Gothic first-person shooter Painkiller first graced our screens in 2004, and it built a cult following thanks to its fast pace, dark atmosphere, weapon arsenal, and intense combat. Now it’s back with a modern reimagining with the same name from developer Anshar Studios and publisher 3D Realms that’s out now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
If you’re not familiar with Painkiller, the central concept is you play as someone trapped in Purgatory because of your previous transgressions, but you get a mission to redeem yourself and earn your way into Heaven. In this reimagined version, that mission is simple: stop the fallen angel Azazel and his three children, the Nephilim.
While that’s the explanation for the setting, this isn’t a narrative-focused game. It’s all about action, all the time. So really, your mission can be summed up in even simpler terms: kill as many demons and horrors as you can, in whatever brutal way you choose.
You’ll always have a three-person team, which you can form by teaming up with people in online co-op or by playing offline with bot teammates. Between missions (called raids here) you’ll return to a hub area called Purgatory’s Crossing, where you’ll choose your loadout before jumping into the next raid. That starts with picking one of four characters: Ink, Void, Sol, or Roch, each of whom has a unique perk. Ink has better health restoration, Void does more weapon damage, Sol has higher ammo capacity, and Roch has increased max health.
Regardless of who you choose, speed, agility, and weaponry are the primary focus of combat. You’ll start the game with the classic Painkiller weapon, which will be a permanent part of your loadout on every raid. Its alt fire mode, called the Shredder, can shred enemies (hence the name) and also acts as a grappling hook. You can use it on designated grappling points to traverse biomes quickly, or you can use it directly on enemies. Be careful of using it on tougher enemies though, they’ll retaliate if they’re not stunned first.
In addition to the permanent Painkiller weapon, you can take two other weapons with you on every raid, which you can switch out in the hub area. You’ll get your first two weapons automatically during the prologue, while the rest can be unlocked in the order you choose. There are six selectable weapons in total (not counting the Painkiller), each of which has a main firing mode and two alt fire modes that you can swap between before each raid.
