Serious Sam is looking very different in Tormental, a top-down shooter fresh from Early Access

You know him, you love him, he’s Croteam’s FPS hero Serious Sam. This time around though, Sam has a new prospective on the blistering action.

Seriously

Serious Sam has been a pretty active little character as of late. It seems like only yesterday that Croteam released Serious Sam 4into the world, and it was earlier this year that Siberian Mayhem debuted, expanding that earlier game.

But the developer isn’t done yet, and this new title is… probably not what you were expecting. Then again, maybe it was, since this ‘new’ game isn’t completely new.

Serious Sam: Tormental was originally released as an Early Access game on Steam, way back in 2019. After its incubation period though, it’s now ready for a full retail launch, and that’s just what we have here.

What makes it so different? Well, it’s a top-down shooter for one thing. While the entirety of SS’ history has played out in first-person, Tormental shakes things up considerably. More than that, it’s also decidedly cartoony in presentation, and is a rogue-lite. First time for that in this series too. Then finally, there’s the storyline.

While it still features Sam vs Mental, this time the battle takes place entirely in Mental’s mind. Yep.

Deep in an abandoned temple lies a cursed artifact, an ancient device capable of the unthinkable. Could this be the key to enter the mind of the god of destruction: Mental? This may be ‘Serious’ Sam Stone’s only chance to delve deep into the twisted world of Mental’s wicked imagination, where his quest will lead him into battle against reckless hordes of monsters. You know, the usual. 

The full release of Serious Sam: Tormental introduces a new area called The Fortress that features new enemies and Elite variants and Torments – special runs with preset starting weapons, powers and conditions, with leaderboards for each. The update also includes dozens of new weapons, perks, powers, quests, music and even a brand new character, Ugh Zan Jr.

Devolver Digital press release