If you had asked me about the Painkiller series only a few months ago, I would have been wholly unfamiliar with the property. Yet, thanks to a video put out by Digital Foundry, which highlighted an interesting RTX remix ray-tracing mod for the 2004 boomer shooter, I began my journey with the series, which has inadvertently led me to discover Anshar Studios and 3D Realms’ latest iteration of Painkiller.
Despite my limited hands-on time with Painkiller (2025), which consisted of only two levels, I came away from the experience feeling optimistic about its October release. Unlike its 2004 (and later) release, Painkiller (2025) is a raid-based multiplayer experience that ditches its single-player campaign roots for a game built from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5. Now, for purists or those fond of the 2004 game, Painkiller (2025) might sound like too big of a departure from the original. Still, in truth, Anshar Studios and 3D Realms have smartly positioned themselves in creating a game that feels familiar, yet breaks away from the already-congested boomer shooter genre, creating a fresh three-player raid experience.
The good news is that moment-to-moment gameplay and, more importantly, the gunplay in Painkiller feels true to form, ditching modern FPS conventions, such as aim down sights or fleshed out parkour mechanics, opting instead for a fast, frenetic and pure shooting experience that will be familiar for fans of the original or the boomer shooter genre in general.
Painkiller features four playable characters, including Ink, Roch, Void and Sol, who each come with their own unique perks. These include small bonuses, such as increased ammo capacity, weapon damage buffs, and better healing, something that ultimately doesn’t really add a whole lot to the mix, but Painkiller remedies this with its weapon modification and tarot card system.
“The good news is that moment-to-moment gameplay and, more importantly, the gunplay in Painkiller feels true to form…”
Although early, the weapon mod system in Painkiller seems promising, offering prospective players a wealth of branching mods and skills to augment their arsenal of weapons. Currently, weapon mods fall into distinct categories: ice, electric and fire-based modifiers that amp up your weapon of choice with deadly AoE and precision-based attacks. Weapon mods can drastically change the behaviour of your secondary fire, which adds to the fun and the gameplay loop of earning the required specific currency, which for weapon upgrades consists of Ancient Souls, which can be earned by completing primary objectives within the raids.
The available weapons themselves in the current build of Painkiller include the Stakegun, Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, Hand Cannon, SMG, Electrodriver, and, of course, the titular Painkiller. For those unfamiliar with the Painkiller weapon, the gothic-inspired gun features a distinctly otherworldly design, with a prominent blender-style blade on top, which can be used to shred through mobs and, more importantly, restore meter and ammo for your other weapons, in a manner similar to the glory-kill system when using the chainsaw in the modern Doom games.
“The weapon mod system in Painkiller seems promising, offering prospective players a wealth of branching mods and skills to augment their arsenal.”
Base weapon proficiency can also be upgraded via currency earned from raids, while unlocking new weapons takes considerable amounts of points to earn, at least, incentivising playing on harder difficulties or going for optional challenges strewn about the game, while focusing in on a weapon you like will naturally reward you with a stronger more devasting end product, if you stick with it.
Tarot cards add another interesting fold to the mix of the already feature-rich approach to gunplay in Painkiller. Tarot cards provide unique modifiers that spice things up during raids, such as reduced damage from specific types of enemies or increased damage, and vice versa. Like weapon upgrades and mods, tarot cards must be earned by playing the game, which can take time, but also add to the experience of fleshing out and building your kit in a way that feels distinct to your own playstyles, similar to something like a roguelike or even a deckbuilding game.
Gameplay in Painkiller emphasizes combos, similar to action games like Devil May Cry, which adds to the frantic and fast-paced nature of the boomer shooter genre, with continued kills adding to your chain and granting bonus points, which translates directly into better bonuses at the end of the level. Speaking of levels, during the early access period, I was able to play two maps, Defiled Quarry and Cathedral Bridge, which admittedly, felt more akin to one large level, split into two maps, but nevertheless featured some interesting variety, and key areas that felt reminiscent of tightly designed challenge rooms or gauntlets from classic FPS titles, complete with secrets, shortcuts and lite platforming sections.
“Gameplay in Painkiller emphasizes combos, similar to action games like Devil May Cry, which adds to the frantic and fast-paced nature of the boomer shooter genre.”
If I have one minor complaint, that I hope the full game addresses by introducing more varied methods of progression, is an over-reliance on sections that require players to stop and fill up reliquaries or blood vials by killing enemies in proximity, which then can be used to unlock locked gates, something that after even two times, spread across both maps, felt tiring.
Enemy variety in Painkiller also seems promising, featuring your standard horde of undead warriors, larger, more fearsome foes, such as minotaur-like monsters, and spell-casting fiends, similar to Destiny’s flying Wizards, on top of familiar-looking zealots reminiscent of the 2004 original.
Finally, the three-player co-op in Painkiller feels well-implemented, with many sections within the raids featuring locked chests or secrets that require all three players to be present. Meanwhile, enemy encounters also feel tuned towards having a full squad of human players. Painkiller does offer CPU players for those who want to play alone or play with only one other person, but on the higher difficulty tiers, the game can be quite challenging, which ultimately means playing with a full squad of real players is the way to go.
One exciting element that I wish I had the opportunity to experience during my time with Painkiller is its tease of boss encounters, something the demo ends with. Bosses seem like a great addition to the mix and hopefully can take advantage of the three-player co-op and introduce some unique puzzle-based fights to the mix, living up to its promised raid-like experience. With its October release only a few months away, fans of the original or those looking for a fast FPS multiplayer experience should keep Painkiller on their radars. Painkiller will be available on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles.
