The Orphanage level in the Painkiller expansion, Battle Out of Hell, is the most unsettling first person shooter game level I’ve ever played.
The original game was creepy in parts but The Orphanage kicks it up a notch. The heart will pound, the palm will sweat, the stomach will turn. The environment is typical of the game, with remarkable detail and atmosphere, but what really makes the level a horrifying experience is the foes.
They’re all listed in the manual so it wasn’t a complete surprise. But looking at their pictures is one thing; watching them giggle, shriek and rush towards you with murder in their dead eyes is another thing altogether. Having to kill them makes the experience all the more horrific.
The records show it took me 21 minutes to complete the level. That does not take into account all the failed attempts. It’s tough little level with two particularly tough rooms. There’s little room to manoeuvre and many foes trying their hellish best to kill you. It took several tries to get through the end of the level and I was nonplussed to discover the bonus requirement for the level was this:
I laughed hollowly and then waited for my ticker to return to its normal rhythm. That took well over 10 minutes.
And this is only the first level?
Damn.
