Well, I thought that I’d take a look at the 2004 “Battle Out Of Hell” expansion for the horror-infused first-person shooter game “Painkiller” (2004) today.
Surprisingly, this was the first time I’d ever played this expansion since – although I had the base game on CD-ROM or DVD back in the day – the DRM-free edition that I bought during a sale on GOG back in January was the 2005 “Black Edition” of the game, which also contains this expansion.
Since this is a traditional expansion, you’ll need a copy of “Painkiller” (2004) to play it. Likewise, given how this expansion’s story is a direct sequel to the main game, it is well worth playing that one before this one (and it’ll also give you a bit of practice at the game too). I’ll also be writing this review with the assumption that you’ve already played “Painkiller” (2004) and know the basic gameplay mechanics of it too.
So, let’s take a look at it. This review may contain SPOILERS and (unrealistic/stylised) GRUESOME IMAGES. The game itself also contains some FLICKERING LIGHTS too.
The expansion picks up almost instantly after the ending of “Painkiller”. Daniel is in hell and fighting off hordes of demons converging on him, when Eve suddenly regains consciousness and creates a portal which takes both of them back to purgatory.
However, it soon transpires that Alastor isn’t as dead as Daniel thought – so he asks Eve to give him a route back to hell so that he can finish the job….
One of the first things that I will say about this expansion is that about half of the levels are amazing and half are mediocre. When this expansion is good, it is really good – but it can also sometimes feel a bit dull or generic too. It’s definitely worth playing if you enjoyed the main game but, once you get to about the seventh level or so, it starts going downhill a bit.
It’s also sort of like an edgier and “larger than life” version of the main game. Plus, it includes a couple of new weapons as well.
Yes, this weapon has a “sniper” feature, but it wasn’t something I really used unless the game really pushed me to. Still, unlike 99% of videogame weapons of this type, it actually works really well as an “ordinary” weapon too. Plus, the alternate fire mode is amazing….
And these new weapons are actually pretty decent. One is a flamethrower/SMG – although the flamethrower is amazing, the SMG fires in a “burst” kind of way – albeit one that can be useful if you don’t have any chaingun ammo left.
There’s also a multiple stake-launcher, which serves as both a longer-range version of the shotgun and as a sniper weapon. The alt-fire for it is amazing though – it shoots out a spread of bouncing metal balls which explode after a few seconds. Although you’ve got to be careful not to get hit by ricochets, this can sweep away small groups of weaker monsters in a single shot. How the main game got by without it is beyond me…
Plus, as you’d expect there’s a good variety of new monsters in this expansion too – these range from being genuinely terrifying/disturbing, to being “edgy for the sake of edgy”, to being really cool and to being utterly ridiculous. Like a lot of other things about this expansion, the monsters here are a bit of a mixed bag.
The animation quality and 3D models in the game’s two cutscenes are also technically better (in terms of visual detail) than the main game, but I personally preferred the visual style of the cutscenes in the main game. Anyway, let’s look at the levels…..
For the sake my sanity, I’ll only show the exterior of this orphanage. The interior is perhaps one of the scariest, edgiest and most disturbing FPS game levels I’ve ever played.
Interestingly, the first level or two of this expansion are actually proper full-strength horror. The game starts off in a ridiculously edgy and ultra-disturbing “This is what ’18+’ ratings were made for” way by throwing Daniel into a creepy orphanage filled with orphan-like monsters and a “large monster with a meat cleaver” mini-boss who will chase you for a while. This monster initially appears to be invincible, giving the game a hint of the frantic terrifying suspense of a modern-style “run and hide” survival horror game. It can be killed, but only after you’ve defeated all of the other monsters nearby.
This opening level was actually scarier and more unsettling than some actual dedicated horror games that I’ve played. Everything about this level, from the lighting to the location designs to some eerie set pieces and the ultra-disturbing young monsters makes the “Asylum” level from the main game look reassuring by comparison. It is a really dramatic start to the game 🙂
The seller of lightning rods arrived just…. Ooops! Wrong thing! This is “Painkiller: Battle Out Of Hell” (2004)
The second level also focuses more heavily on the horror genre too. Set in a bizarre evil carnival, this level is epic and creepy at the same time. You’ll be fending off evil clowns and other creepy creatures whilst haunting calliope music plays in the background.
It’s a visually creative level, vaguely reminiscent of the “Dark Carnival” level from the classic 1997 horror-themed FPS game “Blood“, Ray Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes” (1962) or possibly parts of “Silent Hill 3” (2003). Not only that, it also ends with a seriously cool set piece where you actually get to ride a rollercoaster. It’s amazing!
The third level is a “lab” level. And, whilst it’s mostly a generic-looking level with some annoying first-person perspective platforming at the end, it redeems itself a bit by including a fun little “Resident Evil” reference at the beginning (posters for the “Dumbrella” corporation). Still, if you’re expecting zombies, expect disappointment. The monsters in this level are weird “retro sci-fi robot” type creatures and – for the sake of edginess – random “sexy” nurse enemies with large syringes. It’s a rather silly level.
