Simple Co-op FPS Painkiller Delivers Solid Fun

As blockbuster games demand ever-increasing budgets and development cycles, Painkiller emerges as a refreshing counterpoint – an unpretentious roguelike FPS that knows exactly what it wants to be. Picture cracking open a cold one while diving into chaotic three-player co-op mayhem with friends, because that's precisely the vibe this revival delivers. Will it dethrone Doom: The Dark Ages as FPS royalty? Unlikely. Does it offer groundbreaking narrative depth? Hardly – and that's entirely by design. Painkiller succeeds precisely because it recaptures the original's stress-free, satisfyingly simplistic combat with upgraded weapon customization and roguelite progression – mercifully free from live-service baggage. In today's gaming landscape, sometimes you just need pure, uncomplicated fun.

Damned Good Gameplay Fundamentals

The game wastes no time plunging you into its hellish premise: you're a wise-cracking demon slayer trapped in Purgatory who's found silver linings in supernatural pest control. Your base of operations, Purgatory's Crossing, serves as lobby and armory where you select characters, gear up, and draw randomized Tarot cards before embarking on raids. Regardless of squad composition, missions always feature trio deployments – with AI competently filling vacant slots based on our preview session. My time alternated between Ink (+20% health regeneration), Void (+10% weapon damage), and Roch (+25 HP), leaving Sol's expanded ammo capacity untested. Organic teammate banter during missions helps alleviate the intentionally repetitive core loop.

Satanic Arsenal With Heavenly Impact

The weapons deliver tactile satisfaction bordering on sinful. My standout was undoubtedly the Stakegun – an utterly savage railgun analog that impales hellspawn to walls with physics-defying force. Its grenade-launcher secondary fire cleaned house whenever charged. The Electrodriver's shuriken barrage and area lightning attacks proved equally effective crowd-control tools, while the default spinning blade dealt efficiently with weaker foes. Crucially, all armaments feature permanent progression via currency earned through demon-slaying achievements and objectives.

Tarot Tweaks Add Roguelike Spice

The card-based modifier system introduces welcome variety between runs. Drawing Profane Blessing boosted my damage output by 30%, though early-game resources make excessive rerolling impractical. While the mechanics won't rewrite the boomer-shooter playbook, they complement the core experience splendidly alongside revive mechanics that maintain tension when teammates get downed. Visually unremarkable but mechanically competent, Painkiller's charm lies in embracing its B-movie aesthetic without apology.

Releasing October 9th for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, Painkiller positions itself perfectly as low-commitment, high-enjoyment multiplayer fodder. In a year stacked with premium releases, sometimes you just want reliable demon-slaying comfort food – and this revival delivers precisely that promise.