Best games
The best Croteam games
The 9 best games from Croteam, ranked from 3,394 critic and player ratings.
The best Croteam game is The Talos Principle, with a critic score of 85/100. Updated September 2026.
- Ranked releases span 2001 to 2020.
- Average critic score across the 9 ranked games: 76/100.
- 3,394 critic and player ratings behind this ranking.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 1970 to 2026.
- 9 games are listed on this page, carrying 3,394 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 29 September 2026.
Top 9
01
The Talos Principle
The Talos Principle is a philosophical first-person puzzle game from Croteam, the creators of the legendary Serious Sam series, written by Tom Jubert (FTL, The Swapper) and Jonas Kyratzes (The Sea Will Claim Everything).
85
/100
02
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, the highly anticipated arcade action FPS sequel to the Serious Sam: The First Encounter, is a high-adrenaline arcade-action shooter heavily focused on frantic arcade-style single player action. In a world where cyberpunk meets fantasy-fiction and advanced technology is mixed with black magic and psycho-powers, Sam travels through the three beautiful worlds, confronting countless Mental's minions on his way to the Mental's base.
85
/100
03
Serious Sam: The First Encounter
A first person shooter extravaganza where you take the role of Serious Sam, a badass killer whose goal is to defeat monsters commanded by Mental, an extraterrestrial entity that wants to destroy humanity. Serious Sam is a high-adrenaline arcade-action shooter heavily focused on frantic arcade-style single player action. In a world where cyberpunk meets fantasy-fiction and advanced technology is mixed with black magic and psycho-powers, Sam travels through the beautiful world of ancient Egypt and several diverse planets, confronting countless Mental's minions on his way to the Mental's base.Key Features Frantic Arcade-Style Action - Fight your way through 15+ nightmarish warriors in Mental's army, including the charging Sirian Werebull, screaming Headless Kamikaze and other crazy monsters, and finally challenge the multi-story Ugh-Zan boss!
83
/100
The Talos Principle
The Talos Principle is a philosophical first-person puzzle game from Croteam, the creators of the legendary Serious Sam series, written by Tom Jubert (FTL, The Swapper) and Jonas Kyratzes (The Sea Will Claim Everything).
85
/100
02
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, the highly anticipated arcade action FPS sequel to the Serious Sam: The First Encounter, is a high-adrenaline arcade-action shooter heavily focused on frantic arcade-style single player action. In a world where cyberpunk meets fantasy-fiction and advanced technology is mixed with black magic and psycho-powers, Sam travels through the three beautiful worlds, confronting countless Mental's minions on his way to the Mental's base.
85
/100
03
Serious Sam: The First Encounter
A first person shooter extravaganza where you take the role of Serious Sam, a badass killer whose goal is to defeat monsters commanded by Mental, an extraterrestrial entity that wants to destroy humanity. Serious Sam is a high-adrenaline arcade-action shooter heavily focused on frantic arcade-style single player action. In a world where cyberpunk meets fantasy-fiction and advanced technology is mixed with black magic and psycho-powers, Sam travels through the beautiful world of ancient Egypt and several diverse planets, confronting countless Mental's minions on his way to the Mental's base.Key Features Frantic Arcade-Style Action - Fight your way through 15+ nightmarish warriors in Mental's army, including the charging Sirian Werebull, screaming Headless Kamikaze and other crazy monsters, and finally challenge the multi-story Ugh-Zan boss!
83
/100
04
Serious Sam II
The iconic Serious Sam brings his trademark relentless intensity to this bigger, bolder, more colorful sequel to the classic Serious Sam: First and Second Encounters! Tasked with rescuing the universe one bullet at a time against overwhelming hordes of time traveling enemies, Serious Sam must battle through thick jungles, murky swamps, frozen tundra, and futuristic cities to bring down Mental and his vile armies. Serious Sam 2 is a shot of adrenaline to the hearts of first-person shooter fans across the world. This is serious!