Woo hoo! It’s a silly “Resident Evil” reference 🙂 But WHY didn’t this level include zombies???
The fourth level is apparently only playable if you’re using one of the higher difficulty settings. Since I was playing on “Insomnia” (medium), the game just skipped it entirely. Looking online, it just seems to be an arena battle against an extra boss monster.
Level five has some really cool moments. Set in a ruined city, you finally get to fight some zombies (why they didn’t put them in level three is beyond me), as well as giant mechanical spiders, mini-bosses and flying demons. Although some segments look a bit generic – there is also some awesome concrete Brutalist architecture and a cool little segment set in a shopping centre which reminded me a bit of an old 1970s/80s horror movie 🙂
FINALLY! Some zombies 🙂 But WHY weren’t they in level three?
Level six has a WW2 theme and is set in the ruins of Leningrad, where you fight undead versions of both sides of this historical battle whilst a creepy “crackling old record/radio broadcast” version of the Russian national anthem plays in the background. Needless to say, playing this old level in 2022 felt somewhat unsettling.
In gameplay terms, it’s a challenging FPS game level with a good mixture of open and claustrophobic areas, and a good level of monster variety (since you also have to fight tanks too). For the most part, it looks like any other WW2 game – but the stylised paranormal elements and the choice of background music add a lot of personality to it and make it one of the more dramatic levels in the expansion.
It may look like a “Call Of Duty” game, but it actually has… creativity and a personality…. what a novel concept!
Level seven is set in a Roman colosseum…. but you only see it at the end. For the most part, you just fight gladiators and monsters in a series of dull-looking corridors and catacombs.
There are a few brief moments of creativity here though – such as some very basic puzzles, a few cool-looking rooms and a short “obstacle course” segment. Parts of the level also, in terms of their general atmosphere, almost feel more at home in a “Serious Sam” game than a “Painkiller” game.
It might be the “ancient world” setting, but I was almost expecting to hear “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” in this part of the level.
Still, the level only really gets interesting at the very end, where you have a literal arena battle with hordes of monsters and a boss. This is one of those retro-style boss battles where the boss can only be defeated in a very specific way, which I eventually had to look up online. Still, it seemed obvious in retrospect.
Levels eight and nine are *yawn* underground caverns, mines and catacombs. The monsters can be cool – such as skeleton pirates and “The Trooper” -style zombies. Although, saying that, the highly-stylised “voodoo” monsters seem like another “edgy for the sake of edgy” addition. Level nine also has a cool reflective water pool at the beginning and is designed around ascending a pit. even so, these levels often seem a bit generic and feel like the game itself was starting to run out of creativity a bit.
For a game from 2004, this water effect looks amazing. There are also skeleton pirates in this level too. Still, it looks a lot like the previous level and, surprisingly, it wasn’t really one of the best levels in the game…
The tenth level is the final boss battle, and it looks really cool. Set in a dramatic fiery post-apocalyptic wasteland, the level plays with the classic videogame trope of giving you more stuff before a boss battle by creating a long trail of items consisting of literally every weapon in the game.
The music is really dramatic too. It’s a really strong beginning, and the final boss – Alastor – looks like he has stepped off of the cover of an old Judas Priest album too 🙂
Faster than a bullet, terrifying…. Ooops! Wrong “Painkiller”! This is an expansion to the videogame called “Painkiller”.
Still, this is another “puzzle-style” boss battle… and the steps you have to take in order to even briefly be able to damage Alastor are really convoluted. I don’t know how anyone figured it out on their own. I had to look online for hints.
Seriously, I’m not exaggerating when I say that it is convoluted. You have to do at least two counter-intuitive things just to briefly allow you to actually deal damage to Alastor. It’s utterly ridiculous, but also a cool-looking and creative level though.
And, again, it’s kind of fun how the designers build suspense by leaving a really long trail of items before you reach the boss…
As for length, it’s maybe 4-5 hours long at most, with many levels taking me 10-30 minutes to complete. Still, there are challenges that add replayability – not to mention that the better levels are ones you might want to re-visit just for the sake of it too.
Still, and this might have just been my PC, the game seemed a little bit more unstable than the main game. Even keeping the number of saves in my save folder to an absolute minimum (since the main game could crash if there were too many), I still experienced some stuttering and one “I had to restart my PC” crash during the later levels.
All in all, half of this expansion is amazing and half is kind of mediocre. Given that, these days, pretty much the only “new” version of the game that is sold digitally is the 2005 “Black Edition” – which contains this expansion – it’s a really cool bonus if you’re planning to play the main game. And, for all of my criticisms, the good levels here are actually cooler and better than the main game. Less so with the more “mediocre” levels though.
If I had to give it a rating out of five, parts are a “low three” and parts are a “solid five” – so it averages out to four.
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