Serious Sam: The Second Encounter cover art

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter

An over-the-top horde shooter throwing hundreds of charging enemies at you.

On Steam ↗
Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION7 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE2 /10OPTIMIZATION6 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    7/10

    Circle-strafing huge horde waves tests stamina and aim

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    Enemies charge in fixed patterns

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    2/10

    Wave compositions memorised after one run

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    6/10

    Prioritising targets and managing arenas is solvable

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

Compare with

Similar games

see all →

Ranked by shared genre first, then by how closely the cheat-test profile matches - a cross-genre tag means a pick matched on skill profile alone.

Half-Life cover art

Half-Life

Practiced Mastery · narrative FPS

E
R
V
O
Half-Life
Hotline Miami cover art

Hotline Miami

Practiced Mastery · top-down action

E
R
V
O
Hotline Miami
Dead Space (2008) cover art

Dead Space (2008)

Practiced Mastery · survival horror shooter

E
R
V
O
Dead Space (2008)
Far Cry 4 cover art

Far Cry 4

Practiced Mastery · open-world FPS

E
R
V
O
Far Cry 4
Super Metroid cover art

Super Metroid

Practiced Mastery · metroidvania

E
R
V
O
Super Metroid
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne cover art

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Practiced Mastery · noir third-person shooter

E
R
V
O
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Game details

Released
2002
Developer
Croteam
Platforms
PC
Modes
Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Split screen
IGDB critics
91/100
IGDB users
79/100
ShooterIndieActionScience fictionComedy