Serious Sam's Bogus Detour

Serious Sam's Bogus Detour is a 2017

Bogus Detour received positive reviews, with critics praising the translation of the Serious Sam series to the twin-stick shooter genre, the graphics, and the music. The progression system received mixed responses, while criticism was given to some minor design elements. The game sold poorly and failed to recoup its development costs by December 2017. Crackshell, in conjunction with the cracker Voksi, subsequently created a free version of the game in March 2018 to be pirated to entice those players to purchase the original.

Gameplay

Serious Sam's Bogus Detour is a twin-stick shooter.^[1][2] The player controls Sam "Serious" Stone through ten open levels, distributed among three thematic places: Egypt, Greece, and the Moon.^[1][2][3] Enemies of various types are placed around each level and mostly attack in waves, sometimes alongside bosses.^[2][4] The player character can use weapons, by default brandishing two pistols with unlimited ammunition.^[1][3] Further weapons and their required ammunition are scattered throughout each level.^[1] There are a total of eight weapon types, each with multiple variations, that can be selected from a weapon wheel.^[2]

The player can obtain stars by gathering experience points through killing enemies.^[1][5] These stars can be used to purchase character upgrades, such as an improvement movement speed or increased rate of fire.^[1][3] Stars are also hidden within levels, alongside other secrets.^[1] Some areas can only be accessed by obtaining keycards or breaking destructible walls.^[1][2][3] Enemies and hazards, such as toxic waste, inflict damage on the character. Depleting the character's health causes them to lose a life, of which they initially have three. After losing all lives, gameplay stops and the player's progress within the active level is reset.^[1][4]

Bogus Detour has multiple difficulty settings, as well as "switches" that allow altering specific gameplay elements, such as granting the character unlimited ammunition or disabling the

Cunningham lauded the game's "gorgeous" pixel art as "well detailed and animated".^[1] Similarly, Jose A. Rodríguez, writing for IGN's Spanish outlet, called it a "work of art" and cited satisfaction in gradually distributing enemies' remains on the levels' floors.^[3] Garcia also liked the "retro-style" visuals, while Jacquier labelled the graphical and musical presentation as solid.^[2][5] According to Rodríguez, the music and sound underlined the gameplay well.^[3] Also noted positively were the difficulty, exploration rewards, and multiplayer, although Jacquier was disappointed by the scarcity of online players at the time of his review.^[2][3][5] Rodríguez considered the progression system the best part of the game, while Jacquier criticised it as unclear and laborious.^[2][3]

Jacquier faced some irritation when tracking long distances over empty areas, especially due to Sam's initially slow pace.^[2] Rodríguez found that the small size of the player character could cause disorientation with numerous elements on-screen, which was amplified when there were multiple players.^[3]

Sales

Serious Sam's Bogus Detour sold poorly and had not recouped its development costs by December 2017. Bulgarian cracker Voksi, who was friendly with Crackshell and had tested the beta version of the game, approached the studio in March 2018 with the idea of creating a sanctioned build that could be pirated. This version was distributed through Voksi's forum, Revolt, and prepared with a note asking the player to buy the game to support the developers, though otherwise not obstructing the gameplay.^[27]

References