60
Interesting retro action with a satirical touch is damaged by rapidly emerging stereotypical playability. [March 2012]
58
While the game itself isn't bad so to speak, it does get repetitive kind of quickly. It's an interesting concept, and I am a huge fan of 16-bit games, especially RPGs, but the short length of the game and the repetitiveness of the battles is kind of a let down for me.
80
The Random Encounter makes for a short game, but an extremely enjoyable one, the two-hour campaign providing you with plenty of hectic victories and glorious defeats. It also leaves you with an Endless Mode, some lovely pixelated memories, and that warm feeling that only comes from seeing something very new built from ideas that are very, very old.
7
With the battle against Mental thought to be finished Sam returns back to the present only to find that his actions in the past have done nothing to change the timeline. Sent this time into the future Sam has decided to assassinate Mental there. Gearing up to take on his forces Sam gets help this time from Gregory and White. Take control of all three heroes as they charge Mental’s forces and have a seriously good time while they’re at it! Like any major title released today if there’s one constant in the world of gaming is a promotional tie-in. Sometimes it’s a competition, sometimes it’s a comic book or a vinyl soundtrack (why vinyl and not CD???) but one thing that is certain is that if an eagerly awaited game is coming out expect some kind of tie-in. Video game tie-ins, or at least indie game tie-ins to big release games however is unusual. When Croteam’s Serious Sam 3: BFE (2011) was in the process of being released indie company Vlambeer, known for its tiny pixel style 2D games, got in on the action with turn based RPG/shooter Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (2011). The game contains three worlds with three stages per world. You make your way across the map until you hit a random battle. You take on the bad guys will all your favourite weapons from the mainline games here plus you can collect items (some new) along the way like the old favourites Serious Bomb as well as Serious Damage. The game essentially works with a timer where you control the action of moving up and down firing at enemies. When the timer stops the game freezes and allows you to pick your next weapon, item or strategy for all player characters on screen. Once this is done the timer starts up again and so repeat/rinse till death or completion. Poor Sam and his friends have to do all this running backwards and we all know by now how much he hates doing that right? At least you can move your characters out of harm’s way during active gameplay. There’s not much more going on in gameplay apart from all that. Make no mistake this is a short game. An endless mode is made available upon completion but this is artificially extending the length. Critics were keen to see the game length as a major issue but for the price point I don’t feel that criticism is justified. My concern is more a couple of bugs which years after release the developers still have yet to iron out like the game crashing sometimes at the game over screen or a bizarre bug that doesn’t allow you to restart a save file. The game is fine for a budget title. The graphics are cute and the music is synth awesome. The Random Encounter is a seriously short game taking no more than two hours to complete. The endless mode of course extending the gameplay time helps but for those who complained about the length the fair price and it being a promotional tie-in mean one shouldn’t expect depth. For the price it makes an alright purchase although I wish those bugs were sorted out. In all it’s not a bad game at all.
4
Sorry excuse for a game, even after all those years is still riddles with random crashes and the dev hardly is present to help
3
A novel idea to turn Serious Sam into a SNES-style turn-based RPG is marred with game-breaking bugs and completely unbalanced difficulty. I couldn't get more then an hour or two into it before being completely unable to progress.
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter
Released On:
Oct 24, 2011
Metascore
Mixed or Average
64
User score
Mixed or Average
6.1
My Score
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All Platforms
Metascore
Mixed or Average
18% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
73% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
9% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Nov 10, 2011
70
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is a fun, albeit short game that delivers where Serious Sam games try too, with shallow but dumb fun. The humor is great, graphics are nice and the game is fun while it lasts. TRE doesn't do a whole lot, but what it does is fun and I would say that that fun is well worthy of a purchase especially if you're already a fan of Sam.
User score
Mixed or Average
33% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
38% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
29% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
Feb 18, 2013
10
After Playing Serious Sam TRE for 20 minutes I must say that I love this game. It´s a must have for anybody!! I got it for less than 1 buck but its more worth than many games I payed 8 or 15 bucks . The game is funny timeless. But serious its Sam and not of the cheapest style
Apr 28, 2012
10
Omg, what the heck is this? That was basically my first thought playing this game. But, that said, the game captures the Serious Sam spirit quite perfectly. Too perfectly , really, because it can be quite hard in the end. Original elements, random enemies, 8 bit retro look, it really is a wonder this got only such a low score, knowing how some reviews are made. Perhaps the colors were not bright enough, or maybe this is not a natural progression to the latest ukulele themed colorful block puzzle. Ok this is not the greatest game ever made, but if you ever find that game for $5 please let me know. I believe my expectations were met considering the price, and in that context this gets a good review considering the original bits and retro look, and the original 8 bit arcade music - oh, wait...
