Painkiller

49 Games like Painkiller that you should try

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Painkiller is hard to replace: few games combine shooter and single-player focus in quite the same way. We analyzed over 2,000 titles across 7 gameplay attributes and found 49 genuine alternatives — not generic genre suggestions. Grand Theft Auto Online, Doom II: Hell on Earth and Quake II lead the list, with Grand Theft Auto Online reaching a 92/100 similarity score. Every game here is ranked by how closely it replicates what makes Painkiller special.

iRank60/ 100

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GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

Tags

SoloMultiplayer

Year 2025Dev Saber Interactive

Stores

Steam ↗Xbox ↗PS ↗

Quick answer

The closest game to Painkiller is Grand Theft Auto Online — scoring 92/100 on our similarity scale. Doom II: Hell on Earth and Quake II follow close behind.

#1Grand Theft Auto Online92 #2Doom II: Hell on Earth92 #3Quake II92 #4Descent92 #5Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders92

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Games like Painkiller

49 similar games found

#1Grand Theft Auto Online

92

iRank94

Grand Theft Auto Online

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonSandbox World

IGDB94· 1

Year 2014Dev Rockstar North · Rockstar GamesOn Xbox · PlayStation 3 · PS4

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings sandbox freedom, sandbox world and open world exploration

#2Doom II: Hell on Earth

92

iRank91

Doom II: Hell on Earth

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonMelee

Steam👍 95%· 9.1KIGDB84· 2

Year 1994Dev id Software · ImagineerOn PC · Mac

✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and single-player focus

≠ Stands apart with puzzle design, horror tension and dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping adventure storytelling

92

iRank89

Quake II

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonRanged

OC89· 25

Dev Head Games PublishingOn PC

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and single-player focus

≠ Its own twist: dark, oppressive atmosphere, ranged combat and melee combat, while skipping adventure storytelling

92

iRank88

Descent

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonMelee

Steam👍 96%· 471IGDB73· 3

Year 1994Dev Parallax Software · SoftBankOn PC · Mac

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and single-player focus

≠ Stands apart with deep simulation, melee combat and setting scifi, while skipping adventure storytelling

#5Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders

92

iRank87

Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonRanged

Steam👍 94%· 1.2KRAWG👍 77%· 111

Year 1994Dev id SoftwarePlaytime ~1hOn PC

✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and single-player focus

≠ Its own twist: deep RPG systems, dark, oppressive atmosphere and ranged combat, while skipping adventure storytelling

#6Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

91

iRank89

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeSci-Fi

Steam👍 93%· 2.5KIGDB81· 11

Year 2012Dev High Moon Studios · ActivisionOn PlayStation 3 · PS4 · PC

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: third-person shooting, melee combat and setting scifi, while skipping visual first person

92

iRank85

DOOM 3

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonMelee

Steam👍 89%· 8.3KRAWG👍 77%· 632MC87IGDB86· 6

Year 2004Dev id Software · Bethesda SoftworksPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and single-player focus

≠ Stands apart with horror tension, survival mechanics and tower defense planning, while skipping adventure storytelling

#8Journey to the Savage Planet

92

iRank83

Journey to the Savage Planet

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonMelee

Steam👍 87%· 6.9KIGDB80· 11OC76· 118

Year 2020Dev Typhoon Studios · 505 GamesOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with Metroidvania exploration, strong narrative focus and melee combat

90

iRank89

Cry of Fear

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonOnline

Steam👍 89%· 84K

Year 2013Dev Team PsykskallarOn PC

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, survival mechanics and strong narrative focus

#10Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition

92

iRank82

Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonMelee

Steam👍 89%· 9.4KIGDB77· 14OC75· 71

Year 2017Dev People Can Fly · Gearbox PublishingOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings dark, oppressive atmosphere, strong narrative focus and melee combat

89

iRank92

Quake

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonPvP

Steam👍 97%· 15KRAWG👍 88%· 487MC94OC87· 37

Year 1996Dev id Software · SEGAPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and single-player focus

≠ Where it differs: brings horror tension, dark, oppressive atmosphere and strong narrative focus, while skipping adventure storytelling

Steam Epic Xbox

89

iRank90

Left 4 Dead

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonOnline

Steam👍 96%· 67KRAWG👍 87%· 1.7KMC89IGDB85· 7

Year 2008Dev Valve Software · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~5hOn PC · Xbox · Apple Macintosh

✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and single-player focus

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, horror tension and dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping adventure storytelling

#13Left 4 Dead 2

89

iRank91

Left 4 Dead 2

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

MultiplayerCo-opSoloFirst PersonOnline

Steam👍 98%· 1.0MRAWG👍 85%· 3.4KMC89IGDB89· 5

Year 2009Dev Valve Software · Electronic ArtsPlaytime ~9hOn PC · Xbox · Apple Macintosh

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and multiplayer gameplay

≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, horror tension and dark, oppressive atmosphere, while skipping adventure storytelling

92

iRank79

Syndicate

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opFirst PersonSci-Fi

IGDB79· 6

Year 2012Dev Starbreeze Studios · Electronic ArtsOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and single-player focus

≠ Stands apart with puzzle design, setting scifi and setting cyberpunk, while skipping adventure storytelling

#15Binary Domain

91

iRank81

Binary Domain

GenreShooterSubgenreFPS

SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeNarrative

Steam👍 86%· 8.1KIGDB72· 6

Year 2012Dev Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios · SegaOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings third-person shooting, puzzle design and strong narrative focus, while skipping visual first person

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best game similar to Painkiller?: The closest game to Painkiller is Grand Theft Auto Online, scoring 92/100 on our similarity scale. They share 7 gameplay attributes, including shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling. It's the most faithful alternative currently available.
What are the top games like Painkiller?: The three closest games to Painkiller are: 1. Grand Theft Auto Online (92/100, 7 shared attributes) 2. Doom II: Hell on Earth (92/100, 6 shared attributes) 3. Quake II (92/100, 6 shared attributes). All share Painkiller's most important gameplay attributes, ranked out of 49 candidates across 7 dimensions.
Is Doom II: Hell on Earth similar to Painkiller?: Yes, very much so — Doom II: Hell on Earth scores 92/100 similarity to Painkiller. They share 6 attributes, including shooter and first-person shooting. It's one of the most direct alternatives available.
What Shooter games are similar to Painkiller?: The best Shooter games similar to Painkiller are Grand Theft Auto Online, Doom II: Hell on Earth, Quake II and Descent. All share the Shooter genre alongside other key Painkiller attributes like shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling.
How is similarity to Painkiller calculated?: We compare Painkiller against every game in our catalog using 7 gameplay attributes: genre, atmosphere, world structure, play modes, combat style, and more. Each category is weighted differently — genre matters more than visual style, for instance. The result is a 0-100 score reflecting how closely a game replicates the Painkiller experience, not just whether it shares the same genre label.
Are there free games similar to Painkiller?: Yes — theHunter Classic is free and scores well on similarity to Painkiller. It's a great way to test whether the play style clicks before investing in other paid titles.