Painkiller: Overdose is a standalone game that takes place in the events before Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell. Daniel just killed Lucifer and the effects of this action spawned the events of this game.

In this game, you play as the half-angel and half-demon Belial, a gatekeeper that has been imprisoned for all eternity. When Lucifer gets killed, Belial was automatically released from his prison and now you only have one goal: revenge on those that imprisoned you. This includes the Warden, Cerberus and the Angel Samuel (from the first Painkiller game) that betrayed his own kind and is directly responsible for your imprisonment. You first kill the warden and use his head as a weapon. It can shoot special projectiles that are really strong and epic to use. Then, you move on to the hound Cerberus and finally, Samuel. When you defeat him, you rip off his wings as an ultimate statement of vengeance.

The game plays the same as the first games but feels unique because of the new Hellish level design, the many, many new enemies and new weapons like the crossbow, which is overpowered as Hell (pun intended).

In terms of graphics, sound and controls, nothing changed much. It looks a little better and more polished, the sound is just as great as the first two installments and the controls are just as fluent. The only shame is that the levels do not feel that unique anymore. It all looks kind of the same, with the same orange tint in the air. Also, the music disappointed in this game. Not every game can has the energizing metal tracks from the first Painkiller game, but you are still playing Painkiller and shoot the living crap out of demons, so it was a shame that the music downgraded this much.

There are however some differences and issues with this game. For example, the ammo is extremely scarce. In the previous Painkiller games, you got a fair amount of ammunition that you can find on the levels, with Overdose, you cannot waste any shot, or you run out of ammo. Many times, I asked myself: “There has to be a crate somewhere, right?” The answer was no in most cases.

Also, a special note must be made for the loading times. The leap from the first game to this one is surprising. You literally have enough time to take a sh!t or make a cup of coffee by the time this game has loaded, even on fast hardware and SSD’s.

The game also feels a little buggy and unstable in comparison, but this could be explained by the different teams (while supported by the original developers) who worked on the game.

Besides its flaws, I still think Painkiller: Overdose is a good game that offers some variation in comparison with the main game. The combat and weapons are fun, the enemy types weirder than ever and the action is just as intense (if you have ammo that is).

Still recommend it.