Painkiller: Hell & Damnation

Lore & Background

After crushing the forces of Hell and Purgatory in the original titles, Daniel Garner was denied seeing his wife, Catherine. Now, with no faith left, he sat in the cemetery, where his quest once began. Suddenly, Death itself appeared, proposing Daniel a new bargain: reunion with his wife in exchange for 7,000 souls. Daniel reluctantly agrees, receiving the Soulcatcher gun. He is sent to familiar places, battling hordes of demon-spawn, again defeating the formidable Necrogiant, Alastor, and Swamp Thing. An old ally, Eve, reappears during this quest, warning that Death cannot be trusted, but Daniel didn't forget her own betrayal at the end of Painkiller: Battle out of Hell. Daniel avoids her as she tries to persuade him that everything is not as it seems, and the only reason that he is so successful at killing demons and not succumbing to their power is that he is not really dead. Eventually, Daniel returns to Death, with the Soulcatcher filled. Death, however, is not pleased, as there are only 6,999 souls, and not 7,000, but still advises Daniel to get the final soul: that of Eve. Daniel, disgusted by such a turn of events, spares Eve, infuriating Death. Battle ensues, culminating with Death's defeat and an opening of a strange white portal. By taking the portal, Daniel discovers himself alive, lying in bed, in a hospital. All this time, he was alive, but in a coma, bound by Death to an endless battle in Purgatory. Suddenly, Eve appears, claiming that the souls collected enabled Death to reunite with his brothers, the other Horsemen of Apocalypse: Pestilence, Famine, and War, which are now plotting to invade Earth. Daniel feels that he will be unable to battle the hordes of Hell without the power that he wielded in Purgatory, but Eve comforts him, saying that they are not alone and he will be just a sidekick. A door opens, revealing the demonic visage of Belial (from Painkiller: Overdose) who calls Daniel to stand up and help him fight Death and his Horsemen.

In Their Own Story

The chain-link fence shudders as something the size of a cathedral drags itself along the obsidian floor. Daniel Dorn spits blood onto the black glass and grins. His Pain meter is half full, the red veins under his skin pulsing with every heartbeat. He rips the chainsaw from his back, the engine coughing to life with a sound like a dying god clearing its throat. The creature lunges. He doesn't dodge. He lets the claws rake across his ribs, feels the Pain meter climb, feels the world sharpen into a single red-tinged focus. Then he grabs the thing by its jaw, shoves its face into the spinning teeth, and the chainsaw drinks. The meter blazes full. He lets go. The creature's remaining half slithers away, shrieking. Dorn wipes the spray from his visor, resets his grip, and walks forward into the dark. There is always more to feed.

Reader's Guide

The player has to get through each level, from start to finish, by slaughtering multitudinous demons. The game is divided into several chapters, each with several levels. Each level presents a new location with various themes and includes castles, monasteries, graveyards, and more. Several classic weapons return, including the Painkiller, the stakethrower, the shotgun, and the electrodriver. New guns are also available such as the Soulcatcher, which shoots saw blades in primary firing mode and sucks the souls out of the enemies with its secondary firing. Painkiller: Hell & Damnation also adds several multiplayer modes to the series. The entire single-player campaign can be played by two people and the level of difficulty adjusts in accordance with the two players, either through the number of enemies or hit points. In survival mode, up to eight players battle for survival in a limited area of one map. Endless waves of enemy hordes will attack the player or players. Other player vs player based game modes include deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and duels.

Did You Know?

• The game was released on October 31, 2012, for Microsoft Windows, and on June 28, 2013, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Europe.
• A 'toned down' version was released due to German censors refusing to give it an age rating because it was 'deemed too evil'.
• The collectors edition includes stickers, 'postcards from hell', an art book, posters, a ten-track soundtrack CD, a making-of DVD, a special in-game tarot card, and an exclusive multiplayer skin.
• Some versions of the game include the original Painkiller plus the Battle Out of Hell expansion.
• A beta Linux version was made available on October 17, 2013, to Steam customers who had already acquired the Windows version.