A Classic PC Shooter Returns And Vanishes
This year saw the surprise return of Painkiller, a cult classic PC shooter first released in 2004. On paper, a new Painkiller sounds like a big deal for PC gamers. The original was a fast, brutal single player arena style shooter all about mowing down hordes of demons with wild weapons and tight movement.
Yet the new Painkiller reboot appeared on Steam and almost instantly slipped out of conversation. It has only a few hundred reviews and sits on a Mixed rating. For such a recognizable name in old school PC shooters, that is a strange fate.
The reasons why run much deeper than just weak marketing or a crowded release window. Even the creator of the original Painkiller, Adrian Chmielarz, is openly unhappy with the reboot and what it tried to do with his game.
From Solo Demon Slaying To Co op Chaos
The first big change in the reboot is its core structure. The original Painkiller was a purely single player horde shooter. You fought alone through gothic arenas, surviving waves of demons with a strong focus on movement, strafing, and learning enemy patterns.
The new game, developed by Anshar Studios, completely rewires that idea. Instead of a solo experience, it leans into a Left 4 Dead style cooperative setup. Players team up to blast through levels together, with gameplay that also takes inspiration from the fast movement and mobility of Doom Eternal.
On the surface that might sound like a modern evolution of a classic formula. But to many who checked it out, including long time fans, it felt like Painkiller in name only. The fundamentals had shifted from tight single player challenges to a more casual co op action shooter.
Chmielarz himself calls the new Painkiller a skinwalker. In his view, it wears the brand but does not carry the original game’s DNA. Both games are still first person shooters about killing demons in the afterlife, and the reboot even borrows the original’s weapon roster and alt fire ideas. But the structure, pacing, and feel are so different that he does not see it as a true continuation.
He also questions the logic of radically changing a known IP while still using the same name. In his opinion, if you grab a recognizable game title, it should be because you want to build on what made that title special. If you then ignore that identity and make something else entirely, you risk frustrating both old fans and new players who are simply confused about what they are getting.
Chmielarz even suggests the new game might have sold better if it had launched under a completely different name instead of Painkiller. Players would judge it as its own thing, rather than as a strange sequel to a beloved cult shooter.
Tone, Atmosphere, And Why It Matters To PC Gamers
Beyond mechanics, Chmielarz also criticizes the reboot’s tone. The original Painkiller, for all its over the top demon slaying, took itself surprisingly seriously. It aimed for a dark, horror influenced atmosphere. The story and world were not perfect, but the team believed in what they were building, and that earnestness shaped how the game felt moment to moment.
In contrast, he describes the new game as leaning into a lighter, jokier style, full of one liners and big explosions. That kind of approach can be fun in the right context, but for Chmielarz it clashes with what Painkiller meant to players who loved the original’s moody, gothic vibe.
This shift in tone is important if you care about PC game design. It shows how a reboot can keep surface level elements like weapons and enemies, yet still lose the core identity that made the original stand out. For many fans of classic shooters, atmosphere and pacing are just as critical as graphics and firepower.
What The Creator Is Doing Now With Witchfire
Adrian Chmielarz has long since moved on from Painkiller as a project, even if pieces of its design philosophy keep echoing through his later work. After leaving People Can Fly, he went on to co found The Astronauts, the studio behind Witchfire.
Witchfire is an RPG shooter that blends precision gunplay with dark fantasy, and you can clearly see traces of Painkiller’s DNA in its focus on movement, enemy waves, and weapons that feel powerful and distinct. It first launched as an Epic Games Store exclusive in 2023 and came to Steam Early Access later on.
The game recently received a major update called The Reckoning. This update introduced a new system called World Corruption, which was meant to shake up runs and increase replayability. However, the feature was initially so aggressive that it threw off game balance in a big way.
According to Chmielarz, the World Corruption changes were strong enough that they basically made Witchfire switch genres. The developers quickly moved to amend the update, dialing back the system and stabilizing the experience for players.
For PC gamers, this highlights another aspect of modern game development. Live games and early access titles can change dramatically after launch, based on feedback and data. Powerful new mechanics can make or break the core feel of a game, and sometimes even its genre identity, just like how the new Painkiller’s co op focus shifted it away from what its fans expected.
Between the troubled Painkiller reboot and the evolving design of Witchfire, there is a clear lesson: names, tone, and core gameplay loops are not just marketing details. They shape how a game is received, how long it sticks around, and whether PC players feel that a series they love is being respected or just repurposed.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/painkillers-creator-isnt-a-fan-of-its-recent-co-op-reboot-i-disagreed-with-every-single-thing-theyve-done-in-it/
