Choose Serious Sam: The Random Encounter
Choose Serious Sam: The Random Encounter if you want an Action experience. On Steam, it's currently about 29% cheaper on the Steam Store. Serious Sam: The Random Encounter launched in 2011.
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter vs Pillars of Dust
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter and Pillars of Dust both land in Indie, RPG on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Indie, RPG on Steam. Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (2011) is 9 years older than Pillars of Dust (2020). Pillars of Dust scores higher on Steam reviews (95.2% positive) than Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (44.6% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Pillars of Dust
Choose Pillars of Dust if you want an Adventure and Casual experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2020) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Pillars of Dust launched in 2020.
Both Serious Sam: The Random Encounter and Pillars of Dust sit in Indie and RPG on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Serious Sam: The Random Encounter |  Pillars of Dust | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2011 | 2020 |
| Genres | Action, Indie, RPG | Indie, Adventure, RPG, Casual |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Unrated |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 6.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 44.6% positive (316 reviews) | 95.2% positive (21 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Vlambeer, Croteam | Retreaux Games |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, RPG on Steam.
- Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (2011) is 9 years older than Pillars of Dust (2020).
- Pillars of Dust scores higher on Steam reviews (95.2% positive) than Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (44.6% positive).
- Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is currently ~29% cheaper on Steam than Pillars of Dust (4.99 USD vs. 6.99 USD).
- Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is Deck Unsupported on Steam Deck; Pillars of Dust has no Deck rating yet.
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter vs Pillars of Dust — FAQ
- Should I play Serious Sam: The Random Encounter or Pillars of Dust first?
- If you want chronology, Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (2011) came out before Pillars of Dust (2020). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Serious Sam: The Random Encounter and Pillars of Dust similar?
- They overlap on Indie, RPG on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.