This game isn't as good as the infinity engine games, nor is it as well done as its sequel. The main campaign is boring, and likely because the companion system is much, much worse than the party system of previous games and the sequel. Its just a bunch of stuff from the D&D universe crammed into a game haphazardly. I've tried to like this game since it's initial release and it has constantly disappointed for more than a decade. I got this for free from GOG and its not even worth that price.
I was really excited when I saw this game come to GOG, as I had played the bejesus out of it on N64 as a kid. Coming back to it on PC, I was happy to see it in 60fps and with PC controls; except the PC controls are terrible. Somehow, it's not possible to rebind movement from the mouse (which is also shared by WASD - no problems there) which leads to some often unfortunate platforming. Overall, it's a nice addition to my collection, but I feel like the N64 gamepad was a better way to play. That doesn't mean the game itself has aged poorly, which is so far still quite fun and enjoyable.
I've had this love-hate relationship with Painkiller since it's been out. It's like a slower-paced version of Serious Sam with lower enemy variety. Almost every time I've installed with the intention of beating it, I've gotten bored by the end and never finished it. And yet, the atmosphere and style the game has is enough to keep drawing me back to play it again and again. The weapons are all amazing and the settings all have this great gothic feel to them. There's even the extra incentives to play the game different ways with the tarot card challenges for each level. While I can heap all the praise in the world on the game, there are some drawbacks. The game has some stability issues (at least on Windows 10), which is annoying if you are right in the middle of accomplishing progress towards a tarot card goal and the game either crashes or just locks up my entire system. The game physics is super wonky, too. Like, the bunny hopping is excellent; but then there's the 'walk over random debris and fly 30 ft. into the air' physics. I'm appreciating that Painkiller is not the kind of game that I will marathon through and enjoy my time with, which tells me it's not as good as games I can play through entirely without realizing it. However, if I play like a level per day or something and pace myself through it, it's pretty enjoyable. There's no denying the uniqueness of the game and it's really a gem from the twitch shooter era.
I'm pretty sure I got this game during a giveaway. I saw that I could play a summoner class. It was not particularly fun - and then I leveled up. For offering summoner, the skill tree looked pathetically boring and I basically uninstalled right after that. ARPG's aren't exactly my thing, but I at least enjoyed playing Druid in D2 for a while.
