Painkiller Video Game Series
A series of first-person shooters (FPS) in the climate of bloody horror. The series was started by People Can Fly studio, and its development involved such development teams as Eggtooth, Mindware Studios, Med-Art and The Farm 51.
The first installment of the series - Painkiller was released in 2004, being a kind of response to, among others, the popularity of the Doom and Quake games. The production met with a positive reception in the industry, which allowed the developers from People Can Fly to prepare several additions and an extended version - Painkiller: Black Edition. In 2007, an official sequel was released - Painkiller: Overdose, created by the team from the Czech Mindware Studios. Over the next five years, the series lived to see four more installments produced by different development studios. None of them achieved blockbuster status, but all of them won the approval of fans.
A common element in the storyline of the games in the Painkiller series is the theme of redeeming guilt and fighting the infernal hordes. Most often, players take on the role of Daniel Garner, who is chosen because he has to stop the demonic creatures. In addition to the single-player mode campaign, the games also feature full-featured multiplayer that allows playing with live participants via LAN or the Internet.
Against the background of competing productions, the Painkiller series stands out primarily because of its dynamic action, focused on spectacular combat with numerous opponents. However, the real hallmark of the brand are skirmishes with giant bosses. The arsenal of available weapons generally includes not only traditional shotguns and rifles, but also more exotic weaponry like the pegboard.
Most of the games in the Painkiller series use the capabilities of the PainEgine engine created by the People Can Fly studio. The change came only with the release of Painkiller: Hell & Damnation in 2012. Switching to the popular Unreal Engine 3 allowed the developers to significantly improve the quality of the visual layer, as well as to bring the brand to new hardware platforms - Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles.
Painkiller Series Evolution
2012
Painkiller Hell & Damnation
2012
Painkiller: Recurring Evil
2011
Painkiller: Redemption
2009
Painkiller: Resurrection
2007
Painkiller: Overdose
2005
Painkiller: Black Edition
2004
Painkiller (2004)
Painkiller
Action
TBA
Next part of the FPS series, started in 2004 by the People Can Fly team. Painkiller 2022 (working title) was developed by Saber Interactive studio, and its release was taken on by Prime Matter company.
Painkiller Hell & Damnation
Action
October 31, 2012
Another installment of the popular FPP shooter series created in 2004 by the Polish studio People Can Fly. The game was developed by the team at The Farm 51, founded by people involved in the creation of the original. The players assume the role of Daniel Garner who died in a car crash along with his wife. The protagonist is tasked with dealing with infernal hordes, which will allow him to redeem himself and join his beloved in the afterlife. At the core of Painkiller Hell & Damnation lies combat against swarms of enemies, although we also have to face a powerful boss every now and then. On the battlefield, we make use of a rich arsenal – the so-called Soulcatcher, which is a tool that lets us gather souls of fallen enemies and shot laser beams, makes a successful debut. Apart from the single-player campaign, the developers created an extensive multiplayer mode that includes such modules as Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Survival. We can also finish Garner’s adventure in cooperation with another player. The title is powered by Unreal Engine 3, which allowed the developers to achieve satisfying quality of graphics.
Painkiller: Recurring Evil
Action
February 29, 2012
The sixth installment of the popular FPS series developed by MED-Art, a Russian developer studio. The players assume the role of Bill Sherman, a character from Painkiller: Resurrection. The protagonist fights bloody battles against hellish forces, using a rich and sophisticated arsenal in the process as well as the ability to transform into a demon after collecting a certain amount of souls. Skillful use of the hero’s combat potential is the key to be victorious, for there are vast hordes of lesser enemies as well as powerful bosses in our way. Five new locations were created for the purposes of Painkiller: Recurring Evil – battles take place in a gloomy abbey and a jungle-swallowed temple complex, among other places. The production is powered by PainEngine, which was also used in the original Painkiller released almost eight years before. Nevertheless, the developers introduced several improvements so that the graphics aren’t too painful to look at.
