Choose Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter
Choose Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter if you want the LAN PvP and LAN Co-op side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 94.8% positive across 572 reviews.
Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter vs Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta)
Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter and Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) both land in Action, Indie 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 Action, Indie on Steam. Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter scores higher on Steam reviews (94.8% positive) than Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) (92.1% positive). Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter is currently ~60% cheaper on Steam than Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) (5.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD). 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 Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta)
Choose Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) if you want the Steam Leaderboards, Tracked Controller Support, and VR Supported side of the pairing. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 1,703 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter and Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) sit in Action and Indie on Steam and both list Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Online PvP, 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 Classic: The Second Encounter |  Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | — |
| Genres | Action, Indie | Action, Indie |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Verified |
| Price | 5.99 USD | 14.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 94.8% positive (572 reviews) | 92.1% positive (1,703 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op | Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op |
| Developers | Croteam | Croteam |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Indie on Steam.
- Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter scores higher on Steam reviews (94.8% positive) than Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) (92.1% positive).
- Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter is currently ~60% cheaper on Steam than Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) (5.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
- Both support cooperative play.
- Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter has no Deck rating yet.
Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter vs Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) — FAQ
- Which is better, Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter or Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta)?
- On Steam reviews Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter scores higher (94.8% positive) than Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) (92.1% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Are Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter and Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) similar?
- They overlap on Action, Indie 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.
- Do both Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter and Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) have co-op?
- Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: Serious Sam Classic: The Second Encounter ships Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op; Serious Sam Fusion 2017 (beta) ships Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op.