Saber Interactive’s Painkiller reboot has been finally revealed, with some unexpected changes.
When we last reported on this project, Saber had just successfully split off from Embracer Group. The Painkiller IP was still owned by Embracer through Plaion Group, but they reassured us that it was still in the works.
The company recently revealed that, as the biggest independent third party developer out there, they still had a lot of unannounced and unrevealed projects, and they were all still on the way. Most gamers immediately thought of Saber’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake, but obviously, they meant projects like this too.
The Painkiller reboot announcement trailer still has Plaion and Saber in the credits, but some new companies are also named in there as well. 3DRealms, the legendary publisher that was once behind names like Wolfenstein 3D, joined Saber in splitting off from Embracer Group.
While Saber and 3D Realms are both named as the game’s publishers, the actual developer is a completely new name: Anshar Studios SA. Anshar is a Polish studio that had previously worked on Gamedec, Observer System Redux and Layers Of Fear.
As for the reboot itself, it looks like it has completely dropped the story of the original, about Daniel Garner and his character arc going through layers of Purgatory to rescue his wife. As shared by Gematsu, this is the description Saber and 3D Realms shared of the new game:
“Painkiller is a reimagining of the classic franchise, featuring cooperative play for up to three players and full offline support. Battle hordes of demons and titanic terrors across richly detailed gothic environments.
Trapped in Purgatory, you are sentenced for your transgressions against Heaven. But the Voice of the Creator gives you a chance to redeem yourself. As one of the Champions, you are to stop the fallen angel Azazel who is about to unleash his demonic armies onto Earth. You will face hordes of enemies, demons with unique powers and three monstrous children of Azazel – the Nephilim.”
It also describes a new tarot card based upgrade system, and gives four names for some completely new playable characters, in Ink, Void, Sol, and Roch.
In spite of the extensive lore, the original Painkiller games wasn’t really known for having a deep story. It was really best known as a newer generation of Doom-style boomer shooters, reimagined by People Can Fly for the 2000s.
This reboot at least looks the part of a visceral FPS going through hell to fight some demons, but we’ll see how well Anshar has worked this out. In the meantime, you can watch the official announcement trailer below.
