Serious Sam 3: BFE vs Serious Sam 4
Serious Sam 3: BFE is an FPS game from Croteam (2011) while Serious Sam 4 is an FPS open-world game from Croteam (2020).
Quick answer: Serious Sam 3: BFE rates higher, 7.5 to 7.1 on the GamingPickz Score, and Serious Sam 3: BFE is the cheaper at $29.99.
What each one is
Serious Sam 3: BFE is filed under FPS. In contrast, Serious Sam 4 under FPS and Open-World.
Serious Sam 3: BFE is a prequel to the original indie fast action FPS and Game of the Year sensation - Serious Sam: The First Encounter!
Serious Sam 4 reignites the classic FPS series in a high-powered prequel loaded with an explosive arsenal, intergalactic carnage, and perfectly timed one-liners.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Serious Sam 3: BFE serves as a prequel to Serious Sam: The First Encounter and depicts the events on Earth before Sam's journey into the past. Prior to AD 2060, humanity had slowly begun uncovering artifacts and ruins left behind in ancient times by the Sirians, the famous and long-thought extinct race from the planet Sirius. Unfortunately, Mental has chosen this time to turn his attention upon Earth. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Serious Sam 3: BFE received "mixed or average" reviews. Eurogamer gave the game a 7 out of 10, praising it for what Duke Nukem Forever failed to deliver, however criticizing the redundancy of the title's gameplay compared to its previous iterations in the series. Game Informer rewarded the game a score of 7. (Wikipedia)
Plot
An unknown amount of time before the events of Serious Sam 3: BFE , a massive portal opens in Tunguska , Russia which serves as a bridgehead for Mental's forces to invade Earth. As the whole planet scrambles to repel the alien invasion, a unit from the Earth Defense Force led by "Serious" Sam Stone is sent by General Brand to Rome to meet Father Mikhail, a priest who claims to have found some clues leading to the Holy Grail , which, according to him, is a… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Serious Sam 4 received "mixed or average reviews", according to review aggregator website Metacritic . The site calculated normalised ratings of 68/100 for the Microsoft Windows version, 65/100 for the PlayStation 5 port, and 57/100 on Xbox Series X/S. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received fair approval, being recommended by 38% of critics. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Serious Sam 3: BFE | Serious Sam 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.5/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (88%, 28,656) | Very Positive (83%, 17,689) |
| Critic aggregate | 72/100 | 68/100 |
| Price | $29.99 | $39.99 |
| Install size | — | 42 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | verified |
| Released | 2011 | 2020 |
| Developer | Croteam | Croteam |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Serious Sam 3: BFE vs Serious Sam 4, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Serious Sam 3: BFEFPS gameSerious Sam 4FPS open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Serious Sam 3: BFEFPS, Action, Co-opSerious Sam 4Action, Gore, FPSThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Serious Sam 3: BFE ✓Score 7.5 · 88% on Steam · 72 criticSerious Sam 4Score 7.1 · 83% on Steam · 68 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Serious Sam 3: BFE28,656 reviews · 2 add-onsSerious Sam 417,689 reviews · 42 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Serious Sam 3: BFE ✓$29.99Serious Sam 4$39.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Serious Sam 3: BFEPlayableSerious Sam 4 ✓VerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Serious Sam 3: BFE takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueSerious Sam 3: BFE and Serious Sam 4 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Serious Sam 3: BFE (GamingPickz Score 7.5)
- The cheaper right now: Serious Sam 3: BFE ($29.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Serious Sam 4 (verified)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
FPSActionCo-opGoreComedyMultiplayerShooterFirst-Person
Where they differ
Online Co-OpAliensOld SchoolLocal Co-OpSplit ScreenFunny
ViolentGreat SoundtrackBloodFast-PacedClassicArena Shooter
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Serious Sam 3: BFE is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Serious Sam 4 is demanding, for players who want a challenge.
System requirements, side by side
| Serious Sam 3: BFE | Serious Sam 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | nVidia GeForce 780/970/1050 |
| Minimum CPU | — | 4-core CPU @ 2.5 GHz |
| Minimum RAM | — | 8 GB |
| Install size | — | 42 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Serious Sam 3: BFE · Serious Sam 4.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Serious Sam 3: BFE and 1 for Serious Sam 4. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Serious Sam 3: BFE and Serious Sam 4 in scope?
Serious Sam 3: BFE has drawn 28,656 Steam reviews and ships 2 add-ons. Serious Sam 4 has drawn 17,689 Steam reviews and installs in 42 GB.
Is Serious Sam 3: BFE or Serious Sam 4 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Serious Sam 3: BFE rates higher (7.5 to 7.1). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Serious Sam 3: BFE or Serious Sam 4?
Serious Sam 3: BFE is cheaper right now at $29.99, against $39.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Serious Sam 3: BFE or Serious Sam 4?
Serious Sam 3: BFE rates higher, 7.5 to 7.1 on the GamingPickz Score, and Serious Sam 3: BFE is the cheaper at $29.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.