Rank 01Why this
Also Fast-Paced and Demons, like Painkiller.
- $19.99 (Price checked Oct 31)
- Deck Playable
- 2012
Games like Painkiller
- 40 games
- Updated May 4, 2026
Players who liked Painkiller also play
The closest matches to Painkiller: Painkiller Hell & Damnation, Painkiller Overdose, Quake, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and Painkiller: Black Edition. Ranked by imho.run from Steam co-play data, shared tags and reviews.
- Rank 01
Rank 02Why this
Also Demons and Gore, like Painkiller.
- $4.99 (Price checked Oct 31)
- 2007
Rank 03
Rank 04 
DOOM: The Dark Ages
Why this: Shares weapon upgrades and real time combat with Painkiller.
Rank 05 
Rank 06 
Project Warlock
Why this: Shares weapon upgrades with Painkiller.
Rank 07 
Rank 08 
The full ranked list: top 24 games like Painkiller
Best match first, as plain text. The same list for AI assistants:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4DOOM: The Dark Ages
Shares weapon upgrades and real time combat with Painkiller.
- 85% of 16,971 reviews
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 6
Shares weapon upgrades and loadout customization with Painkiller.
- 77% of 3,919 reviews
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- Released: 2025
- Developer: Anshar Studios
- Price: $39.99checked Oct 31
- Steam Deck: Deck Playable
- 60% of 368 reviews
- Genres: Action
- Platforms: Windows
Players highlight
- Bots are actually useful
- Cheap price point for a solid arena shooter experience
- Classic painkiller weapons return
- Atmospheric
- Challenging
- Dark
More games like Painkiller, sliced differently
Reviewers mention these as similar to Painkiller
Surfaced from review text: when other players write 'if you liked X, try Y', we catch the name and resolve it back to a Steam game.
World War Z
Why this: Same epic mood as Painkiller.
Serious Sam 3: BFE
Why this: Also Gore and Old School, like Painkiller.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
Why this: Same atmospheric mood as Painkiller.
DOOM Eternal
Why this: Also Fast-Paced and Demons, like Painkiller.
Left 4 Dead
Why this: Same dark mood as Painkiller.
Witchfire
Why this: Shares weapon upgrades and loadout customization with Painkiller.
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below Painkiller at current Steam store prices.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun
Why this: Also Demons and Gore, like Painkiller.
CROSSBOW: Bloodnight
Why this: Shares weapon upgrades with Painkiller.
Nasty Zombies
Why this: Shares wave based survival and real time combat with Painkiller.
CRUEL
Why this: Shares weapon upgrades and loadout customization with Painkiller.
Devil Daggers
Why this: Also Fast-Paced and Demons, like Painkiller.
RAID: World War II
Why this: Also Gore and Violent, like Painkiller.
Trepang2
Why this: Also Fast-Paced and Gore, like Painkiller.
Free alternatives
Free games the recommender matches to Painkiller, limited to titles with at least 500 Steam reviews and 80% positive.
Hellbound: Survival Mode
Why this: Shares wave based survival with Painkiller.
PAPERHEAD EP.0
Why this: Shares real time combat with Painkiller.
STRAFTAT
Why this: Also Fast-Paced and Gore, like Painkiller.
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
Why this: Also Gore and Violent, like Painkiller.
Shadow Warrior Classic (1997)
Why this: Also Gore and Old School, like Painkiller.
Plays great on Steam Deck
Valve-Verified or Playable picks from the similar pool — ready to go on Deck out of the box.
Quake
Why this: Also Fast-Paced and Gore, like Painkiller.
DOOM: The Dark Ages
Why this: Shares weapon upgrades and real time combat with Painkiller.
Project Warlock
Why this: Shares weapon upgrades with Painkiller.
More from Anshar Studios
Other recommendable Steam games by Anshar Studios, ranked by review count so the studio's hits land first.
Observer: System Redux
Why this: Same atmospheric mood as Painkiller.
About Painkiller
The closest matches to Painkiller: Painkiller Hell & Damnation, Painkiller Overdose, Quake, DOOM: The Dark Ages, and Painkiller: Black Edition. Ranked by imho.run from Steam co-play data, shared tags and reviews.
If Painkiller is your kind of game, the closest matches are Painkiller Hell & Damnation, Painkiller Overdose and Quake — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers describe it as atmospheric, challenging and dark, and single out its boss arena fights and bot support. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.
About Painkiller: The classic Painkiller series is back! Battle through Purgatory in fast-paced co-op action, wielding infernal weapons against relentless demonic hordes. Condemned for your sins, the Voice of the Creator offers you a chance at redemption. Will you seize it or be lost to darkness?
Is Painkiller worth buying?
Players are split
A summary of what players say, not a promise you'll like it. Every signal is listed below.
- 60% of 368 Steam reviews are positive.
- We don't track this game's daily reviews yet, so this is the all-time picture.
- Price: $39.99 (checked Nov 7).
- People who recommend it had played a median of 4 h when they wrote their review.
- Steam Deck Playable: works, with some rough edges.
What fans praise · Themes mined from positive reviews
- Bots are actually useful
- Cheap price point for a solid arena shooter experience
- Classic painkiller weapons return
- Fast paced arena combat shines in co op
Top critical reviews
The most up-voted negative English reviews in our sample, quoted as written.
“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”
“Good game made by garbage devs, the amount of times I die from glitching in objects is so much. Zero quality of lifes updates clearly. Pity, clearly an enjoyable game if managed properly. Difficulty scaling is out of the roof, repetive…”
People who play it also play: Painkiller Hell & Damnation, Painkiller Overdose, Quake
Frequently asked about Painkiller
Can I run it?
Does Painkiller run on Steam Deck?
Painkiller is rated Playable on Steam Deck — it runs, but expect some manual adjustments (control remapping, text size, or graphics settings) for the best experience.
How much does Painkiller cost?
Painkiller is listed on Steam at 39.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
Does Painkiller have multiplayer or co-op?
Yes — Painkiller supports multi-player play according to its Steam store listing (Multi-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op).
What games are most similar to Painkiller?
Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside Painkiller are Painkiller Hell & Damnation, Painkiller Overdose, Quake.
Who developed Painkiller?
Painkiller was developed by Anshar Studios and published by 3D Realms.