's roots which is unadulterated action game that's just, well, fun -- but technical issues mars the overall experience. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem can run well, even on a PC without the latest specs. Along with the impressive graphics and animation, it's enjoyable to see what weapons and tactics work best on various enemies. Speaking of which, many of the weapons have a secondary function, like zooming in for greater aim to tossing an explosive. There are special S.A.M. abilities, too, like slowing down time, which is a blast. The only thing crazier than the weapons are the alien monsters you'll fight against, with surprisingly smart A.I. that hides behind obstacles, evades gunfire, and works in groups to trap you. But the fun becomes frustrating for a few reasons. The first half of the game is more fun than the back half, as if all the good ideas were used up in the first three out of five chapters/areas. The level design is also inconsistent, since some levels are so vast and open-ended, you don't really know where to move to find cover, while in other instances, the (mostly indoor) stages lead you down a strict path. Even though the game was patched twice during the course of this review, some technical issues remained. While it ran smoothly (even on older gear) there were random freezes, crashes and some issues with saved game files that frequently lost game progress. Finding multiplayer matches weren't the easiest to do either, and required finding specific servers. Still, Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem is a fun adult romp for fans of classic shooters. The silly one-liners, over-the-top weapons and special abilities, and variety of creatures will delight those looking to blow off some steam at the end of the day. But the issues, like level design and gameplay inconsistencies, aren't likely fixable in a software update.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in video games. Is the impact of the violence in Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem affected by the large amounts of blood and gore shown in gameplay? Is it "fun" to kill? Is it ok since the targets of your violence aren't human? Do adults enjoy this kind of mature shooter? Why?
How have different genres and tastes changed over the years? What are some things that might have been considered acceptable in the past that might not pass the standards of today?
Game Details
- Platform: Windows
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Devolver Digital
- Release date: January 25, 2022
- Genre: First-Person Shooter
- Topics: Adventures, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires, Space and Aliens
- ESRB rating: M for Violence, Blood & Gore, Strong Profanity
- Last updated: February 7, 2022
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