Serious Sam: Shatterverse

Serious Sam: Shatterverse is a co-op roguelite first-person shooter for one to five players. Players can team up and blast their way through shifting universes alongside different versions of Sam from multiple dimensions. They can stack bonuses, bend the rules with run modifiers and hunt down the forces of Sam's arch-nemesis, Mental.

At its core, the game is a classic run-and-gun shooter, pitting players against familiar enemies with familiar weapons. However, the game's art style is significantly more colourful than that of Croteam's previous titles. This gives the impression of playing a Fortnite-style variant with a colourful, stylised comic-book look. Yet with its relatively small hordes of enemies and rather barren-looking levels, the game falls far short of the classic series.

Rather than a traditional, hand-crafted campaign, each run takes players through different biomes, with levels regenerated afresh for each attempt. The game is based on a roguelite structure. A full run lasts around 45 minutes and consists of three distinct biomes, each of which ends with a boss battle (five in total). As usual, there are in-run modifications and meta-progression. During runs, players encounter anomalies (such as severely restricted vision), portals, and modifiers that can alter the gameplay. Players can improve Sam's abilities or permanently upgrade weapon stats to make future attempts easier. Incidentally, the different Sam variants could have more differences, apart from their Ultimates.

Once new weapons have been unlocked, they become available in future runs, although the player's inventory resets at the start of each run. However, the available options and modifications are relatively tame, with hardly escalating builds. At least the weapon drops are somewhat more interesting, but even here, much more could have been made of them. Fundamentally, there is a lack of fun combinations, especially since the main motivating factor is achieving progression. They alter the gameplay experience too little, making the meta-progression monotonous.

In addition, the game does away with the healing items seen in previous Serious Sam games. The fact that health can only be restored via vending machines in the safe zone or by performing melee finishers on enemies also feels a bit out of place – it just doesn't suit Sam's legacy. It would be better if enemies dropped health items or armour shields.

Shatterverse can be played alone, but having multiple Sams increases the chaos and fun. In co-op mode, all players' progress carries over. Run rewards remain available even after leaving multiplayer and can be used to unlock and upgrade additional items, intel, weapons, and characters. The game is peer-to-peer and not server-based.

"Seeing Shatterverse come to life is a really big moment for us. It's very exciting to see another talented team step in and create something bold, fresh, and different within the universe we cherished for so long. I can't wait for both the old and new fans to experience this new interpretation of the series," said Davor Hunski, co-creator of Serious Sam, when the game was announced

"Reviving the legendary gunplay, massive enemy hordes, and unforgettable bosses that Serious Sam is known for, while blasting into bold new roguelike territory was challenging, but extremely rewarding. We hope Shatterverse will welcome newcomers and excite longtime fans, and deliver a fun, social, and – most importantly – complete experience designed to last. Everything we did over the course of the last several years was fueled by incredible community feedback, and we can't wait for players to assemble their squads, crush Mental’s hordes, and save the Samverse!" - Nic Duchesne, Producer Behaviour Interactive

Serious Sam: Shatterverse was released on 31 August 2026 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, priced at €19.99. Following its launch, the game was criticised, partly due to its difficulty balance. However, this has since been addressed by the developers with an update. The early game is now smoother, with a more gradual increase in difficulty. Enemies and Elites now have adjusted health, the 2-player scaling is less restrictive, and progression through the arsenal feels much quicker. The team has also made weapon drops more varied and increased the frequency of Catalyst Orb drops. They have lowered Armoury prices and made every weapon and piece of intel available for purchase from the pre-boss shop, even before they have been permanently unlocked.

Conclusion

Serious Sam: Shatterverse is a decent FPS with roguelite elements, which is best enjoyed in co-op mode. Unfortunately, though, the roguelite system is too tame and lacks variety.

Features

• Co-op FPS with roguelite elements
• Good run-and-gun feel
• Co-op progress carries over to other players