78
/100
05
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter is a visually upgraded and fully Steam supported remake of the original high-adrenaline single-play and 16-player co-operative arcade-action FPS and Gamespot's Game of the Month!
76
/100
06
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is a visually upgraded and fully Steam supported remake version of the original high-adrenaline single-play and 16-player co-operative arcade-action FPS.
74
/100
07
Serious Sam 3: BFE
Serious Sam 3: BFE is a first-person action shooter, a glorious throwback to the golden age of first-person shooters where men were men, cover was for amateurs and pulling the trigger made things go boom. Serving as a prequel to the original game, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, Serious Sam 3 takes place during the Earth’s final struggle against Mental’s invading legions of beasts and mercenaries.
72
/100
08
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter
The legendary Serious Sam reloads and rearms in an explosive, turn-based RPG developed by indie developer Vlambeer (Super Crate Box, Ridiculous Fishing). Serious Sam: The Random Encounter follows Sam and his band of oddball mercenaries as they battle across a pixilated world teeming chaotic battles, hordes of bizarre creatures, and mysterious secrets. Choose your weapons and take aim at the most random Serious Sam adventure yet!
64
/100
09
Serious Sam 4
Humanity is under siege as the full force of Mental’s hordes spread across the world, ravaging what remains of a broken and beaten civilization. The last remaining resistance to the invasion is the Earth Defense Force led by Sam “Serious” Stone and his heavily-armed squad of misfit commandos. Croteam returns with a high-powered prequel to the Serious Sam series that scales up chaos to unprecedented levels. The classic Serious Sam formula is revamped by putting an unstoppable arsenal up against an unimaginable number of enemies that requires players to circle-strafe and backpedal-blast their way out of impossible situations.
63
/100
Serious Sam II
The iconic Serious Sam brings his trademark relentless intensity to this bigger, bolder, more colorful sequel to the classic Serious Sam: First and Second Encounters! Tasked with rescuing the universe one bullet at a time against overwhelming hordes of time traveling enemies, Serious Sam must battle through thick jungles, murky swamps, frozen tundra, and futuristic cities to bring down Mental and his vile armies. Serious Sam 2 is a shot of adrenaline to the hearts of first-person shooter fans across the world. This is serious!
78
/100
05
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter is a visually upgraded and fully Steam supported remake of the original high-adrenaline single-play and 16-player co-operative arcade-action FPS and Gamespot's Game of the Month!
76
/100
06
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter
Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter is a visually upgraded and fully Steam supported remake version of the original high-adrenaline single-play and 16-player co-operative arcade-action FPS.
74
/100
07
Serious Sam 3: BFE
Serious Sam 3: BFE is a first-person action shooter, a glorious throwback to the golden age of first-person shooters where men were men, cover was for amateurs and pulling the trigger made things go boom. Serving as a prequel to the original game, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, Serious Sam 3 takes place during the Earth’s final struggle against Mental’s invading legions of beasts and mercenaries.
72
/100
08
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter
The legendary Serious Sam reloads and rearms in an explosive, turn-based RPG developed by indie developer Vlambeer (Super Crate Box, Ridiculous Fishing). Serious Sam: The Random Encounter follows Sam and his band of oddball mercenaries as they battle across a pixilated world teeming chaotic battles, hordes of bizarre creatures, and mysterious secrets. Choose your weapons and take aim at the most random Serious Sam adventure yet!
64
/100
09
Serious Sam 4
Humanity is under siege as the full force of Mental’s hordes spread across the world, ravaging what remains of a broken and beaten civilization. The last remaining resistance to the invasion is the Earth Defense Force led by Sam “Serious” Stone and his heavily-armed squad of misfit commandos. Croteam returns with a high-powered prequel to the Serious Sam series that scales up chaos to unprecedented levels. The classic Serious Sam formula is revamped by putting an unstoppable arsenal up against an unimaginable number of enemies that requires players to circle-strafe and backpedal-blast their way out of impossible situations.
63
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Croteam game?
The Talos Principle currently tops the ranking with a score of 85/100 across 845 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.