Being a fan of the retro style visuals that many companies are dishing out these days is very endearing to see, not only because of how nostalgic it all feels but because for Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour it actually feels very fitting. Had the game taken a different direction with regards to its gameplay and visual aesthetic, perhaps it wouldn’t have provided that rewarding sense of joy that we felt as we played through it all. Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour combines the fast- paced style of the likes of Hotline Miami, with the bloody appeal that made the series so popular in the first place. Fans of the classics like True Lies will also find solace in the game because of how similar the two play, and just how fluid everything feels as you run through each stage decimating enemy after enemy. With its challenging yet rewarding gameplay, Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour is certainly very fun and provides just enough difficulty that you’ll continue coming back for more later on. Hammerwatch is another title we should mention as Crackshell is the mastermind behind that explosive title as well, so if you’re a fan of that game then definitely don’t sleep on this one.

As stated earlier, much of Serious Sam’s appeal comes directly from its influences and as such, provides a very entertaining experience all throughout. While the UI could use a little work due its bland finish, the overall feel of the game still provides enough fuel to keep things rolling. Expect there to be a lot of guts everywhere as you charge your way through hordes of unrelenting enemies who will stop at nothing to see you dead, while the vast array of weapons at your disposal will bring a smile to your face as you spray and pray your way to completing missions. While the game isn’t very long, the multiplayer addition adds a little bit more replay value and allows you to eradicate bloodthirsty enemies with a teammate. If you’re looking for something that reminds you of those good old days of top down shooters with a modern appeal thrown into the fray, then certainly give Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour a shot. Level editing is part of this glorious package as well thanks to full mod support, so if you’re tired of getting wasted by unforgiving enemies, then why not support the community and make the lives of others a living hell as a trade off!

So now, with all of the little details out of the way, let’s go into the meat and bones of what makes this game worth picking up. There’s plenty of action to look forward to as every level comes with enough of a challenge, while making sure to collect all of the extra items is the extra bonus. The missions that you have to complete through every stage are always varied, with some requiring you to collect stars while others are the simple grab-keycards-and-go type of style. The latter of course is what makes the gameplay so thrilling because obtaining these key cards isn’t as simple as, let’s say, opening up a crate to discover it, but rather you need to kill off a very powerful enemy to get it. These enemies don’t make life easy because despite having a plethora of powerful weapons at your disposal, there are often times surprises that pop up out of the blue that make killing these things a tad bit annoying.

There will be moments when you’re left with only your pistol and perhaps a Tommy Gun in hand, but due to lack of ammo lying around to provide that extra leverage you tend to find yourself doing a lot more evading than charging through. The unfortunate thing, however, is that these enemies don’t hold back and will follow you even though you’ve rolled out of harm's way. This often led us to getting destroyed very quickly because as old enemies try to rush you, new ones spawn out of the blue and charge towards you with the intention of seeing your guts decorate the ground in red. Ammo management is one of the things that you’ll most likely need to pay close attention to because while shells and cells are scattered throughout each stage, you can’t solely rely on them to get you ahead a lot of the time. Some enemies require a lot of bullets to kill them but other powerful weapons like the Cannon can potentially kill off a horde of enemies in one blow. Knowing when and how to optimize your weapons becomes more and more pivotal as you progress through each stage because even when you think you have the advantage at times, traps lie ahead that you’ll never expect.

One fault, however, that made playing a little bothersome was the lack of a map available, and so, searching for key cards at times took way longer than needed. For that reason, we often died more times than we should have simply because we’d run around searching and then find ourselves surrounded with very little answers to the problem. Control wise, everything felt more natural on a keyboard and mouse but when we tried playing on our dual shock controller, it felt awkward trying to maneuver around and aim precisely at enemies. So we recommend that if you want the best experience out of Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour, be sure to stick with the traditional keyboard and mouse combo. As we stated earlier pertaining to the very bland UI, that’s also a fault in itself because more could’ve been done to make things a little more appealing to the eye. We know that the team probably wanted to keep things simple and not overload the screen, but honestly a little flavor wouldn’t hurt the gameplay at all.

Overall, Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour is a very fun game for those who enjoy a good thrill and top down shooter gameplay. Again, if you played classics like True Lies for the Genesis or even the more recent titles like Hotline Miami, then Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour should be a no brainer buy because you’ll definitely receive the same rewarding experience in the long run. For the price you’re paying for the game ($14.99 at the time of this article being written), it’s totally worth it despite lacking a few in game features that would’ve helped to make finding items a lot easier. There’s also a plethora of other modes for you to dabble with such as versus mode, survival mode, along with full mod support to add even more appeal to the game, so once again, throwing down 15 bucks for it is worth the deal. It’s a huge step in the right direction for a game that hasn’t really been in the spotlight for some time, seeing as its predecessors didn’t really catch the attention of a lot of players outside of the hardcore fanbase.

Serious Sam’s Bogus Detour has its competitive aspects but it comes with enough casual appeal that it truly feels like the best Serious Sam title to date. We hope that the team at Crackshell will throw in more content to make things even more wild and frantic, but also, we can’t wait to see just how the mod community evolves this game to another level. This is one game that you can have a blast with friends online, or simply just going on a killing spree by yourself. Either way the reward is always there and no matter what happens, there will certainly be blood and guts spilled everywhere.

So there you have it, we hope you found this review to be insightful and will encourage you to try this game out. The title is available now on Steam so be sure to grab it if you’re interested. If you want to see the game in action be sure to tune into Honey’s Gaming on Twitch, where we play a plethora of titles all for you fans to give you a real time look at these games in action. Be sure to follow us if you haven’t already not only on Twitch, but also on our other social media outlets like Facebook as well as Discord. There you’ll find all the latest updates and tweets about upcoming games, along with anime and manga news to keep you entertained.

As always, for all things sweet, with news straight from Japan, be sure to keep it locked here on Honey’s Anime.