Hi everyone,

First of all, thanks to everyone who downloaded the old alpha version on itch.io. That old alpha is very different from this Steam Early Access version so we will try to explain everything that's newer or better in Serious Sam: Tormental in comparison to old alpha since we had several questions about that on our social networks. :)

We hope you will have  fun playing old alpha, and properly warm up for Early Access version that is coming this April 2nd.

COMBAT CHANGES

First, we have made some improvements in the combat system, like there being more places to take cover in. And we’ve made the enemies more aggressive, so this will definitely come in handy. Altogether, it’s a more exciting combat experience!

Destructibility is definitely a fun part of any game, so we also added destructible walls. Wreck even more havoc with your weapons. By destroying walls, it’s also possible to find pickups and the good ol’ secrets, but finding them depends on chance - so use your ammo wisely!

Brutal kills, where you can kill the dying (flashing) enemy by rolling into it, has become more important than ever. Every enemy is different, and successful brutal kills will require some training. The rewards are various pickups and a huge thrilling satisfaction!

LEVELS AND AREAS ( Tomb, Forest, Caves )

We’ve made a great deal of progress on the Nightmare Caves area, where you can find Mental’s nightmares lurking around. Nightmare enemies (the ones that look like green ghosts) cannot be killed with normal bullets - they only die from explosions, or when all other enemies in the area are killed. So Sam will need to keep on the move and focus on other enemies!

Forest:

Tomb:

RANDOMIZATION

Levels and hallways are now procedurally generated and populated with random objects like traps, chests, locked doors etc. which enables a lot more replay-ability, making that one of the biggest changes in comparison to old alpha version which had predefined areas that could become boring after a while, which is not the case with Steam version of Serious Sam: Tormental.

SHOPS

Ever since we first started development on Tormental, we have constantly been changing how the shop works. In this update, we finally have a version we’re satisfied with! Killed implings drop FIGs (FIGments of Mental’s imagination), which can be traded for powers and items with the moody shopkeeper. Hey, why does Sam need to have all the fun, anyway?

There are different kinds of shops like weapon shop where you can buy and upgrade weapons, vending machines where you can buy various consumable items and tools, and special device that converts part of Sam into specific upgrade.

CHESTS & DROPS

Chests come in various types - common, gold, health, and weapon, which determines the type of drop that you can find inside of them.

They can be also unlocked and locked. While content in unlocked will never create a surprise, content in locked ones is not so certain. Depending on your luck, you will find less or more goodies hidden inside of them.

There also mimic chests which needs to be opened at the right time if you want to avoid being hurt by their sharp spikes!

TRAPS

There are various traps now randomly spawning around the world of Mental, including spikes, minefields, turrets, bombs, and flames.

CHARACTERS

Along with changing the abilities of Sam and Netricsa, we also added two new characters - Bomb and Bulb.

Bomb likes to blow everything up. Destroyed enemies drop bombs which can be pushed around, but also activated from the safe distance with your own remote detonator.

Netricsa can create portals which suck in enemies. Gather them in one place, and unleash cannons, flamethrowers, and electrical shockers for maximum area damage.

With Bulb, you will need to rush - because Bulb needs electricity, making his health drop over time. Fry enemies with short-range electricity while collecting their life energy to refill yours.

Rolling into the biggest group of enemies is risky, but it's also the best opportunity for a shocking connection!

And Sam. Well, he got serious upgrade as well! Since even a copy of Sam is inherently awesome, he is now just a bit more powerful than everyone else. He has more health, is faster, carries more ammo, and as before can jump in the air - which catches most of the enemies completely off-guard, since they're not used to this kind of three-dimensional strategic thinking.

SERIOUS WEAPONS

We added bunch of completely new weapons to the usual Serious Sam rooster, and we currently have 38 weapons ready for the Early Access, with a plan to add more!

The weapons were completely rebalanced, and their mechanics tweaked with the idea that every weapon has unique advantages, and offers different ways to finish off the enemies.

Electric Shotgun: shoots quick bursts of electricity which shocks the enemies and spreads the electric joy to any other enemies that might happen to be nearby. Let’s connect!

Boomerang: this little puppy will follow you around the level, making it possible to guide it towards the enemies and hit them multiple times. If it manages to get back to you after it has done its job, it will return you all the ammo it consumed.

We also added weapon shop and weapon leveling up system. For example, Flamethrower can be upgraded to Flamethrower Twin, Boomerang can be upgraded to Boomerang Gun, and Machinegun can be upgraded to Triple Machinegun.

THE VAULT AND QUESTS

Throughout the game, the player will encounter various challenges and quests. By completing these, the player will earn keys. Up in the Vault is Mental’s last line of defense; a giant Vault door locked away by unbreakable mechanisms.  All of Mental’s strengths and secrets locked away in these massive, strong chests that keep the mechanism in place are seemingly immutable.

As you’re defeating Mental’s hordes of enemies and overcoming all the challenges that Mental deemed you would never overcome, you earn these keys, you unlock his most sacred chests and you get secrets and powers to use against Mental. Key by key, you grow ever more powerful as you make the ancient Vault mechanism move and push its door closer and closer to finally yielding. This will go on until you become so powerful that the Vault can no longer contain you. At this point, when the heaviest and most important door of the game opens, there’s no going back - you may only carry on. And this is where Sam gets to hit Mental where it truly hurts.

VOICE ACTING

You can’t have a Serious Sam game without including the voice of Serious Sam himself - John J. Dick!

Bomb, Netricsa, and Bulb are also casted by other actors.

We did tons of other improvements, including:

• completely revamped tutorial which offers now various challenges, narrative, voice acting, and completely new area
• we added new enemies, perks, weapons
• inventory
• starting location (HUB) where player can choose character, go to Vault, or talk with other NPCs
• optional challenges
• mini-games
• tons of new sound effects including every weapon perk (wall ricochet, piercing, homing, etc.) having an unique sound effect to distinguish every weapon build
• Vortex 
• ...and in general we improved and polished everything!

As we’re looking forward for the release, we hope you will appreciate all this changes, and try the new version on Steam that is coming on April 2nd!  Below you can wishlist Serious Sam: Tormental on Steam.  Lock and load soldier!