Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter

2001 Croteam Action, Indie

Windows 11With a fix

MacNot sold

LinuxGold

Steam DeckUnsupported

Gamicality score

Metacritic 874

OpenCritic Not rated

Steam players 921

How it’s combined

Playability today

Runs today3.5/5

Design today4.5/5

Steam user reviews

Overwhelmingly Positive

96%

3,133 reviews1

Get it on Steam

Facts checked November 1, 2026

Does Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter run on Windows 11, Apple Silicon Macs, Linux and Steam Deck?

Windows 11With a fix

Runs with a fix. See the steps below.1

Mac (Apple Silicon)Not sold

No Mac version is sold.

LinuxGold

Through Proton. ProtonDB: Gold, runs perfectly after tweaks.3

Steam DeckUnsupported

Unsupported, as rated by Valve.1

Played Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter lately?

One click, no account, so the next player knows. How we check where it runs

How to get Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter running today

For menu and HUD text that stays readable at high resolutions, plus borderless windowed mode, install the fan-made Serious Sam Classics Patch.
If the game crashes when saving in fullscreen, switch the renderer from Direct3D to OpenGL in the video options (Steam Community).

Synopsis

An old-school first-person shooter in which Sam Stone travels back to ancient Egypt to fight an alien army. Levels are wide open arenas and temples where hundreds of enemies charge at once, and the job is to keep moving, manage ammo and clear each wave. It supports cooperative play, including split-screen.

Developer: Croteam
Released: 2001
Best version: This is the original 2001 game; Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter (2009) remakes it on a newer engine, and many current players suggest the HD version for a first run.
Genre: Action, Indie
Where to get it: Steam

Reception

Critics rated it highly in 2001, with a Metascore of 87, praising the huge enemy counts, the open levels and the low price. Players on Steam still rate it overwhelmingly positive and describe the action as fast and simple. Recent complaints focus on enemies that spawn right behind the player and on tough late-game waves that feel unfair. Several reviewers also point newcomers to the HD remake instead.

Playability today

The average of two parts, each from 1 to 5. Tap a check to see why. How it works

Runs today

3.5/5

Sold or given away today by an official source
Needs fan patches to run well on Windows 11
?Not confirmed yetSingle-player works without an internet connection
No source covers the current version yet, so this check counts as open, not passed. Played it lately? Tell us
All of its content still works (servers, DLC, unlocks)
Online and LAN co-op and versus are still included in the Steam version, though public servers are mostly empty (PCGamingWiki).
Supports modern resolutions and widescreen
The Steam version offers 16:9 and 16:10 resolutions in its video options; other aspect ratios need an ini edit (PCGamingWiki).
No full controller support and no remappable controls
Only old DirectInput gamepads are supported, with no XInput or full controller support (PCGamingWiki).
Not Steam Deck Verified or Playable
No intrusive DRM or required third-party launcher account
No pay-to-win or pushy microtransactions
No known game-breaking bugs in the current version
PCGamingWiki lists no unresolved issues that crash or block progress; some players fix crashes on save by switching to OpenGL (PCGamingWiki).

Design today

4.5/5

Controls feel natural on a modern controller or mouse and keyboard
Standard mouse and keyboard shooter controls with full key remapping. There is no XInput controller support, and the mouse sensitivity slider runs fast on modern mice unless lowered with a console command. Source: pcgamingwiki.com.
Menus, text or interface are hard to read on today's screens
Menu and HUD text does not scale with resolution, so it becomes tiny on modern displays unless a fan patch or dgVoodoo 2 is used. Source: pcgamingwiki.com.
Saving is fair: free saves or frequent checkpoints, little lost progress
Quicksaves work at any moment and the game also autosaves, though the load menu only keeps the most recent handful of quicksaves. Source: steamcommunity.com, steamcommunity.com.
It teaches itself: no guide needed to make progress
The game drops keys, puzzles and complex systems in favor of straight combat, so the goal of each area is always clear. Source: honestgamers.com, steamcommunity.com.
Pacing holds up: little grind, filler or forced backtracking
Action is nearly constant from start to finish, with no grind or upgrade systems; the main pacing complaint is that late levels lean on long, hard waves. Source: steamcommunity.com, steamcommunity.com.
Camera and movement never fight the player
A fast first-person view with free mouse aiming; the Steam version fixes the widescreen field of view, and it can be raised further from the console. Source: pcgamingwiki.com.