Rank 01Why this
Also Gore and Old School, like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
- $5.99 (Price checked Oct 31)
- 2019
Games like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter
- 26 games
- Updated May 4, 2026
Players who liked Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter also play
The closest matches to Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter: Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter, Quake, DOOM II, Blood: Refreshed Supply™, and Unreal Tournament 3. Ranked by imho.run from Steam co-play data, shared tags and reviews.
- Rank 01
Rank 02
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Blood: Refreshed Supply™
Why this: Same retro mood as Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
Rank 05 
Unreal Tournament 3
Why this: Same epic mood as Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
Rank 06 
Rank 07 
Rank 08 
The full ranked list: top 24 games like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter
Best match first, as plain text. The same list for AI assistants:
- 1Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter
Also Gore and Old School, like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
- 95% of 572 reviews
- 2
- 3
- 4Blood: Refreshed Supply™
Same retro mood as Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
- 66% of 494 reviews
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15Insurgency: Sandstorm
Same tense mood as Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
- 86% of 59,257 reviews
- 16
- 17
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- Released: 2019
- Developer: Croteam
- Price: $5.99checked Nov 3
- 95% of 1,167 reviews
- Genres: Action, Indie
- Metacritic 87
- Platforms: Windows
Players highlight
- Arena style combat with no cover
- Enemies spawn in overwhelming waves
- Modding scene adds thousands of hours
- Epic
- Nostalgic
- Retro
More games like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter, sliced differently
Reviewers mention these as similar to Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter
Surfaced from review text: when other players write 'if you liked X, try Y', we catch the name and resolve it back to a Steam game.
Wolfenstein 3D
Why this: Also Gore and Old School, like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
DOOM
Why this: Same epic mood as Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter at current Steam store prices.
Killing Floor 2
Why this: Same epic mood as Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
Monument
Why this: Shares secret hunting with Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
CARNAL
Why this: Shares arena combat with Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
Plays great on Steam Deck
Valve-Verified or Playable picks from the similar pool — ready to go on Deck out of the box.
Quake
Why this: Shares secret hunting with Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
DOOM II
Why this: Also Gore and Old School, like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
Blood: Refreshed Supply™
Why this: Same retro mood as Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
More from Croteam
Other recommendable Steam games by Croteam, ranked by review count so the studio's hits land first.
Serious Sam 3: BFE
Why this: Also Gore and Old School, like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
The Talos Principle 2
Why this: Same epic mood as Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
Serious Sam II
Why this: Shares secret hunting with Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.
About Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter
The closest matches to Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter: Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter, Quake, DOOM II, Blood: Refreshed Supply™, and Unreal Tournament 3. Ranked by imho.run from Steam co-play data, shared tags and reviews.
If Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is your kind of game, the closest matches are Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter, Quake and DOOM II — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers describe it as epic, nostalgic and retro, and single out its arena combat and co op. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is an action and indie game released in 2019 from developer Croteam, published by Devolver Digital. Its design brings together arena combat, co op, modding support and quick saves. It offers a challenging difficulty, a medium-length campaign, online co-op and longer sit-down sessions. On Steam it holds 95% positive of 1,167 user reviews, alongside a Metacritic score of 87. Reviewers describe the tone as epic, nostalgic, retro and tense and point to arena style combat with no cover and enemies spawn in overwhelming waves. It supports both solo and multiplayer play and ships with a level editor. It carries a list price of $5.99.
About Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter: Serious Sam is a high-adrenaline single-play and 16-player co-operative arcade-action FPS and Gamespot's Game of the Year 2001!
Is Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter worth buying?
Players recommend it
A summary of what players say, not a promise you'll like it. Every signal is listed below.
- 95% of 1,167 Steam reviews are positive.
- We don't track this game's daily reviews yet, so this is the all-time picture.
- Price: $5.99 (checked Nov 8).
- People who recommend it had played a median of 8 h when they wrote their review.
- Not supported on Steam Deck.
What fans praise · Themes mined from positive reviews
- Arena style combat with no cover
- Enemies spawn in overwhelming waves
- Modding scene adds thousands of hours
- Secret levels double the content
People who play it also play: Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter, Quake, DOOM II
Frequently asked about Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter
Can I run it?
Does Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter work on Steam Deck?
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is currently rated Unsupported on Steam Deck. It may not launch or may have significant issues that block normal play.
How much does Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter cost?
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is listed on Steam at 5.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
Does Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter have multiplayer or co-op?
Yes — Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter supports multi-player play according to its Steam store listing (Multi-player, Online PvP, Shared/Split Screen PvP).
What games are most similar to Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter?
Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter are Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter, Quake, DOOM II.
Who developed Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter?
Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter was developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital.