Painkiller's Reboot Goes In A Bold, Co-Op Direction That Works Quite Well - Preview

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I remember years and years ago when I was searching for new games, and I came across Painkiller. The first-person shooter confused me a bit, but I was still enchanted by it. Many years have passed since then, and the series is finally coming back after a 13-year hiatus. Developed by Anshar Studios, Painkiller is a reboot of the series, and one I didn't expect to see. Even still, I was extremely excited when it was first announced and thought it looked pretty incredible.

To gear up for its release in a few months, I got a chance to check the game out early and see it in action for myself. I wanted to go into it blind, so I avoided most information about the game. I really only knew it was a gorgeous-looking FPS about fighting demons. However, what I got was an intense, action-packed, fast-paced shooter that feels like DOOM if it took on some minor RPG elements and went all in on co-op.

In my preview, I got to see first-hand what the experience would be like, and I ended up loving it. We start off at the home base, where we can choose our two weapons, augment them, and choose the Tarot cards we will bring with us. Then, we start our run, choosing a map and going through a multitude of challenges, killing tons of demons getting in our way. Once done, we bring our loot back, unlock and upgrade our weapons, and go out for more killing.

Painkiller's gameplay lives up to their claims. There are tons of enemies on screen that demand lots of movement to get around and demolish them all. It feels so energetic and fast-paced, and so satisfying to destroy the demons. It invoked the same intense joy that I felt when I played through DOOM, which isn't easy to achieve. It feels just like a boomer shooter through and through, and with the solid movement, dashing, and hookshot to sling across the map, it just flows very well.

Instead of having a ton of weapons on you at all times, we can only take two with us in each run. There are six weapons to choose from, but that's not all. As you play and go through runs, you will collect different currencies that can be used to unlock upgrades for your guns. There are upgrades for both the primary and secondary shots that can completely change how the gun operates.

This not only directly impacts how we use the gun, but also the synergies we have. Weapons can have elemental attacks, which can work together with other elements to deal some insane damage. This is where co-op multiplayer can shine, planning accordingly with your friends or making both of your weapons work well together. The delight I felt when my bot allies would freeze enemies, and I would destroy them into pieces with an explosion from my Stakegun.

Couple this with the weapon mastery system to level up your weapons and Tarot cards that can enhance your abilities, and we have a very distinctive, yet familiar gameplay loop. The Tarot cards, especially, are quite interesting. You can equip two at a time, being taken from a weekly rotation to keep things fresh. There are also four characters to choose from, who all give different bonuses like extra health or damage, so we can further define the way we want to play.

I will say I am a little concerned with replayability and exactly how the mechanics will work in the long run. I don't see as much motivation to come back for more after playing through the levels and upgrading here and there, so hopefully there is something added in that could make it more enjoyable to play over and over. I like the gameplay a lot, and all the necessary roots are there, but I find it hard to see myself coming back for more once I have played through.

Even though this is very early on, I wanted to test the game on Steam Deck just to see where the performance was at. This is still very early on, and this isn't indicative of the full release, but I still wanted to see what it would be like. So far, it's actually performing quite well. On Medium settings with the render scale at 90%, I was able to stick above 30 FPS in the most intensive scenes, and get upwards of 45 FPS when running around the levels. For an early build, this is pretty great, and I would comfortably say the outlook for Steam Deck compatibility is optimistic.

The Steam store page also specifically notes having full offline support, which I would say is another positive sign.

I was already pretty excited for the Painkiller reboot, but after playing it for myself, I am even more excited. It feels fantastic, the gunplay is enjoyable, and I love the customization from weapon upgrading and elemental effects. I look forward to seeing more of how the Tarot cards can affect gameplay, and playing with a full crew of friends. I hope that there can be some ironed out mechanics and more reason to come back to it when it fully releases, and time will tell exactly what happens!

Painkiller can be pre-purchased for $39.99 ahead of its October 9th release.

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