Paint the Town Red is a hidden gem that I’ve put many hours to. Shredding hordes of blocky enemies is an amazing stress reliever and is a great way to wind down when you’ve had a rough day.
The game definitely isn’t for everyone though, as a lot of players think the art style is weird. The quality of the blood and gore is definitely not Killing Floor 2 or Doom quality, but I love the whole destructible voxels aspect of the game.
Gameplay
In Paint the Town Red, your primary objective is to kill every enemy on the map and then make it to the exit. You usually start out in an open area with NPCs doing various activities or sitting around, and everyone is friendly at the start.
However, this doesn’t last very long. The second you enter a restricted area or harm anyone, the entire map becomes one massive brawl. The enemies begin fighting each other or running after you, and you must use whatever objects you can find to kill them.
Now there are tons of items all around the world to use, ranging from chairs and plates to shotguns and katanas. Every item has its own stats like damage and health, while the guns have a set amount of ammo. Each map also has a boss character, which has a crazy amount of health and can’t be knocked down.
Normal characters can be dismembered or beheaded, causing instant death if you slice their head of multiple limbs off. On the other hand, boss characters can’t be dismembered, and sometimes you’ll attack them so much that parts of their skeleton are exposed before they die.
When you kill certain bosses, they’ll drop whatever weapon they’re holding. The katana dropped from the katana boss is one of the best weapons in the game, and can slice through many enemies before breaking. Some of the bosses don’t have weapons but are giants compared to the other enemies.
You also have powers that you can use as your power meter fills up. The 3 scenario powers are a blast that sends enemies flying, slo-mo, one-shot kill punches, and a finger gun that rains causes a beam of light to annihilate any enemy you shoot.
By the end of the level, you’ll see why the game is called Paint the Town Red. There’s more blood on the map then possibly any other game I’ve played covering the floors, walls, and sometimes ceilings. It’s definitely over the top, but that’s why I love it so much.
Scenarios
The game comes with a bunch of really fun scenarios to play. I love all of these scenarios, but I’ll do a quick rundown of what each of them is.
Biker Bar
This is a much better version of the original scenario of the game. The reason I originally got the game because I saw some Youtubers playing it and the game has been massively improved since then. This level features a bunch of rough biker guys, a boxer, and a biker boss with a machete.
Disco
The 80’s disco mission is one of my favorites. There are a ton of people to beat up on the dancefloor, and some pretty interesting bosses. There aren’t a lot of unique weapons, but I love the setting of the mission.
Prison
Another great level that’s full of inmates and wardens. There aren’t a lot of secrets here, but there is a way to befriend the huge prisoner in solitary. This also features many tasers and even a shotgun for the first time.
Pirate Cove
The game has both a nighttime and daytime variant of the Pirate Cove. Personally, the this one is my favorite out of all the scenarios. There are a bunch of hidden items like flintlock pistols and cutlasses, and you’ll face of against the dreaded Blackbeard.
Saloon
The newest addition to the scenarios, this one is pretty good too. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of new weapons they added, although there are a ton of new items you can use as weapons. There is a new revolver you can find though, which I absolutely love.
Steam workshop
Arguably the best part of the game is how users can create and share their own levels. I’ve played many levels that were extremely fun, and there seems to be endless content to enjoy.
Players are also able to use custom music for the levels, which can make a huge difference in the atmosphere of the level. There are adventure levels, meme levels, and many amazing kill-everyone levels.
Just to warn you though, people post a lot of garbage levels, so just filter them by the most popular. I’ve spent many hours playing custom levels, and I’m always finding new ones that I love.
Sandbox
The developers decided to add a fun little sandbox to mess around in. Currently, you’re able to spawn in many enemies and fight them with pretty much every weapon in the game. It’s extremely fun becoming invincible and slicing through hordes of enemies with the sandbox mode exclusive laser katana.
You can spawn up to 100 enemies, and then you have to reset the level to spawn more. There are also a bunch of cool modifiers like unbreakable weapons to play around with. It’s just an extremely fun sandbox mode to mess around in when you’re bored.
Arena
I’ve actually never finished the full arena because of its annoying final stage, but it’s still a lot of fun. You’re thrown into an ancient colosseum and forced to fight hordes of enemies using ancient weapons like maces and spears. Each wave has something unique about it like you fight a bunch of boxers chefs.
The arena is a great challenge for people who like wave-based games. I really love the weapons you’re able to use too, as you’re not able to use most of them in the scenarios. It almost feels like the game was made for arena type gameplay, so it works out perfectly.
Beneath
Beneath is a rogue-lite game mode of Paint the Town Red that I think is worth the full price of the game. It feels completely different than the main game but adds another whole level of gameplay that I love. I waited for years for this mode to come out, and when it did I wasn’t disappointed.
I wrote an article when Beneath came out, which you should definitely check out if it sounds interesting to you. It’s basically Doom meets Paint the Town Red
Basically, you are in a hell-like area filled with tons of unique monsters, and you have to kill your way to the exit. Completely new weapons are strewn around the floor, and your mission is to survive the many levels. The levels are different every time you play, so no 2 experiences are ever the same.