Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter

39 Hardcore games like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter that you should try

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We filtered the 46 games similar to Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter down to the 39 that fit the “Hardcore” category. DOOM, Paint the Town Red and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter.

iRank88/ 100

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GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

Tags

DarkHardcoreSoloMultiplayer

Year 2001Dev Croteam

Stores

Steam ↗GOG ↗

Quick answer

Within the “Hardcore” category, the closest game to Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter is DOOM — scoring 97/100 on our similarity scale. Paint the Town Red and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth follow close behind.

#1DOOM97 #2Paint the Town Red93 #3The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth92 #4Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter91 #5Doom90

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The best hardcore games like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter

39 similar games foundUpdated July 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter. Each one has been evaluated across 13 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

97

DOOM

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opRangedMeleeDarkHardcoreSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 97%· 28KRAWG👍 91%· 837MC83IGDB90· 1

Year 1993Dev SEGAOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Stands apart with horror setting, while skipping adventure storytelling

#2Paint the Town Red

93

Paint the Town Red

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeRangedDarkHardcoreFirst Person

Steam👍 96%· 32KRAWG👍 80%· 68IGDB70· 2OC67· 13

Year 2015Dev South East GamesPlaytime ~4hOn PC · Xbox · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: fighting mechanics, deep RPG systems and roguelike runs, while skipping setting scifi

#3The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

92

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloCo-opMultiplayerOfflineMeleeRangedDarkHardcore

Steam👍 97%· 392KRAWG👍 87%· 1.2KMC86IGDB95· 2OC87· 27

Year 2014Dev NicalisPlaytime ~31hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: roguelike runs, deep RPG systems and puzzle design, while skipping setting scifi

#4Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter

91

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeDarkHardcoreSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 93%· 8.8KIGDB74· 2

Year 2009Dev Croteam · Devolver DigitalOn PC

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with online features, while skipping ranged combat

90

Doom

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeDarkHardcoreSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 96%· 218KIGDB87· 28

Year 2016Dev id Software · Bethesda SoftworksOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings roguelike runs, horror tension and strong narrative focus, while skipping adventure storytelling

#6Quake III Arena

89

Quake III Arena

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeDarkHardcoreSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 96%· 4.0KRAWG👍 90%· 530IGDB87· 3

Year 1999Dev id Software · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Its own twist: competitive edge and PvP competition, while skipping adventure storytelling

#7Hotline Miami

86

Hotline Miami

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMeleeRangedDarkHardcore

Steam👍 97%· 122KRAWG👍 90%· 2.6KMC85IGDB86· 10

Year 2012Dev Devolver DigitalPlaytime ~5hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Both are arena shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings puzzle design, strong narrative focus and visual isometric, while skipping adventure storytelling

86

Returnal

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloCo-opMultiplayerMeleeHardcoreDarkSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 81%· 10KIGDB90· 19OC86· 201

Year 2021Dev Housemarque · Sony Interactive EntertainmentOn PC · PS5

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and punishing difficulty

≠ Stands apart with roguelike runs, third-person shooting and horror tension, while skipping adventure storytelling

#9S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

86

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeDarkHardcoreSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 95%· 48KRAWG👍 86%· 1.4KMC82IGDB80· 2

Year 2007Dev GSC Game WorldPlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings deep RPG systems, survival mechanics and sandbox freedom, while skipping co op

#10SCP: Secret Laboratory

83

SCP: Secret Laboratory

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

MultiplayerCo-opMeleeDarkHardcoreSci-FiFirst Person

Steam👍 91%· 230K

Year 2017Dev Northwood StudiosOn PC

✓ Same family of arena shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with deep RPG systems, horror tension and survival mechanics, while skipping ranged combat

#11Condemned: Criminal Origins

81

Condemned: Criminal Origins

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMeleeRangedDarkHardcoreFirst Person

Steam👍 87%· 4.3KRAWG👍 78%· 423MC80IGDB74· 5

Year 2005Dev Monolith Productions · SEGAPlaytime ~1hOn PC · Xbox

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, puzzle design and survival mechanics, while skipping setting scifi

#12Devil Daggers

81

Devil Daggers

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloRangedMeleeHardcoreDarkFirst Person

Steam👍 95%· 9.3KRAWG👍 78%· 160MC83IGDB78· 3OC83· 12

Year 2016Dev SorathPlaytime ~1hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux

✓ Both are arena shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and punishing difficulty

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, survival mechanics and strong narrative focus, while skipping adventure storytelling

81

Postal

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMultiplayerMeleeHardcoreDark

Steam👍 92%· 14K

Year 1997Dev Running With Scissors · Ripcord GamesOn Linux · Android · PC

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and punishing difficulty

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, strong narrative focus and linear, story-driven structure, while skipping adventure storytelling

#14Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

80

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMeleeDarkHardcoreNarrative

Steam👍 94%· 78KIGDB71· 13OC74· 70

Year 2015Dev Dennaton Games · Devolver DigitalOn Xbox · PlayStation 3 · PS4

✓ Fits the arena shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and dark, oppressive atmosphere

≠ Where it differs: brings strong narrative focus, visual pixel and visual isometric, while skipping adventure storytelling

#15The Binding of Isaac

79

The Binding of Isaac

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreArena FPS

SoloMeleeRangedDarkHardcore

Steam👍 95%· 62KRAWG👍 76%· 1.2KMC84IGDB84· 2

Year 2011Dev Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl · Edmund McMillenPlaytime ~5hOn PC · Apple Macintosh

✓ Both are arena shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: roguelike runs, deep RPG systems and survival mechanics, while skipping setting scifi

Complete list of hardcore games like Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter

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