Painkiller: Redemption
Action
February 25, 2011
Another installment of the Painkiller series, this time developed by Eggtooth Team, a studio that started its career by creating fan mods for the previous installments in the franchise. The story is focused on Daniel Garner and Belial who join forces to put an end to the bloody conflict between heaven and hell. The developers prepared a new solo campaign in which we have to kill six thousand enemies. To put down such a horde, we need to make good use of a rich and sophisticated arsenal offered by the game. as well as the ability to transform into a demon after having collected a certain amount of souls. Compared to the previous installments in the series, Painkiller: Redemption boasts not only better graphics but also improved enemy artificial intelligence.
Painkiller: Resurrection
Action
October 27, 2009
The third installment of the popular FPP shooter series, started in 2004 by the Polish studio People Can Fly. The task of developing this production was entrusted to the Austrian team Homegrown Games. This time, players take on the role of Wild Bill Sherman - a former assassin working on behalf of the CIA and high-ranking government officials, who died while on a mission to assassinate a political rival of his employers. The protagonist was sent to purgatory and landed in the middle of a conflict between the forces of heaven and hell.
Painkiller: Overdose
Action
October 23, 2007
A direct sequel to Painkiller, the popular first-person shooter from 2004. In contrast to the original, the production wasn’t developed by the Poland-based studio People Can Fly but Mindware Studios, a Czech studio. We don’t assume the role of Daniel Garner, the protagonist of the prequel either, although the events partly take place before his lone crusade. At the core of Painkiller: Overdose is a single player campaign that consists of sixteen levels. The gameplay formula is still based on fighting hordes of hellish enemies whom we eliminate with the use of a sophisticated arsenal, which was expanded with the addition of six new weapons. Moreover, the title features new enemies – now there are about 40 kinds of them – and bosses. Furthermore, an extensive multiplayer modes, compatible with maps and modes from the original Painkiller, was developed for the purposes of the game.
Painkiller: Black Edition
Action
August 28, 2005
A collector's edition of Painkiller - a popular FPS game which debuted in 2004 and had been developed by the Polish studio People Can Fly. This compilation includes both the base Painkiller and an expansion released later and entitled "Battle Out of Hell". Apart from that, Painkiller: Black Edition includes completely new bonuses, such as a map for the deathmatch mode, cut-scenes in improved quality, the Painkiller video clip, a movie "The making of Painkiller", and improved graphic effects for newer-generation cards. In Painkiller and the aforementioned add-on, the player takes on the role of Daniel Garner, who faces demons sent by Lucifer himself. Once they are dealt with, the protagonist faces the lord of Hell himself, who is soon replaced by Alastor - it is easy to figure out that Daniel's next task is to slay that second demon as well. The experience is based mainly on eliminating hordes of enemies that can be dealt with using sophisticated and diverse weaponry. Painkiller: Black Edition offers high-quality visuals and atmospheric music composed specifically for the game.
Painkiller (2004)
Action
April 9, 2004
A fast-paced first-person shooter developed by Polish studio People Can Fly. In Painkiller the player assumes the role of Daniel Garner, who upon dying has been assigned to stop the armies of hell led by Lucifer himself. The story told in the game is linear and the campaign is split into five chapters, each one consisting of several levels. The gameplay is based on fighting hordes of enemies – all sorts of creatures coming straight from hell as well as even more powerful bosses. Fortunately, the protagonist is far from being defenseless against those enemies – in combat he uses a vast arsenal of creative weapons, starting with classic shotguns and rocket launchers to the famous Stakegun or the so-called Shuriken-do Gun. Painkiller is characterized by high-quality graphics and realistic physics simulated by Havok 2.
- Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell November 29, 2004
Painkiller Series News
Saber Interactive's Painkiller Unlikely to be Released Soon
Saber Interactive revealed some details about the new game from the Painkiller series, which it is currently working on. It turns out that the project is still at a very early stage of development.
video games
Christian Pieniazek
June 11, 2021
PayDay 3, New Painkiller and Kingdom Come on Switch - Prime Matter Reveals Plans
Prime Matter is a new publishing brand owned by Koch Media Group. It has been announced that it will release a number of promising projects, including a new Painkiller, PayDay 3 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance for Nintendo Switch.
video games
Christian Pieniazek
June 10, 2021