Serious Sam's Bogus Detour

Serious Sam's Bogus Detour is a 2017 twin-stick shooter game developed by Crackshell and published by Devolver Digital. One to four players traverse levels set in Egypt, Greece, and on the Moon, collecting weapons to be used against waves of enemies placed throughout the open areas. Character upgrades can be purchased using stars, which can be found within levels or obtained through experience points gained by killing enemies. Deathmatch and survival modes can be played with up to twelve players. Revealed in December 2014, Bogus Detour was developed by Crackshell after designer Jochum Skoglund added an Easter egg of an enemy from Serious Sam to the studio's previous game, Hammerwatch. Through communication with Roman Ribarić of Serious Sam franchise owner Croteam, Crackshell was allowed the use of Serious Sam assets and later the rights to develop a full game in the Serious Sam series. Crackshell initially intended to self-publish Bogus Detour but later partnered with Devolver Digital. The game was formally announced in April 2017 and released in June for Linux and Windows. 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 players to purchase the original.