Nov 3, 2011
70
Sure, it's not very deep from an RPG-elements perspective, nor does it have the kind of story that's going to make you go "Hm!", but it will entertain you and help whet your appetite for the monster-stomping extravaganza that will be Serious Sam 3.
Mar 22, 2012
60
Interesting retro action with a satirical touch is damaged by rapidly emerging stereotypical playability. [March 2012]
Dec 7, 2011
58
While the game itself isn't bad so to speak, it does get repetitive kind of quickly. It's an interesting concept, and I am a huge fan of 16-bit games, especially RPGs, but the short length of the game and the repetitiveness of the battles is kind of a let down for me.
Oct 28, 2011
50
There is some charm to this little indie game. It's bright, it's colorful and it's unique amongst RPG's with a stylized combat system that manages to successfully replicate the series of games it is based on. The foundation, however, is weak, boring and repetitive. The only incentive to survive its repetitive battles is that you won't have to attempt them a second time.
Oct 27, 2011
40
The Random Encounter is just, well, bad. Seeing our favorite enemies rendered in 16 bits is really just not worth even the very small amount of time or money you'll spend playing this game - particularly when there are other worthwhile demakes or Flash games available for free.
Jan 1, 2012
10
Pretty original title, defiantly deserves a higher rating than it got. Five bucks isn't alot, and I think that most of the reviewers did not take that into account, unless their annual salary makes them think five bucks a big deal.
Jul 25, 2020
7
With the battle against Mental thought to be finished Sam returns back to the present only to find that his actions in the past have done nothing to change the timeline. Sent this time into the future Sam has decided to assassinate Mental there. Gearing up to take on his forces Sam gets help this time from Gregory and White. Take control of all three heroes as they charge Mental’s forces and have a seriously good time while they’re at it! Like any major title released today if there’s one constant in the world of gaming is a promotional tie-in. Sometimes it’s a competition, sometimes it’s a comic book or a vinyl soundtrack (why vinyl and not CD???) but one thing that is certain is that if an eagerly awaited game is coming out expect some kind of tie-in. Video game tie-ins, or at least indie game tie-ins to big release games however is unusual. When Croteam’s Serious Sam 3: BFE (2011) was in the process of being released indie company Vlambeer, known for its tiny pixel style 2D games, got in on the action with turn based RPG/shooter Serious Sam: The Random Encounter (2011). The game contains three worlds with three stages per world. You make your way across the map until you hit a random battle. You take on the bad guys will all your favourite weapons from the mainline games here plus you can collect items (some new) along the way like the old favourites Serious Bomb as well as Serious Damage. The game essentially works with a timer where you control the action of moving up and down firing at enemies. When the timer stops the game freezes and allows you to pick your next weapon, item or strategy for all player characters on screen. Once this is done the timer starts up again and so repeat/rinse till death or completion. Poor Sam and his friends have to do all this running backwards and we all know by now how much he hates doing that right? At least you can move your characters out of harm’s way during active gameplay. There’s not much more going on in gameplay apart from all that. Make no mistake this is a short game. An endless mode is made available upon completion but this is artificially extending the length. Critics were keen to see the game length as a major issue but for the price point I don’t feel that criticism is justified. My concern is more a couple of bugs which years after release the developers still have yet to iron out like the game crashing sometimes at the game over screen or a bizarre bug that doesn’t allow you to restart a save file. The game is fine for a budget title. The graphics are cute and the music is synth awesome. The Random Encounter is a seriously short game taking no more than two hours to complete. The endless mode of course extending the gameplay time helps but for those who complained about the length the fair price and it being a promotional tie-in mean one shouldn’t expect depth. For the price it makes an alright purchase although I wish those bugs were sorted out. In all it’s not a bad game at all.
Apr 4, 2019
4
Sorry excuse for a game, even after all those years is still riddles with random crashes and the dev hardly is present to help
Jun 22, 2016
3
A novel idea to turn Serious Sam into a SNES-style turn-based RPG is marred with game-breaking bugs and completely unbalanced difficulty. I couldn't get more then an hour or two into it before being completely unable to progress.
Dec 29, 2011
3
Interesting idea, disappointing result. I was ecstatic when I read that this game was "turn-based." I thought it would like a traditional turn-based RPG. No. You select weapons and point them downrange, then in real-time your characters shoot while enemies advance, leaving you to strafe up and down the screen to avoid incoming fire. As you strafe, your line of fire moves with you. This might be ok if you could time when your character fires, but between dodging incoming fire and trying to keep track of moving enemies there is simply more luck involved in this game than strategy.
SummarySerious Sam: The Random Encounter is the third chapter of the series.
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date:Oct 24, 2011
Publisher:
