Some of you may never have heard of Painkiller, a brilliant 2006 FPS developed by Polish house People Can Fly. You played as Daniel Garner, and things start out well for about five seconds. That is, until after a birthday meal with his wife Catherine, both are killed instantly in a car crash.
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Catherine enters Heaven, but Daniel is stuck in Purgatory and forced to make a deal: defeat the invading forces of Lucifer’s army in exchange for a chance to join her.
It’s a wafer-thin tale that frames what some edgy kids would now call a “boomer shooter”, in the same vein as Quake, Doom, and Serious Sam, where run-and-gun action ruled the day.
Despite building a fan base, it never really took off and has faded from the mainstream over the years. Enter Polish developers Anshar Studios, who (like me) remember classic Painkiller and have reimagined it for 2025 with their new title, Painkiller.
Spreading the Love
This version shifts from a single-player focus to co-op for up to three players, but still keeps that FPS arena-shooting vibe as you battle hordes of demons and titanic terrors across a hellish, gothic landscape.
As in the first game, you are trapped in Purgatory, but this time you’re being sentenced for your transgressions against Heaven. The powers that be give you one last chance to redeem yourself: stop the fallen angel Azazel, who is preparing to unleash his demonic armies on Earth.
So here we go again. You must face hordes of enemies, demons, and, for some reason, Azazel “charming” children.
Again, it’s a narrative frame to justify the blasting, but unlike the first game, I never cared about any of the cast or where they ended up. There are four interesting-looking characters to choose from, Ink, Void, Sol, and Roch. Each has unique perks, but none stands out beyond their aesthetic.
Monster Fun
Gameplay, however, is fast, frantic, and often a tonne of fun. The FPS scene has changed a lot in the past nine years. Sometimes Painkiller understands that, and other times it forgets.
Across nine missions, you get an arsenal of six weapons, some lightly inspired by the original game. That’s it. You can upgrade your guns, which helps the flow a little, but it’s still light on content and, dare I say, bare bones.
Missions are fine, split into three chapters that see you blasting, platforming, and solving puzzles. They become repetitive quickly, though, as you’re tasked with filling soul tanks, clearing waves, or filling blood barrels far too often.
Curt Campaign
From start to finish, you can wrap up the campaign in about three hours on normal difficulty, maybe even less with two mates who know which end of the gun to point forward. Boss fights are epic but very stage-based: shoot a weak point, wait for an opening, deal damage, repeat.
Beyond the campaign there’s Rogue Angel mode, which introduces roguelike elements. Each run starts fresh with no gear, upgrades, or weapon mastery carried over. Death becomes part of a continuous cycle of learning and skill growth. It’s fun for a while, but again, the mode lacks a killer hook to keep you coming back.
Generic Analgesic
Visually, the game looks very good: dark, moody, and hellish in equal measure. It captures the tone of the original well, and the soundtrack embraces the series’ roots with a metal-fuelled rock score that gets the blood pumping.
What’s in a name? I loved Painkiller back in the day and hoped for a modern spin on that game. But Painkiller (2025) is a solid, if often flawed, co-op shooter that could have, honestly, been called anything else.
I like to think Purgatory would have been a good option, as it isn’t good enough to sit alongside the gods of the FPS world, but it’s not bad enough to be forgotten either. It just sits in the middle, frustratingly.
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