Serious Sam, even today, radiates its charm, albeit likely through rose-tinted nostalgia glasses. In terms of gameplay, it mostly boils down to "keep your finger on the trigger," spend most of your time running backwards, and occasionally strafe. While the weapons are wonderfully diverse, there's little reason to switch between them other than "Weapon A deals more damage than Weapon B." The levels are beautifully designed, and the time-travel setting takes you to impressive locations that felt incredibly vast for their time.

Where the game truly shines is in its multiplayer co-op mode, especially when played with a group of silly friends. That's when beautiful chaos unfolds, and together you hack and slash your way through hordes of hundreds and hundreds of enemies. All of this is underscored by a banging soundtrack. Nowadays, Serious Sam may not appeal to everyone, but it certainly holds a special place in my heart.