Following Ledov's advice, Sam succesfully escapes from the oil refinery and decides to go south. He finds a snowmobile that can be use to traverse through the harsh, cold terrain. He now has to make his way down south to the village of Kalinovka and meet up with Ledov and his squad of partisans.
Side objectives[]
Hide and Seek[]
In the first open area of the level, the player will find a missing poster asking someone to check up on a little girl. Sam decides to see if he can help and finds the girl hiding out in a small house, but she cannot open the key as she lost it, her sleigh and her teddy bear when she was attacked by monsters near the lake. Picking up her belongings at the lake triggers a storm and a fight against numerous enemies on the ice.
Upon returning to the little girl, the door is open and it is revealed that the little girl was a ghost all along, finally able to find peace now that she has her belongings back. As she departs, she knocks over some boxes to unveil a Hoverboard Scooter and three L.I.F.E. gadgets.
S.A.M. locations[]
At the start of the level, before the first battle area.
In the small building where Octanian soldiers can be heard talking. Opening the case requires three keycards obtained from solving pipe puzzles in the area.
In the barn with the four button puzzle that disables the bridge forcefield.
At the very end of the level. Opening the case requires three keycards obtained from destroying Octanian towers in the area.
Secrets[]
At the entrance of the open area, right after Howard Brand's plane is shot down, the player will be able to see several oil pumps; there are three of which that aren't moving. Activating all three via the buttons at their backs spawns will some spawn Oil Elementals, which erupt into geysers of Extra Small Health and Extra Small Armor when killed.
On the opposite side of the road, close to the outpost next to the sawmill, is some sort of pumping machine with two Gnaar corpses and a dead EDF soldier. There is a Double Barrel Coach Gun and a T.A.C.T. on the soldier's body. Watch out for the nearby minefield.
In the area of the "Hide and Seek" side objective, there is a Time Warp on a rock wall that is visible while walking to the ice lake. Hug the cliffside to the left until you find a totem pole on top of the rocks. There is a small passage on the wall that allows the player to get on top of it and reach the gadget.
Scattered throughout the area are threeOctanianoutposts with pipe puzzles inside them. Completing each one rewards the player with ammo, gadgets and a keycard. All three are needed to unlock a case containing a S.A.M egg located at the entrance to the next area. Here are the solutions to thethreepuzzles.
After emerging from the other side of the church, go down the steps, follow the road but don't take the right turn. Continue a bit forward and check out the big angel statue on the left. By the statue's feet is a holy hand grenade. Interacting with it will spawn a "Holy Kamikaze" with a halo where his head should be. Killing him will have him drop lots of health pill bottles.
As you approach the village, make a left turn by the electrical box into the woods. There you will find a secret "Shrine of Netricsa".
After exiting the village through another gas pipe arch you'll come upon a fork in the road. Go right which will lead you to a barn with a tractor in it. Go inside the shack on the left to find a secret Small Armor.
Back to the fork, a bit towards the objective by the right side you can find an empty field with an Extra Large Health in the middle of it. Be warned that picking up the health will trigger a trap that spawns in a large group of rolling grenades.
Opposite #12, in the woods to the left of the destroyed church, is a snowman. Beware that getting too close to the snowman will have it attack you with two rocket launchers. Destroy the snowman to register the secret. Destroying the snowman will also reveal an Extra Large Armor.
Follow the bridge moat towards the objective until you come across a sewer pipe. Enter it and you'll come across a room with some pipes. Navigate right, left, right and behind the machinery in front of you is a button. Press the button and it will open a door containing a portal. Entering the portal will take you to a secret "classic arena" from The City of the Gods. You can destroy the two walls on each side of the room for some ammo and to head back to the main level via an exit portal.
To the side of the barn, there's a formation of rocks. Head up the rocks to find a T.A.C.T. gadget lying on some crates.
Like earlier in the level, there are three keycards that are needed to unlock a secret S.A.M egg. These keycards can be found at three Octanian Sentry Towers that are found throughout the area. Destroy the towers, and then a keycard will be revealed. The first tower is right down the road from the bridge, the second tower is found by the occupied alien gate, and the third tower is found in the valley with the windmills. After acquring all three keys, they can be used to unlock the crate containing the S.A.M egg. The crate is located by the level's exit.
