Painkiller Hell & Damnation First Look

Developer: The Farm 51 / Publisher: Nordic Games / Played on: PC / Release Date: October 20

Of all the games I’ve played, 2004′s Painkiller is just about the last I expected to turn into a full series. And you know what’s even more ludicrous than that? Painkiller, in it’s multi-game run, has somehow lost its identity. That’s right, a game where you play a dude in a leather jacket that shoots a ton of demons to awesome metal music somehow lost its way over the last near-decade.

Thank god, then, that Nordic Games is stepping up to the plate to pull the series back to its roots with some good old fashioned HD remakery. Painkiller: Hell & Damnation is the original Painkiller re-imagined in Unreal Engine 3, which basically means you can expect the perfect mashup of the old Painkiller you loved (or maybe missed the first time) with modern features that enhance the gameplay.

If you’re unfamiliar, Painkiller is an arcade shooter in the Quake and Serious Sam vein. You run extremely quickly, use a host of gnarly and bizarre weapons, and listen to some sweet thrash metal while you shoot a ton of crazy hell demons. Hell & Damnation is the same experience, though they’ve subtly reworked some of the maps.

Most of Hell & Damnation’s value will come from its modern touches. While the original game was no visual slouch, running under Unreal Engine 3 means you can expect even more pretty sparklies. God rays, lighting effects, and particles galore exploded from every firefight I saw. In addition, it will also include co-op and multiplayer, which was the biggest feature lacking from the original.

I’m a huge fan of Painkiller but kinda fell off the franchise after Overdose. With any luck, Hell & Damnation will give us yet another awesome arcade shooter — because one can only play Serious Sam 3 and Hard Reset for so long. Look for Paikiller: Hell & Damnation on the PC in retail and digital from on October 20.