Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter similar games & best alternatives

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter - Trailer
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Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter

PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox 360 • 2009

Should you play it?

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is a visually upgraded and fully Steam supported remake version of the original high-adrenaline single-play and 16-player co-operative arcade-action FPS which was Gamespot's Game of the Year 2001 and which scored overall of 87% on Metacritic!

What works

  • Fast-paced, skillful combat
  • Large levels with secrets
  • Humorous tone
  • Co-op multiplayer support
  • Well-optimized hd remake

Things to keep in mind

  • Repetitive gameplay over long sessions
  • Minimal story depth
  • Dead multiplayer community
  • Some difficulty spikes
  • Limited character customization

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Roboquest

  • Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter

  • Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem

  • Blood™ Fresh Supply

  • Turbo Overkill

  • Warden's Will

More intimate

Games that feels like Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter but with more focus on close relationships

  • Deep Rock Galactic

  • Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta)

  • Serious Sam Classics: Revolution

  • Mycopunk

  • Borderlands 2

  • Iron Brigade

Less social

Games that feels like Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter but with less teamwork and cooperation

  • Deadlink

  • Forgive Me Father 2

  • Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun

  • Impaler Gold

  • Zortch

  • Project Warlock II

Choose your own criteria ->

From the same developer

From the same developer, ranked by motivational fit.

  • Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter

  • Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter

  • Serious Sam 4

  • Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem

  • Serious Sam II

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter. These titles are not in What to play next.

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Cooperation, Fellowship, Intimacy, Leadership. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Violence. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Intimacy, Relaxation.

Last update: 21/08/2026