From the first sentry tower (one straight down the road from the bridge) there's a silo/tower in the middle of the field. Climb on top of it to find some ammo and a L.I.F.E. gadget.
On your way from or to tower 2, there's a wooden hut. Right in the corner behind it and a stone wall is a hoverboard.
Following the road you come upon a windmill, follow the winding path down and at the bottom take a hard right to the river. Go behind the waterfall to find a "weird potion" that gives you 25 health. Picking up the potion will take you a strange dimension filled with enemies of strange sizes. Kill all of the enemies to return back.
Past the last tower and the nearby rock you can see a windmill by the river. Once inside, look up. There is a SBC Cannon up above the planks. Destroy the planks with a rocket to pick it up.
When you get to the bridge, go under it. Enter the door and into the room where you can battle against a group of Knights. The number of Knights that appear depends on the difficulty setting selected and if the player is playing on co-op.
If the player is defeated by the Knights, they will have to try again.
When you get to the bridge, turn left to find some train carts. Go to the last cart which has an open door. Inside the door is some health and armor. Pick up the items to spawn a secret "Railroad Employee" (Processed Anthropolyp in a blue outfit).
Related achievements[]
Heart of Russia
10
Through the snow, flames, and alien bodies.
Hide and Seek
10
Set your spirit free.
Back to the Future
10
Rise and levitate.
David and Goliath
20
Defeat Sentry Tower with sole hoverboard firepower.
Eye for an Eye
5
A tooth for a truth.
Indoor Plumber
20
When passion becomes profession.
The Dark Tower
20
When passion overcomes the pain.
All Ingenious is Shot
10
A solution to any problem.
All Ingenious is Hard
30
The smartest man on Earth.
Sweet Kompot
15
From granny, with love.
Behind the scenes[]
In early versions of the level, players would find it difficult to exit the ice hole after jumping in. This was fixed in the Anniversary Update.[1]
Trivia[]
The title of this level is a reference to the 1979 Soviet historical drama film of the same name.
At the lake in the "Hide and Seek" side objective, where the little girl's belongings are, is a hole in the ice. Jumping in and swimming down will trigger a jumpscare by a Reeban Electro-Fish, though it doesn't actually do anything. Because of the freezing cold temperature of the water, it is advised to save before jumping in, as the player will lose health quickly.
A lone, peaceful Octanian Gamma Trooper (called Octanian Oleg) can be found somewhere at the cliffside looking into the valley below. He simply sits there, listening to the music of his radio and looking at the Siberian landscape. Prior to the Anniversary Update 1.07, he would attack the player if they provoked him.[2]
This level, along with "In Carcassonne" and "Anathema Unto God", has the most secrets out of any level in the Serious Sam series.
The EDF soldier's corpse found by the secret T.A.C.T. gadget uses Fulbert le Fou's model.
Several secrets in the level are references to various media:
The secret with the bonfire and the Knights is a reference to the Dark Souls series.
The monitor in the Octanian base with pictures of cats is a reference to The Talos Principle.
At one point in the level, a book called S.N.E.A.K.E.R. by the author Chucky Brickens can be found on the ground, which is a reference to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.
Incident at the Arena·Senator Cicero's Villa·The Senator's Vineyards·Praetorian Camp (lost level) ·Via Aurelia·Opening the Aurelian Gates·The Forum Romanum (lost level) ·Temple of Neptune·The Forum of Trajan (lost level) ·Through the Servian Gates·Temple of Mars·Addressing the Senate (lost level) ·Emperor's Gardens·Caesar's Sanctum (lost level) ·Caesar's Palace·Touts at the Colosseum·Under the Colosseum·Showdown at the Arena·Splashdown in Xifengkou·The Monkeys of Juyongguan·Jiayuguan Fortress·The Silk Road (lost level) ·Dunhuang Oasis·Magao Caves·Cave of the Wickermen·The Gate of Supreme Harmony (lost level) ·The Three Halls of Harmony·Yuhuayuan - Imperial Garden·The Beast Beneath the Palace·A Chilly Reception·The Steam Tower (lost level) ·Temple of Steam·The Deep City·The Geothermal Tunnels (lost level) ·The Guardian Gates·Hall of Translation·The Tower of Confusion·Hall of Transposition·The Corridors of Power (lost level) ·Ascending the Throne·Sirian Mothership·Engine Core Critical·Gallery (lost level)
This article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!
