Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Serious Sam is a high-adrenaline single-play and 16-player co-operative arcade-action FPS and Gamespot's Game of the Year 2001!
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is a action, fps and classic game
developed by Croteam
and published by Devolver Digital.
Released on August 30th 2019 is available in English only on Windows.
It has received 3,133 reviews of which 3,008 were positive and 125 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.2 out of 10. 😍
The game is currently priced at 5.89€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
Minimum
- OS *: Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0 (with Service Pack 5), Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating system
- Processor: AMD K6-3 400MHz, Pentium II or Celeron-A 300MHz
- Memory: 64MB
- Graphics: full OpenGL compliant 3D accelerator
- Hard Drive: 600MB free hard disk space
- Sound: 100% Windows compatible sound card
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
💣 Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter I decided to start with the classic version before moving on to the HD edition — I’ll leave that for later. The classic is the one I first experienced back in childhood, and I remember it very clearly. I had a childhood friend, and our families were close too, so we often spent time together. When we were visiting his family, I first saw Serious Sam on his computer. I even stayed overnight once, and we ended up playing the game almost all night long. We finished it surprisingly fast — I clearly remember how we took turns fighting the final boss. Those are very warm childhood memories that still come back to me whenever I think about this game. ⚔️Atmosphere & First Impressions Even today, the game still feels surprisingly atmospheric and not that old. It’s pleasant visually, pleasant in tone, pleasant in vibe. Yes, it’s old in body — but not in spirit. This isn’t some wildly unique gameplay concept. Games like DOOM, Quake, and Unreal already offered the same core idea: run, shoot, lots of enemies, lots of weapons. A timeless and foolproof formula. But Serious Sam adds something extra — a very simple, yet cool sense of lore and identity. It perfectly captures that late 90s / early 2000s energy: a charismatic, unstoppable action hero destroying aliens with style, confidence, and cheesy one-liners. Sometimes even jokes like “It’s not the size, it’s how you use it” (yes, the final boss). 🗺️ Setting & Level Design The setting is Ancient Egypt, and honestly… I feel like I’ve already been there — does that count as traveling? 😄 Pyramids, temples, statues, obelisks, hieroglyphs, deserts — everything looks bright, colorful, and alive. It’s very visually appealing. The levels are technically corridor-based, but very wide and massive corridors. The scale is huge — sometimes even grandiose — although not all of that space is fully utilized. You’ll constantly see: • temples and ancient buildings • statues and ruins • pyramids in the distance • deserts, catacombs, underground corridors Special mention to the skyboxes: sunny maps, sunsets, night skies full of stars — they still look great, especially considering this is a 2001 game. 🎬 Story (Simple but Effective) There is a story, very minimal, set in the far future — with a big twist: Serious Sam Stone travels back in time to defeat alien hordes and save Earth. That’s it. Simple. Effective. 🧟♂️ Enemies — The Soul of the Game Enemies deserve a section of their own. • Headless soldiers with various guns • The iconic screaming suicide bomber (the true symbol of Serious Sam) • Charging bulls you dodge like a matador • Skeletal dogs (or whatever those things are) • Harpies, scorpions • Walking dinosaur-like monsters with lasers and rockets • Strange four-legged creatures I later saw something similar to in Ben 10 and even Mortal Kombat You will never be bored. 🔫 Weapons Plenty of weapons: • Shotguns • Miniguns • Rocket launchers • Grenade launchers • Laser weapons • And my personal favorite — the mortar Pure chaos, pure fun. 💥Difficulty & Gameplay Feel On higher difficulties, the game becomes a real challenge. Honestly, it turns into a save/load simulator — but that was pretty standard for shooters of that era. Still, the combat loop is incredibly satisfying. 👥 Multiplayer & Extras • There is multiplayer • Even split-screen on one screen (on PC!) How practical that is — questionable. But it exists. We tried it back in the day… not for very long 😅 🎵 Sound & Music Rock music accompanies the carnage. It’s not super memorable, but it fits the tone and does its job. ✅ Pros: ✔ Timeless, fast-paced classic shooter gameplay ✔ Huge enemy variety with iconic designs ✔ Massive, memorable Egypt-themed levels ✔ Still atmospheric even today ✔ Charismatic main character ✔ Tons of weapons and pure chaos ✔ Legendary cult status ❌ Cons: ➖ Gameplay doesn’t evolve much — pure run-and-gun ➖ Large spaces sometimes feel underused ➖ Difficulty relies heavily on saving/loading ➖ Story is extremely simple 📝 Conclusion Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is more than just a game — it’s a cult phenomenon. It represents an entire era of shooters: loud, fast, unapologetically over-the-top, and fun. It may be old, but it still plays well, still feels good, and still delivers exactly what it promises: pure action and nostalgia. For me, this first entry will always be special. Like first love — you never forget it. ⭐ Rating: 8.5 / 10 Why so: • It's not a perfect game from a modern game design perspective • But as a 2001 classic, with the vibe, charisma, scale and recognizability — it still works • Plus a strong nostalgia and "pure fan" factor 🎮 Fun Facts: • Released in 2001, during the golden age of classic shooters • Developed by Croteam, a Croatian studio • The screaming suicide bomber became one of the most iconic enemies in gaming • The game supports split-screen multiplayer on PC, which was very rare • Serious Sam became a cult figure comparable to Doomguy • Later HD versions reworked visuals, but many fans still prefer the classic • The Egypt setting was chosen to maximize open-space combat • Multiplayer sniper duels were surprisingly popular back in the day
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The beginning of pure chaos. Endless waves of enemies, huge arenas, and that unforgettable first scream of a kamikaze running at you. It’s simple, dumb, and insanely fun. A true FPS classic.
