Painkiller

Ultimately, I walk away from Painkiller with somewhat mixed, but overall fairly positive feelings. The gameplay is fast, satisfying, with rock solid peformance and excellent graphics making for a blast of a shooter. It is, however, Painkiller in name only, as not only it loses the series’ core aspects, but also is rather uninspired all around. Very few memorable moments in the raids, generic enemy and arena designs, and not quite the depth needed for such a co-op experience to last you long. Still, if you crave for more shooters in the style of modern Doom, do give Painkiller a fair shot, as it can be a ton of fun both solo and with two allies by your side.

The textbook definition of a rental game, Painkiller is a blast to play over a weekend, then never think about again.

Painkiller is a completely solid co-op-shooter for three players that offers fast and fluid gameplay with some generic but ultimately varied and fun guns. Unfortunately everything else falls mostly flat. The look, level design, the story and characters are boring or very repetitive. If you can convince two of your friends to also get the game you will still have some very enjoyable and action-filled hours battling almost unending hordes of demons.

It’s a throwback to when shooters were about reflexes, not morality meters. It doesn’t care about narrative twists or prestige storytelling it just wants to entertain you for a few hours, and in that sense, it mostly succeeds. If you’ve got friends to play with, this is a good weekend pick. You’ll have a blast tearing through demons, laughing at the ridiculous story, and remembering why simple, over-the-top shooters still have a place in 2025. If you’re playing solo, though… your mileage may vary.