The Devil and My Gun (Painkiller Black)

Game: Painkiller Black
Developer: People Can Fly

The mid nineties to early 2000’s had a slew of shooters that were based on very simple rules. An army of the undead/demons/Nazis is coming to get you and you need to blow them up. With the help of an arsenal of lead pumping weapons you need only point and click your problems away. Painkiller Black wishes to bring us back to those simple times. Robed maniacs, skeletons, sword demons and gargantuan monsters fill the arena and your only job is to wipe them out. Seems monotonous, but the satisfying controls and the fun weapons ensures that you will stick with it for at least an hour.

This also opens the aged trope that the 90’s loved. All Hell breaks loose (literally) and a beefy muscle man goes on the killing spree. Demons and ghosts fall at his mighty bullets. In this case it is our protagonist Daniel Garner. He died and went to Purgatory. In order to receive redemption he needs to kill 4 of Lucifer’s generals. His wife is waiting for him in Heaven and if that is not motivation to lay down some heavenly slaughter I don’t know what is. In the same vein as Doom, Quake , or Serious Sam Painkiller Black has no qualms with putting the biggest, baddest demon of Christian history as the main antagonist. Daniel is going to need some heavenly help to conquer the demon world, but his guns do most of the problem solving in this game

 Historically, Christians have been called to partake in the battle of good versus evil. On a physical level we have been called to speak out against slavery, corruption and hatred. On a spiritual level we are responsible for recognizing our spiritual enemy, Satan. He is not the goatee bearing man with a pitchfork in a red jumpsuit we have come to know. He is a constant threat to humanity: spreading lies about God, discouraging believers and relishing in the corrupt things of Earth. As scripture details:

That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. 1 John 3:8

Sounds like the antagonist for violent video game. You have this evil entity looking to harm and eat people. We need Daniel Garner and some of his guns. Unfortunately, guns will not work on some entity bent on destroying us from the inside. The good news is that we have the proper tools to do battle. The power that is behind slavery, greed and death can be defeated and the scriptures give us the way out.

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 1 John 3:8

Jesus Christ, The Son of Man, the Returning King of Souls, has promised to be the weapon to defeat the devil. In fact, in light of Jesus’ purpose for coming to Earth it completely changes the battlefield. The devil has always relied on using humanity’s hopeless state to condemn them to a lonely death of despair (yikes). Jesus removed the option of dying a hopeless death with his sacrifice on the cross. That makes Jesus not only a weapon against the devil’s ultimate scheme, but also a friend and close companion for us to follow.

He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. Isaiah 25:28

It would be nice to see actual monsters and demons get blown away with artillery (as is every boy’s dream) but that does not remove the real problem. Painkiller Black is in a long line of shoot’em ups that test our trigger finger and yet I can rest knowing that I have found the real solution through Jesus.

Recommend Painkiller Black: The game is a fun romp, but I am always a bit weary of games that play around with death and the occult. Other than that you probably won’t get more than an hour at a time with this simplistic shooter.