The first time I learned that Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour even existed was during the outrageous Devolver Digital E3 2017 press event; a show so “mind-blowing” I wasn’t even sure the game was real, but a week later the game turned up on Steam and I’ve been playing the hell out of it, and it is awesome! Oops…spoiler alert. I guess you don’t need to read the rest of my review now.
Hey…thanks for sticking around! So, fans of Hammerwatch will certainly enjoy what Crackshell has done with the Serious Sam license, taking our 3D FPS hero into the frantic world of top-down twin-stick shooters. I admit, I had my doubts when I fired the game up for the first time, with its retro graphics and seemingly simplistic gameplay, but three hours later when I was massaging my carpal tunnel and trying to stuff my brains back in my ears, I was hopeless hooked. And that was just the single player.
Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour is a rollercoaster on its own but gets even more insane when you bring up to three friends along to play the entire campaign in co-op mode – sorry, no couch co-op. If you have more enemies than friends, you can check out the 12-player Versus mode that includes traditional deathmatch and other competitive favorites, and for the ultimate test, check out the Survival mode, alone or with up to 12 players. And if all this isn’t enough to keep you trapped in 2D retro hell, Bogus Detour comes with an awesome level editor and plenty of mods with full Steam Workshop support.
Alone or with friends, Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour definitely sparked memories from my arcade days playing Gauntlet, with endless streams of monsters pouring from solar-powered monster generators or just appearing from the edge of the screen. The various chapters feature both inside and outdoor locations that are surprisingly rich in detail and loaded with color…until you paint them red with the spilt blood of your enemies. There is a slight isometric angle to the camera that allows for some hidden secrets and concealed paths to special areas of the map.
Sam and all your favorite monsters from the 3D game are back and cute as ever in their tiny sprite forms, complete with iconic sound effects and line-of-sight attack AI. Sure, these guys are stupid but what they lack in intelligence they make up for in sheer numbers as you back pedal your way into a doorway to funnel a swarm of toxic frogs or put your back to an ocean as dozens of suicide bombers come screaming at you.
Each level is surprisingly large and sectioned off with colored keycards you must fight to collect and fight even harder to use. These allow you into new areas with more weapons, ammo, treasure, and of course; more monsters, all leading to the eventual exit where it starts all over again with a new environment. The Egyptian them is used heavily along with some futuristic locations – sorry no spoilers.
There is also a newly integrated XP system that allows Sam to level-up and customize Sam to your own personal play style with a clever assortment of perks. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it an RPG or even an RPG-lite, but it does allow you to connect just a bit deeper with what would otherwise be a mindless shooter.
Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour features an arcade mentality with checkpoints to lock down progress, but you also have lives (sunglasses) and if those run out you start the entire level over, and some of these levels can take hours to fully complete. Keeping in mind that most levels end with a boss fight, there can be some frustration if you burn through your lives and have to repeat an entire map. Levels are also huge and with no mini-map or guidance assist it can be easy to get lost. I would often find a colored key then couldn’t remember where to use it. I ended up using the persistent blood stains as a way to track where I had already been – gross but effective.
For only $15 you won’t find a more colorful, entertaining, and challenging twin-stick shooter on your PC that brings all the self-aware fun of Serious Sam to an entirely new and unexpected genre. All the visceral gameplay that has become a staple of the franchise made the trip to 2D along with everything else that makes Sam a timeless hero…even when he goes retro.
