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Serious Sam: The First Encounter is a classic. It was an indie budget title that released to significant success and it differentiated itself from others of its kind at the time of release through its tone and atmosphere and focus on decimating hordes of baddies in large environments. As you may be aware, Serious Sam has become a pretty popular franchise with multiple main entries and numerous spin-offs. The First Encounter was released in 2001 and was followed up by The Second Encounter less than a year later. It comes with some new content but the gameplay is basically identical so I typically treat it along with The First Encounter as one game or package in my head. Even though The Second Encounter is technically a separate game and we are reviewing it separately, I think it’s safe to say right off the bat that if you enjoy The First Encounter, you will enjoy The Second Encounter.
Developed by Croteam and published by Gathering of Developers, Serious Sam: The Second Encounter was released for PC in February, 2002. A remake titled Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter was released for PC and Xbox 360 in 2010, and Stadia, Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2020. Additionally, the HD game received DLC called Legend of the Beast in 2012. If you own the HD game on Steam, it along with the DLC are automatically added to Serious Sam Fusion which is a central hub for multiple Serious Sam games; the HD remakes and Serious Sam 3 along with their VR versions. It also comes with new engine features, patches, and upgrades. I should also mention that The Second Encounter is included in Serious Sam Classics: Revolution along with The First Encounter. Revolution unifies the two original games. It brings them together in one package, comes with some new content, and it’s free to owners of the originals on Steam. For this review, I played the original game and the HD game, from Fusion, specifically, for PC. It should be noted that the Steam version of the original game was re-titled Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter and is updated to support modern systems so I didn’t have to do any tweaking to get it to run properly.
Beginning where The First Encounter left off, Sam is aboard the Sirian spacecraft when it crashes to Earth in the Mayan age. The good news is there is another spacecraft but the bad news is it’s in another time period so the story centers on Sam’s quest to find it. He battles his way through different locations and time periods and plot developments are primarily conveyed through NETRICSA which serves the same purpose as before. Once again, the story is never shoved in your face and the game features a dash of humor and silliness. The Second Encounter is another violent and bloody action-packed shooter but also a bright and colorful experience. Basically, it retains the same type of style, tone and atmosphere of its predecessor. The opening sequence does provide a recap of prior events and while you don’t need to play The First Encounter to understand what’s going on here, The Second Encounter is a continuation and definitely feels like it so I think you may get more out of it if you do.
The Second Encounter does come with a multiplayer component and the campaign can be played solo or cooperatively. Before really getting into the nitty gritty, I want to mention again that the gameplay is basically identical to that of its predecessor. The game even runs on the same engine. That said, this review will not tread on much of the same ground. The HD remake looks a lot better and is mostly faithful and everything I liked and disliked about The First Encounter applies here. The fun, fast-paced and intense gameplay, decimating armies of foes, impressively large environments and draw distance, the annoying hitscan nature of Arachnoids, bullshit ambushes – it’s all here. So if you really want to know how I feel about the general gameplay, read our review of The First Encounter. The Second Encounter does feature new weapons and enemies, even larger environments, and it introduces power-ups.
I would argue that The Second Encounter is more intense and challenging than The First Encounter and if you’re a veteran of that game then you should know what to expect. Knowing what weapons to use and when and what enemies to prioritize and when are crucial. I also think the power-ups kind of balance out the more challenging encounters. These include increased damage, increased speed, and invulnerability which are activated immediately upon pickup and only last for a limited time. All of the enemies from the previous game return, minus specific bosses, and at certain points you’ll see enemies carrying things. Sometimes Witch-Harpies arrive carrying Beheaded Kamikazes but this feature is absent in the HD game. The Second Encounter introduces several new foes and I’m happy to say I have no issues with any of them. I’m just grateful none are hitscan types like Arachnoids which I still feel are a poor fit for the style of gameplay on offer.
In addition to the same exact arsenal as before are some cool new weapons to combat the new and returning threats. Sam always carries a knife but I never really felt the need to use it and the chainsaw introduced in The Second Encounter is by far the better melee weapon, able to cut through lower tier enemies like butter. The flamethrower is another welcome addition, great for many of the mobs that rush you, including hordes of Kleer Skeletons. I feel these two weapons make it a lot easier to escape overwhelming mobs. Of course, it’s wise to try and avoid that kind of situation but it can happen and these weapons give you an even better chance of surviving than before. Another new weapon is the Sniper Rifle which is obviously great for long-range threats and, finally, there’s the Serious Bomb. This is a clear the screen of enemies weapon. The bomb is scarce and I found it’s best used when struggling with an onslaught.
I think what really makes The Second Encounter different than its predecessor is the environments. Rather than being set in a single country and time period, The Second Encounter takes you to multiple and this makes for a lot more environmental variety. In general, I would say the level design is better here if only because it’s more diverse and interesting. Just like its predecessor, there’s a lot of large areas with plenty of space to maneuver and there are still let’s call them empty looking areas that throw waves of foes at you peppered throughout but I found most of these to be more visually interesting than those in the last game. Furthermore, the environments here are more dangerous thanks to more hazards. Secrets are still prevalent and many contain or reveal goodies so they are worth finding. Others are just traps including what I would consider secret bosses.
The game has you running and gunning in typical Serious Sam fashion and I don’t think it eases you into its primarily selling point as well as The First Encounter does but considering this feels more like a continuation, I have no real issue with that. The beginning of the game has you running around some pretty large areas blowing away the typical hordes along with some of the tougher types but it also gives you some of the stronger firepower pretty early on, too. It should be noted that every time you enter a new time period, you start with only the pistol and knife. The campaign has you travelling to multiple time periods consisting of numerous locations and ending with a boss. There are items you will need to progress but it’s never hard to figure out where to go and the environments are far from maze-like. You do need to be mindful of environmental dangers like spikes, crushers, arrow spitters, lava, and even cannons which actually register as enemies in NETRICSA. Not every area is hazardous of course, but many do feature things that make battles or navigation more interesting like breezes that blow you in specific directions, bouncy floors, jump pads, ice and slippery surfaces, and even anti-gravity effects which are absent in the HD game.
Legend of the Beast is DLC for the HD game. It comes with new multiplayer content and three campaign levels. Despite being DLC for The Second Encounter, the events of the campaign actually take place during The First Encounter. The campaign is set in ancient Egypt so the levels do resemble what you see in The First Encounter and it comes with some enemies and weapons from The Second Encounter and a new boss. Overall, the campaign is alright and short. It doesn’t do anything new and it doesn’t reach the same highs as the main campaigns. It can be quite challenging mainly because weapons are scarce. The campaign doesn’t feature the full Serious Sam arsenal but does feature typical Serious Sam level design and encounters so you’re given limited firepower to blast away hordes of foes. That said, things can go a little beyond challenging, crossing over into frustrating territory.
Visually, The Second Encounter showcases a colorful presentation with some pretty scenery and backgrounds but I can’t say it looks significantly better than its predecessor. It definitely includes more visual variety which is nice and, obviously, the HD game looks much better. Better textures, better models, better lighting, and better visual and gore effects. Still, I think the original does hold up rather well and the draw distance is impressive for the time it released. As for the audio, the sound work is good and once again important. Enemies make distinct sounds which makes them easy to identify just by listening. Enemies will often come from multiple directions and your eyes can’t be everywhere so listening for enemies coming is often just as important as seeing them coming. The Second Encounter also comes with an excellent soundtrack featuring a wonderful mix of tunes. The boss battles in particular feature some pretty awesome rocking jams. Metal as fuck, dude. On the technical side, both games ran great and I encountered no major issues.
I love The Second Encounter and enjoy it more than The First Encounter simply because it has more stuff. It’s more of the same but with new stuff. It’s kind of like what Doom II to is to Doom. I do bundle it with the first game in my head so I often treat them as one game or package. I welcome the new weapons and enemies, the power-ups are cool, and I think the more diverse environments are a real highlight here. While the gameplay still lacks a certain kind of variety, I feel the level design makes things more interesting. Visually and gameplay-wise. As I stated before, it is more of the same so if you don’t care for The First Encounter, I don’t think The Second Encounter does enough to turn things around for you. The gameplay still very much centers on blowing away armies of foes and some areas just throw waves and waves at you. That hasn’t changed. That’s what Serious Sam is all about. Even though I consider The Second Encounter and its predecessor to be classics, I don’t think they’re going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Ultimately, I do think The Second Encounter is an improvement and a game I can always come back to and have a great time. It’s excellent.
I absolutely recommend Serious Sam: The Second Encounter. The original still holds up and the HD remake looks better. I tend to stick with the HD game nowadays just for the better presentation but both are viable options if you haven’t played the game at all. While I do think it’s an improvement over its predecessor, you should still play The First Encounter first. I think you’ll get more out of The Second Encounter if you do. In the end, I feel both games are must plays for fans of the genre. So definitely check them out if you haven’t already.