Painkiller [REVIEW] – A Fun but Flawed Comeback

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a new title in the Painkiller series, but it’s finally back… sort of. The cult shooter has been resurrected as a three-player co-op horde shooter, with this new entry aiming to modernize the franchise for a new generation. The result? Well, it’s a bit mixed… the game offers some stylish, technically solid shooting, but it struggles to offer anything that feels unique.

It also doesn’t really feel like a Painkiller game, which will undoubtedly divide the fan base. It’s not something that we’re going to go into in this review though… we’ll just focus on what’s on offer here.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Painkiller takes players to Purgatory, where four lost souls are drafted into an endless war between angels and demons. Their mission: to fight off the invading forces of the fallen angel Azazel under the not-so-divine guidance of the angel Metatron. Admittedly, it’s a bit of a thin plot that doesn’t really go much deeper than that, but it does try to spice things up with some corny one-liners and a bit of humour. If I’m being honest, it could be a little cringe-inducing at times, but at the same time, it did add to the game’s charm. It certainly doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it did give me a few chuckles here and there.

The core gameplay loop is pretty straightforward, with players selecting a raid, dropping into one of its levels, fighting off waves of deadly enemies, and collecting rewards to upgrade their arsenal. It’s easy to understand and easy to get on board with, with Painkiller keeping things simple as far as gameplay premises go.

If there’s one thing Painkiller absolutely nails, it’s the guns. The weapons available here are among the most satisfying in any recent shooter, whether that with the rapid-fire Electrodriver that spits electrified shurikens, the nostalgic Stakegun that pulverises foes with stakes,  the brutal, bone-crunching Shotgun, or the titular Painkiller that dices enemies into pieces.

Each weapon features customizable alternate fire modes and upgrade paths that let players tweak damage types and effects, with cool little features such as adding elemental properties adding some tactical flexibility that makes them feel all the more impressive. The implementation of haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on the PlayStation 5 adds to their ferocity too, with each gun having its own unique feel that makes them a blast to use. Honestly, killing enemies feels so good, and Painkiller certainly earns brownie points for giving players an arsenal that NEVER stops being fun to use.

“Painkiller is a fast and stylish shooter that delivers plenty of satisfying chaos, but it never quite lives up to its full potential.”

It does come with one juicy caveat, though: some of the weapons are locked behind in-game currency, and unlocking them takes FAR longer than it should. The progression system feels artificially stretched, as if designed to keep players grinding rather than rewarding skill or experimentation, and it’ll leave players cycling through the same levels and facing off against the same enemies over and over again just to unlock some new weapons to use (or upgrade their existing arsenal).

In fairness, Painkiller offers moments of pure, mindless fun, so grinding isn’t always a chore. Movement is fast and fluid, encouraging constant motion through jumps and grapples as you dodge enemy swarms, whilst the shooting feels responsive and kinetic – mowing down dozens of demons at once never stops being satisfying, whilst levels bring in some different objectives, stronger enemies, and cool little set pieces to keep things engaging.

The problem comes with the sense of repetition. Every level boils down to the same formula of over and over again, and once you’ve played through levels a few times, everything can start to feel a little formulaic. Things can get samey fast, and whilst the core gameplay loop has its strengths, there’s not enough depth in the content to keep players wanting to come back for more. Sure, there’s also a Roguelike-inspired mode called Rogue Angel, where players tackle randomized arenas and earn upgrades between battles, but even that doesn’t add enough variety to mask the repetition found in the core gameplay loop. It’s a real shame because there’s so much about Painkiller that I really, really enjoyed, but it doesn’t do enough right now to keep me wanting to come back for more.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Whilst the gameplay loop leaves a lot to be desired, one of the game’s biggest strengths lies in its presentation. Each of the nine levels – spread across three distinct biomes – looks genuinely gorgeous… you know… in that dark, deadly, and disturbing purgatory kind of way. The world design is sharp, detailed, and unsettling in all the right ways, evoking that uneasy hellish undertone that the serious has always been known for. Performance is mostly rock solid too, with the 60fps frame rate rarely ever dipping.

One thing I will note is that the game does feel a lot better in multiplayer, and playing with friends can be chaotic fun. It’s a real blast when you find yourself pulling through against overwhelming odds, whilst the sheer sense of chaos and the volume of enemies you have to deal with really ups the ante when it comes to tension. There were more than a few occasions where we really found the odds stacked against us, but when we persevered and survived, it always felt special. And sure, much like the single player side of things, it does lack the depth to keep my friends and I coming back in the long-term, but what we did play made for a good time.

I just can’t help but to find Painkiller a little bit of a missed opportunity. It does a lot of things right across its frantic action-packed gunplay, whilst I haven’t touched upon things like the Tarot system that gives players an array of perks or the multiple characters on offer.  It just feels like the game doesn’t do enough to stand up to similar titles – heck, I was even able to clear all of the game’s levels in around three hours, and with little calling me back for more, it’s hard not to feel underwhelmed. It’s clear that there’s a lot of potential here, but it needs a bit more meat on its bones and a bit more depth in its gameplay, especially if it wants to keep players coming back for more in the long-term.

Developer: Anshar Studios
Publisher: 3D Realms
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, PC
Website: https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/concept/10013491