Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter

I put on the headset, grabbed the controllers, and within about forty seconds a Beheaded Kamikaze was screaming directly into my ear from somewhere off to my left. That framing tells you everything. Croteam VR took the 2001 horde-blaster, ran it through Serious Engine 2017, and handed it back in full room-scale with motion controls. The result is scrappy, loud, and a genuine surprise given how badly most classic-to-VR ports fumble the movement problem. Locomotion is where Croteam actually put in the work. You get full trackpad or thumbstick movement, teleportation via the built-in translocator, snap turning, smooth turning, and their proprietary Serious Warp system that splits the difference for motion-sick-adjacent players. Three different "forward direction" options - head, hand, or room - mean you can dial in something that works for your setup. This is more locomotion choices than most first-party VR titles ship with, and it matters enormously in a game where Sirian Werebulls are charging at you across open Egyptian plains. If you go full analog movement you will get the best experience. Teleport-only works, but you lose the kinetic read on enemy timing that makes the combat satisfying. The headline mechanical addition is dual-wielding across the entire arsenal. Minigun in each hand, cannon plus rocket launcher, chainsaw paired with a shotgun - the game was rebalanced to account for the doubled output, which does make individual weapons feel slightly softer than the flat version, but the trade-off is worth it. Fifteen campaign levels, ten weapons, a roster of enemies that includes the charging Werebull and the classic Kleer Skeleton, and five difficulty settings from tourist to Serious. There is also a full multiplayer suite: 16-player co-op campaign, deathmatch, team deathmatch, beast hunt, survival, capture the flag, last man standing, and insta-kill. Cross-play with the flat PC version is supported, so VR players and keyboard-mouse players can share the same session. The honest criticisms: textures and geometry are showing their age, and they looked dated even at launch. Enemy AI is purely charge-and-attack with zero positional strategy, which is fine for the horde-shooter fantasy but becomes obvious fast on lower difficulties. The final boss encounter has a reported interaction bug around the laser rings mechanic that some players hit consistently. On the multiplayer side, the mode list is generous but the active player base is thin in 2025, so filling a 16-player co-op lobby without friends in tow is unlikely. If you are prone to motion sickness, the full locomotion mode is a real test - the teleport option cushions that, but the game's pacing works against you if you are jumping rather than moving. For a VR shooter fan who wants something with actual scale - big open maps, hundreds of enemies per level, proper weapon variety - there is not a long list of alternatives that deliver this package. The community reception landed at 87 percent positive on Steam across over 700 reviews, which for a niche VR title is a real signal. It is not a technical showpiece and the solo run clocks in at under five hours on normal, but co-op on Serious difficulty adds significant replay weight. If you have a headset and two friends with headsets, this is one of the better uses of an evening you will find in the VR FPS catalogue.

Fred · Scout Team

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