If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Still Killing Pain After All These Years: Painkiller Reboot

Back in the old days, when only 12 people read RPS, each and every one of them hated me to the core because I said I didn't think the original Painkiller was a very good videogame. I wonder what happens when I say that now? I think we can all agree that these long years of expansion packs and expandydandelions haven't exactly done great favours for 'the brand', though. Looks like this may be about to change, as the Nordic Games-published/funded Painkiller: Hell & Damnation has the auspices of a high-budget reboot. Polish (and thus not Nordic, confusingly) devs The Farm 51 perhaps don't have too much known heritage behind them - Necrovision primarily, although apparently collaborated on The Witcher and Two Worlds II. They're getting to play with the Unreal 3 engine for this, and if these screenies are legit rather than the shot of the bull this could be a bit of a treat for those who crave high-speed, high-gloss demon-slaying.

Read on for some more pics, and a comment from a man with the best name in the world.

Via the dark magicks of the nightmare lords Cu'ut and Pay-St, allow me to shed the smallest light on what Hell & Damnation involves:

"Powered by Epic’s world-renowned and highly-respected Unreal Engine 3, Painkiller Hell & Damnation recreates the sensations and hardcore gameplay of the original Painkiller. Released in 2004, Painkiller won high praise and many accolades and fans for its fast and unique gameplay. Keeping true to the old-school FPS ideology, lightning-fast movement enables skillful players to get into the heart of the fast-paced gameplay, topped off with stunning enormo-boss fights requiring sneaky tactics."

The original Painkiller was intended and used as a pro-gamer title for a while, of course. I'm not sensing ('my Meer-sense is tingling!') the same here to be honest, but there's probably enough of an audience for Doom-style shenanigans to not have to tread that path.

And now, let's open the floor for the incredibly-named Reinhard Pollice, who really should be the next Robocop but is instead making do with being responsible for Business & Product Development at Nordic Games. I also like him because he uses the words 'enormo' and 'shiny', like I often do. Maybe I am him? Please, call me Reinhard Pollice from now on.

“We're proud of the shiny new splendor of the game's graphics, but we're doubly proud we've made player skill the most important part of the game. In addition to the single player campaign, we're putting a tremendous emphasis on the game’s multiplayer component.”

- Reinhard Pollice.

No website or video for Painkiller: Hell & Damnation as yet, but all being well Nathan will squeak a peek at this during E3.

Rock Paper Shotgun is the home of PC gaming

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

In this article

Painkiller

PC

Painkiller: Hell & Damnation

PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Related topics
About the Author
Alec Meer avatar

Alec Meer

Co-founder

Ancient co-founder of RPS. Long gone. Now mostly writes for rather than about video games.

Comments