PC Critic Reviews

Painkiller is a fast and frenetic arena shooter that evokes the best elements of its predecessors. Gunplay is tight, movement is quick and fun, encounters are well-designed, and the weapon upgrade mechanics are fun to explore. While the raids are an enjoyable ride and Rogue Angel offers some variety in replay value, it’s kind of disappointing that there wasn’t a cohesive story to be told. Couple that with matchmaking already showing signs of distress, and I have to wonder if this wouldn’t have been better served as a narrative single-player experience. Still, what’s here is a blast, especially if you have a couple of friends to play with.

It's not the return fans of the series were hoping for, but that doesn't stop it from being a decent cooperative shooter. It does, however, need more content.

Painkiller is an enjoyable experience, though one that varies greatly from what many fans were expecting it to be. The gunplay is fun, and in co-op the game can be a good time. However, it suffers from a lack of content and endgame, which may be made worse by the game’s dwindling player count.

I’ll give Painkiller props for its imaginative weapons, sharp visuals, and visceral combat. It’s a hollow and transitory experience for solo players offline, and you can see what Painkiller has to offer in very short order. As a co-op game, it fares better. Still, I can’t imagine Painkiller becoming any shooter fan’s obsession. The nuts and bolts of what could be an impressive game are there, but in its present form, there’s simply too much repetition and too few surprises.

Its fast-paced action, smooth performance, and powerful soundtrack deliver satisfying arcade-style shooting, but the lack of depth, limited variety, and misuse of the Painkiller name make it feel solid yet unremarkable.

Your feelings on the latest iteration of Painkiller will depend on several different factors. If you're looking for a title with a good story and characters or crave a true single-player experience, you'll hate it. If you're looking for something that doesn't require grinding to get the most out of the title, you'll also dislike the game. If you're looking for boomer shooter sensibilities in a co-op setting and really dig the different hellish vibes, you'll like Painkiller. Even then, unless you're a completionist, it'll take one run through all of the levels and perhaps a few attempts at the roguelike mode before you move on, making this a fleeting experience rather than something with staying power.

The new Painkiller is here, and while you'll enjoy shooting alongside other players, it's not the game that players wanted — it's too far from the original concept.

Painkiller is an honest production about its intentions: it wants you to shoot, explode, and customize your arsenal until you find the perfect combination for destruction. In this goal, it succeeds. The combat is satisfying, the weapon customization is robust, and the cooperative sessions deliver the expected chaos. The problem is that, surrounding this solid core, there is little content to sustain the structure. Nine stages across three biomes, repetitive enemies, and predictable level design cause the experience to quickly exhaust its freshness. For those looking for a few hours of unpretentious fun with friends, Painkiller delivers. However, for those expecting a shooter with the legs to last, the game remains trapped in its own purgatory of repetition.

Painkiller could be considered the median of all co-op shooters. It offers mindless running and gunning but doesn't go any farther than that. With equal good points and bad points, it's simply a game that doesn't offer anything new to the table.

Ironically, it pains me to say that Anshar Studios Painkiller has turned out to be one of those co-op shooters that just doesn't hit the mark the way you hoped it would. Devoid of a decent Painkiller-worthy backstory, 2025's Painkiller primary focus seems to be to just be punishing in hyperchaotic ways that drain the fun out of the combat loop. Adding the fact that most guns don't really feel punchy and the disappointing prospect of a meager nine repetitive levels at launch, Painkiller could be compared to over-the-counter Paracetamol: works for some, but not too long.