Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 301 sampled Steam reviews (237 positive / 64 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Visuals & art8% mention it
- Performance8% mention it
- Multiplayer & servers8% mention it
- Story & writing7% mention it
- Combat6% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Visuals & art19% mention it
- Combat11% mention it
- Bugs & crashes11% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
74%
87 reviews
5-15h
75%
105 reviews
15-40h
81%
72 reviews
40-100h
96%
27 reviews
100h+
100%
10 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 72 | 6 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 88% | 82 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 83 | 18 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 88% | 82 | 22 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 63 reviews sampled · 58 total reviews in window · weighted 42.3 up / 5.6 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (51)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“It seems odd to slam Serious Sam 3 for a lack of restraint, especially if you've spent space arguing that it's not as mindless as it appears. So, a piece of advice, rather: play it in spurts, play it with friends in sixteen-player co-op, and shoot many monsters.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“I am extremely glad of Serious Sam 3's existence. It serves as a timely reminder of how shooters don't need to be highly restrictive rollercoasters that heavily manipulate the player in order to create intensity and epic spectacle.”
read full review ↗ - 87
“There's just something about holding the trigger and mowing down hundreds of aliens that were kind enough to walk right into the hail of bullets that puts a smile on my face. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to ice my trigger finger.”
read full review ↗ - 79
“A worthy successor. If you like rapid fire without tactics or much of a story, this one is for you. I found it a bit monotonous in the long run, but for a quick session of mindless fun, Serious Sam 3: BFE is perfect.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Serious Sam 3: BFE is a game worth checking out, especially if you were a fan of old iD Software titles like Doom or Wolfenstein, or the even the Serious Sam series itself. If you're a gamer who's only played modern FPS titles, you'd still do well to see what Serious Sam 3 has to offer. It's more unique nowadays, and it's polished just enough to be an enjoyable experience.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“A few weaker sections do little to tarnish the fun of this old-school rooted shooter.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Serious Sam 3 does what it set out to do and nothing more. A faithful and heartfelt ode to old-school FPS carnage, it certainly delivers the dumb fun that Duke Nukem Forever so dismally failed to recapture - and that, for many retro-heads, will be more than enough. ”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Crisp visuals and legions of enemies struggle to invigorate the lackluster Serious Sam 3: BFE.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“A loving homage to old school shooters but one that refuses to take the steps necessary to become its own game, even with the excellent new co-op modes.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Pure mayhem, pure fun, pure Serious Sam, pure first-person shooting. [Jan 2012, p.66]”
- 70
“A hugely fun, mega frenetic co-op shooter that embodies the soul, and depth, of 90's twitch shooters. [Mar 2012, p.78]”
read full review ↗ - 78
“At the end of the day, Serious Sam: BFE isn't as much of a welcome throwback to old-school gaming staples as the original title was a decade ago. But, thankfully, that doesn't mean that it's a failure or a complete waste of time.”
read full review ↗
GameWatcher
ZTGD
Worth Playing
The Escapist
Eurogamer
GameSpot
Metro GameCentral
PC Gamer
AusGamers…and 39 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Serious Sam Fusion update 433900 is live!May 14, 2019