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pretty neat game, not too difficult, kinda reminds me of a mix between doom and wolfenstein if you enjoy fps games, especially good retro shooters, pick this game up for your collection.
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Pretty fun, enough so to recommend. The guns all feel pretty powerful save for the pistols, and it ends on a pretty high note. With that said, some of the enemies in this are not difficult but quite annoying to deal with over and over again. It's not so much a challenge as it is a routine of learning when and where the suicide bombers or skeletons or alien bulls will spawn so you know to switch to the right weapons. It's at least a little funny that the very first game earned the entire series' reputation for running backwards while shooting hordes and hordes of enemies from the get-go but god does it drag at times.
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---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Perfect ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Okay ☐ Bad ☐ Very stylized ☐ They're what they should be for what the game is ☐ MS Paint could make something better ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Fantastic ☑ Excellent ☐ Perfect ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Meh ☐ Bad, but playable ☐ Just go watch paint dry ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☑ Amazing ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not to bad ☐ Alright ☐ Bad ☐ My ears are bleeding ---{ Audience }--- ☑ Babies ☑ Young kids ☑ Young teens ☑ Older teens ☑ Adults ☑ Old people ☑ Anyone with a decent maturity level ☑ Anyone with a lack of maturity ☑ Anyone that is alive ☑ No one, not even your dog ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☐ Just average ☑ A little better than average ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Better than good ☐ Fancy Pants Rich Boy ☐ NASA ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Can choose your difficulty setting ☐ No difficulty needed ☑ Just press 'W" ☐ Easy ☐ Medium ☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Significant brain usage ☐ Hard ☐ Verry Difficult ---{ Grind }--- ☐ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if you like to collect things ☐ Only if you care about steam achievements ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☑ Only if you care about rankings/placements/leaderboards/etc. ☑ Average grind level ☑ A little grindy ☐ Too much grind ☐ You‘ll need a second life, maybe some macros, & a will to live for grinding ---{ Story }--- ☐ Story? What story? ☐ No Story ☐ Twilight was a better love story than this ☑ Average ☐ Good ☐ Lovely ☐ It‘ll replace your life ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ 1-2 Hours ☐ 2-5 Hours ☐ 5-10 Hours ☑ 10-20 Hours ☐ 20-50 Hours ☐ 50+ Hours ☐ 100+ Hours ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{ Replayablity }--- ☐ You won't even finish it the first time ☐ None, once was enough ☐ Not that kind of game ☐ You don't stop playing this kinda game, ever ☑ Maybe once or twice, to try something new ☐ You'll want to get every single possible ending & secret there is ☐ You'll pick it up every few years, but never finish a whole playthrough ☐ A lot, just to romance everyone, pick new options. try new classes, etc ---{ Price }--- ☐ It’s free! ☑ Worth the price ☐ If you have some money to blow ☑ Wait for it to go on sale for the 100th time ☐ Ask someone to gift it to you instead ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☐ Circumstantial (PC specs, internet, save/install location, etc.) ☐ Never heard of ☑ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{ Game Size }--- ☐ Very low ☐ Low ☑ Average ☐ High ☐ Too much ---{ Worth It }--- ☐ Hell no! ☐ If you have a lot of cash ☐ Worth it! ☐ Get it now! ☑ Life is not complete without this game! ---{ TEXT }--- A classic game, which I played a long time ago, we can say that it is part of the list of games of our childhood when we download them from certain obscure sites. Coming back to the game, my opinion is that it moves much better than many and I love this trilogy, the graphics are decent! ---{ 9 / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☐ 7 ☐ 8 ☑ 9 ☐ 10
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Frequently Asked Questions
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is currently priced at 5.89€ on Steam.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 5.89€ on Steam.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter received 3,008 positive votes out of a total of 3,133 achieving an impressive rating of 9.19.
😍
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter was developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is not playable on MacOS.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is not playable on Linux.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter offers both single-player and multi-player modes.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter includes Co-op mode where you can team up with friends.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter does not currently offer any DLC.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter supports Remote Play Together. Discover more about Steam Remote Play.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
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The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 20 January 2026 06:33 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 27 January 2026 04:15 |
| Steam price | 28 January 2026 20:46 |
| Steam reviews | 27 January 2026 19:54 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter compatibility
Game modes
Multiplayer
Features
Online players
7
Developer
Croteam
Publisher
Devolver Digital
Release
30 Aug 2019
Platforms
Remote Play