The frantic arena combat that defines Painkiller dominates player conversations, with 66 positive mentions out of 102 total. Overall, the game sits at a mixed 56 % positive rating on Steam, rising slightly to 58 % post‑release.
In-game
« Un DOOM avec des raids, des capacités de combat, des choix de personnage, des maîtrises d'armes.. Il manque un peu de contenu évidemment, mais le jeu viens de sortir. Si vous aimez les FPS Sanglant, vous devez apprécier. +1 »👍 anonymous review · 12 h played« ça l'air une dinguerie graphisme et son top !.... manque les mods !.. pour que ça défouraille sec !!! ;) une Turie ce jeux !!! très bourrin le jeux HiHiHi (GG) !!.... et merci les Mods !...... ;) !!!!👌🥵💀 »👍 anonymous review · 246 h played« Très bon FPS, s'approche de DOOM dans la façon de jouer. Un peu court mais vraiment très sympa. »👍 anonymous review · 7 h played« un régal quel ambiance j'adore »👍 anonymous review · 6 h played« le jeu et bien du bourrin comme jamais pas prise de tete, vraiment cool, les si je avait écouté les aviez je l'auré pas acheté »👍 anonymous review · 8 h played« jouissif, fluide, une ode au carnage. des litres de sang pour des heures de plaisir. »👍 anonymous review · 14 h played
« Tres peux de maps, et ces dernieres ne sont pas tres diversifier, ni fun, contrairement au 1er PK... Seul le lance pieux nous rappel les origines... Jeux à acheter seulement en promo »👎 anonymous review · 8 h played« Perdez pas votre temps, même à moins de 10e. »👎 anonymous review · 1 h played« What were the developers thinking not adding a campaign? The game just isn’t fun. It gets boring really fast with nothing to work towards. Feels empty and repetitive, like there’s no real reason to keep playing »👎 anonymous review · 1 h played« i dont understand why in modern gaming every woman is bald and ugly »👎 anonymous review · 0 h played« I want to shove my painkiller up the arses of two people: - the one who designed the flying armored turret demon - the one who made an achievement for grinding level 9 in a very short & repetitive game »👎 anonymous review · 24 h played« Not as bad as other reviewers make it out to be - an arena shooter in Doom-style, with weapon progression, and quite fun in coop. Undeservedly low ratings. »👍 anonymous review · 6 h played
In players' words
« Un DOOM avec des raids, des capacités de combat, des choix de personnage, des maîtrises d'armes.. Il manque un peu de contenu évidemment, mais le jeu viens de sortir. Si vous aimez les FPS Sanglant, vous devez apprécier. +1 »👍 anonymous review · 12 h played« Tres peux de maps, et ces dernieres ne sont pas tres diversifier, ni fun, contrairement au 1er PK... Seul le lance pieux nous rappel les origines... Jeux à acheter seulement en promo »👎 anonymous review · 8 h played« ça l'air une dinguerie graphisme et son top !.... manque les mods !.. pour que ça défouraille sec !!! ;) une Turie ce jeux !!! très bourrin le jeux HiHiHi (GG) !!.... et merci les Mods !...... ;) !!!!👌🥵💀 »👍 anonymous review · 246 h played« Perdez pas votre temps, même à moins de 10e. »👎 anonymous review · 1 h played« Très bon FPS, s'approche de DOOM dans la façon de jouer. Un peu court mais vraiment très sympa. »👍 anonymous review · 7 h played« What were the developers thinking not adding a campaign? The game just isn’t fun. It gets boring really fast with nothing to work towards. Feels empty and repetitive, like there’s no real reason to keep playing »👎 anonymous review · 1 h played« un régal quel ambiance j'adore »👍 anonymous review · 6 h played« i dont understand why in modern gaming every woman is bald and ugly »👎 anonymous review · 0 h played« le jeu et bien du bourrin comme jamais pas prise de tete, vraiment cool, les si je avait écouté les aviez je l'auré pas acheté »👍 anonymous review · 8 h played« I want to shove my painkiller up the arses of two people: - the one who designed the flying armored turret demon - the one who made an achievement for grinding level 9 in a very short & repetitive game »👎 anonymous review · 24 h played« jouissif, fluide, une ode au carnage. des litres de sang pour des heures de plaisir. »👍 anonymous review · 14 h played« Not as bad as other reviewers make it out to be - an arena shooter in Doom-style, with weapon progression, and quite fun in coop. Undeservedly low ratings. »👍 anonymous review · 6 h played
Anonymized excerpts from public Steam reviews — picked among those most voted "helpful" by the community.
What players say, by aspect
PositiveMixedNegative
Gameplay
65 % pos · n=102
Content / longevity
7 % pos · n=45
Value for money
53 % pos · n=30
Graphics / art
86 % pos · n=22
Multiplayer
72 % pos · n=18
Performance
100 % pos · n=10
Audio / music
89 % pos · n=9
Stability / bugs
12 % pos · n=8
Story / writing
33 % pos · n=6
Interface / UX
0 % pos · n=1
Detailed data (table)
Aspect
Mentions
Positive
Mixed
Negative
Gameplay
102
66
4
32
Content / longevity
45
3
4
38
Value for money
30
16
2
12
Graphics / art
22
19
1
2
Multiplayer
18
13
1
4
Performance
10
10
0
0
Audio / music
9
8
0
1
Stability / bugs
8
1
1
6
Story / writing
6
2
0
4
Interface / UX
1
0
0
1
Positive reviews by playtime
🎮 Players who like it have spent 7.2 h on median; those who dislike it: 1.7 h.
🪤 54 % of negative reviews come from players who left in under 2h — the game often disappoints right away.
<2h
27 % (n=128)
2-10h
68 % (n=188)
10-25h
82 % (n=78)
>25h
71 % (n=24)
Fixed or still broken? Sentiment over time
📉 Down since launch (-26 pts) — reception has worsened
% of positive reviews per month (months with ≥ 15 sample reviews).
100% completion difficulty ("platinum")
0,7 %Hardcore
of players have unlocked the rarest achievement — the upper bound of those who "100%'d" it. 41 achievements in total; the median achievement is unlocked by 18,7 % of players.
Combat gameplay shines, earning 66 positive mentions out of 102 total.
Graphics receive strong approval, with 19 positive mentions out of 22.
Audio is praised, recording 8 positive mentions out of 9.
Multiplayer/co‑op mode is well‑received, tallying 13 positive mentions out of 18.
Performance is flawless according to reviewers, with 10 positive mentions out of 10.
Weaknesses
Content depth is a major gripe, only 3 positive mentions out of 45 total and 38 negative mentions.
Story is poorly received, with just 2 positive versus 4 negative mentions.
Technical bugs surface, yielding 6 negative mentions out of 8 total.
Repetitiveness is highlighted, the keyword “répétitif” appears 12 times.
Who is it for?
Players who thrive on fast‑paced arena shooters and enjoy high‑octane co‑op action will appreciate Painkiller, even if they can tolerate thin narrative and limited content.
Verdict
Painkiller delivers the visceral combat its genre promises, backed by solid graphics, audio, and stable performance. Yet its shallow content, lackluster story, and occasional bugs keep it from rising above a mixed reception. If relentless combat outweighs narrative depth for you, the game is worth a try.
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