Painkiller's creator "disagreed with every single thing" the reboot does, says it "wasted" the IP

Some videogames stand the test of time, offering an experience you'll never quite forget, and The Astronauts' co-founder Adrian Chmielarz has worked on at least three of them. First, there's Gears of War and its 2013 spinoff, Gears of War: Judgement. Then there's Bulletstorm, with its creative skill points system and chaotic, baudy action and broad sense of humor. And, finally, there's Painkiller, a cult classic FPS game known for its horror-tinged atmosphere and big, punchy guns. Spawning spiritual sequels, remakes, and now Anshar Studio's 2025 reboot, I ask Chmielarz what he thinks of the IP's latest entry. His response? "Next question, please." Then he bursts out laughing.

"I know [Anshar]" he says. "They're great guys and they're trying hard. They do a lot of outsourcing work, and every now and then they attempt to make their own game again, and I appreciate that. But, unfortunately, I think that Painkiller [2025] is basically a Skinwalker: it has the name Painkiller, but it has nothing to do with Painkiller. If the same game was released under a different title, nobody would ever ask 'hey, is this kind of like a sequel to Painkiller?'

"It's a completely different game. I will never understand why you're taking the IP and then sort of turning it around. What's the point here? You grab the IP because you believe the IP had something, but there's no traces of the DNA of that IP in your game. That's weird to me.

"I didn't play it," he admits. "I played the beta when they had it, and I disagreed with every single thing they've done in it, and that's it."

I liken it to my own experience with Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, a game based on a strong core IP in the World of Darkness that ultimately failed to capture its predecessor's magic.

"We come back once again to these worlds that are created," Chmielarz says, referencing an earlier discussion about his approach to creating authentic but not overly complex lore systems. "The Painkiller of 2025 isn't the only Painkiller that didn't get it. There were sort of semi-sequels before; Painkiller was popular enough that we had, I don't know, five other Painkillers. Not a single one got it.

"They focused on the mechanics and believed that 'we get cool guns and cool enemies, let's have a lot of this type of gameplay, and some blood on the screen, and that's enough.' Half of Painkiller was about the atmosphere, and Painkiller was treating himself seriously. You can laugh at that, that's fair. So it wasn't the best, but at least it gave you the idea that the people who made it believed in it, believed in that world, and wanted you to have a more horror experience than a silly game that's going to be filled with one-liners and explosions. This is why I continue to be a firm believer that the immersion part is so important."

Chmielarz thinks that rebooting Painkiller was "counterproductive" for Anshar. "If they'd actually called it something else, they would have sold more copies and the reaction would be much more positive. From what I have seen, a lot of people do remember the original Painkiller and they're kind of angry that [the 2025 version] isn't it. Rename the game to anything else and the reception would be much better. Not only was the IP wasted on the game, it actually hurt [Anshar]."

Sitting at a 'Mixed' 55% rating on Steam, most negative reviews cite the game's lack of throughline with the original as a primary issue, with one asking "has anyone who worked on this game actually played Painkiller?" Arguably taking greater inspiration from modern Doom than its own predecessors, it's a competently made co-op FPS that, in our preview, we felt was "cosplaying as Painkiller."

Well-handled nostalgia certainly sells these days - look at Silent Hill 2 Remake or Resident Evil 4 - but it has to feel of a piece with what came before. Straying too far will alienate existing fans and probably kill the attraction for new players, too.

Chmielarz is now working on Witchfire, an early-access first-person RPG set in a dark fantasy world. We'll share more from our conversation with him in the coming weeks.