Serious Sam isn’t really for everyone, and Serious Sam VR isn’t necessarily going to change that.
Duke Nukem 3D is something of an anachronism in the modern gaming landscape, though perhaps nobody has the heart to tell Gearbox Software that. Serious Sam is what happens when a development team can’t quite figure out why Duke Nukem isn’t really a thing anymore, and creates an homage to it in the 21st century.
There are a lot of similarities between Sam ‘Serious’ Stone and Duke Nukem – macho, dudebro protagonist; evil, invading alien interlopers; irreverence; explosions; guns; explosions; guns – you get the idea. Neither of them are especially modern, however, so it’s something of a surprise to see a game like Serious Sam VR bubbling to the surface.
Serious Sam VR – or Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, to give the game its full (and stupid) title – pops the player into the head of Serious Sam, in a more literal, virtual way. The game is then largely the same as any other Serious Sam game that has gone before it; you’ll dual-wield a variety of overpowered weapons, killing wave after wave of marauding aliens, until there are no more things left to be exploded (or otherwise rendered dead).
In Serious Sam VR, however, you’ll make use of the HTC Vive’s touch controller – and Oculus’ version when they eventually get released – and dual-wield your guns in a very precise and natural way. So far, so good. But what it doesn’t look like you’ll be doing, from the early trailer we’ve seen, is moving about. At all.
There’s no running, jumping, or even walking. You just spin around and around on the spot, like a netball player with an inner ear problem, popping wave after wave of enemies. There aren’t even any rails. This is literally an on-rails shooter without any rails.
It’s coming to Steam Early Access on October 17, 2016, and will cost a whopping $39.99 US (around £31). Quite why you’d want any part of that is entirely up to you.
You can check out Serious Sam VR’s Early Access listing on Steam, if you must.