Games like Painkiller · Find similar →
More about this game →Looking for games like Painkiller? We analyzed its gameplay DNA — shooter and single-player focus — against over 6,700 titles. These 50 alternatives are ranked by real similarity, not marketing tags. Grand Theft Auto Online leads with 76/100, followed by the rest of the list.
Did you find what you were looking for?
Quick answer
The closest game to Painkiller is Grand Theft Auto Online — scoring 76/100 on our similarity scale. Cry of Fear and Journey to the Savage Planet follow close behind.
Help us build the best rankings
Community poweredVote on each result below — good match or not. Every vote directly shapes how we rank similar games for everyone.
Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Painkiller. Each one has been evaluated across 7 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.
✓ 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
It predates Painkiller by 11 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ 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
It predates Painkiller by 8 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling
≠ Its own twist: puzzle design, precision platforming and strong narrative focus
Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle game developed by Valve Corporation and released on April 19, 2011 on Steam, PS3 and Xbox 360. It was published by Valve Corporation in digital form and by Electronic Arts in physical form.
It predates Painkiller by 14 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling
≠ Its own twist: survival mechanics, horror tension and dark, oppressive atmosphere
Three separate campaigns — Marine, Alien and Predator — each rebuilding the game around a different body: the Marine's motion tracker and dread, the Alien's wall-crawling, the Predator's cloak and vision modes. The Marine campaign is the one that holds up. The other two are short and thin by comparison, and the multiplayer that carried it in 2010 is long dead.
It predates Painkiller by 15 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ 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
Where it drifts furthest from Painkiller: visuals.
It predates Painkiller by 13 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling
≠ Stands apart with survival mechanics, dark, oppressive atmosphere and melee combat
It predates Painkiller by 13 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ Fits the first-person shooters cluster, with shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling
≠ Where it differs: brings precision platforming, setting scifi and exploration and discovery
It predates Painkiller by 20 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ 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
Where it drifts furthest from Painkiller: visuals.
It predates Painkiller by 13 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling
≠ Where it differs: brings horror tension, dark, oppressive atmosphere and strong narrative focus
It predates Painkiller by 14 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ Same family of first-person shooters: shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling
≠ Its own twist: precision platforming, melee combat and offline, while skipping visual first person
Where it drifts furthest from Painkiller: visuals.
It predates Painkiller by 29 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling
≠ Stands apart with sports simulation, deep simulation and survival mechanics
theHunter: Call of the Wild offers the most immersive hunting experience ever created. Step into a beautiful open world teeming with life, from majestic deer and awe-inspiring bison, down to the countless birds, critters and insects of the wilderness.
It predates Painkiller by 8 years, with what that implies technically.
✓ Both are first-person shooters — sharing shooter, first-person shooting and adventure storytelling
≠ Its own twist: third-person shooting, survival mechanics and horror tension
A co-op horde shooter whose swarm tech is the draw: hundreds of zombies climb over each other into structures, and the class system rewards coordinating rather than scattering. Levels are short and replayable. The shooting itself is functional but unremarkable, and the campaign chapters are thin connective tissue between the set-piece swarm moments.
Same studio: Saber Interactive.
The full catalog of games sharing gameplay DNA with Painkiller, ordered from highest to lowest similarity score. Use the filters above to narrow down by genre, setting or game mode and find the alternative that best fits your playstyle.
PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist
Shooter · FPS
The Expendabros
Shooter · FPS
Broforce
Shooter · FPS
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Shooter · FPS
Call of Juarez: The Cartel
Shooter · FPS
theHunter Classic
Shooter · FPS
Lost Planet 2
Shooter · FPS
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Shooter · FPS
Doom II: Hell on Earth
Shooter · FPS
Quake II
Shooter · FPS
Descent
Shooter · FPS
Shadowgrounds
Shooter · FPS
Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders
Shooter · FPS
Unreal Tournament
Shooter · FPS
Zombie Panic! Source
Shooter · FPS
Quake
Shooter · FPS
DOOM 3
Shooter · FPS
Left 4 Dead
Shooter · FPS
Left 4 Dead 2
Shooter · FPS
Star Fox Zero
Shooter · FPS
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter
Shooter · FPS
Syndicate
Shooter · FPS
Iron Grip: Warlord
Shooter · FPS
Resistance 2
Shooter · FPS
Sanctum
Shooter · FPS
Evolve
Shooter · FPS
Killing Floor
Shooter · FPS
System Shock 2
Shooter · FPS
Guns, Gore & Cannoli
Shooter · FPS
Overwatch
Shooter · FPS
Heretic
Shooter · FPS
Team Fortress Classic
Shooter · FPS
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
Shooter · FPS
Gotham City Impostors Free to Play
Shooter · FPS
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Shooter · FPS