Paint the Town Red

At first, I felt a little guilty playing Paint the Town Red. Not because of all the gratuitous murder but because, as glorious as this first-person brawler is, it feels like two games.

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"Paint the Town Red" is a chaotic first-person melee combat game set in various locations and time periods, featuring dynamic fighting against voxel-based enemies. The game includes Scenario levels with epic battles in bars, discos, and saloons, as well as a rogue-lite adventure called "Beneath" where you'll fight terrifying monsters to unlock powerful upgrades. The game also boasts a level editor and customizable textures and music, with a Steam workshop featuring thousands of user-created levels.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 12,296 reviews

gameplay142 positive mentions

optimization15 negative mentions

gameplay
330 mentions
43 % positive mentions
54 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Paint the Town Red" is characterized by its engaging and chaotic combat mechanics, allowing players to utilize a wide variety of weapons and environmental objects in a physics-based brawling experience. While the core gameplay is fun and satisfying, it can become repetitive over time, and some players feel it lacks depth and complexity. The addition of modes like "Beneath" and community-created content enhances replayability, making it a solid choice for those who enjoy action-packed, violent gameplay.
- “The gameplay mechanics are intuitive, allowing you to unleash a flurry of punches, kicks, and interactive environmental objects to obliterate your adversaries.”
- “The game’s core mechanic—brawling through various levels, each with its own setting and challenges—is incredibly satisfying.”
- “The physics-based brawling mechanics ensure every punch and every object hurled feels hilariously satisfying, leaving a trail of delightful destruction in your wake.”
- “Fun for a while, but the core combat and overall gameplay lacks the complexity and depth to stay fresh for long.”
- “The central gameplay is either way too easy or way too difficult, depending on your modifiers.”
- “It is fun the first hour, but after 5 hours of gameplay, it just becomes boring and repetitive.”
humor
292 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-1 % neutral mentions
1 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its absurdity and chaotic nature, with players enjoying the combination of slapstick violence and ragdoll physics that lead to hilariously satisfying moments. Many reviews highlight the game's ability to evoke laughter through its over-the-top gore and creative combat scenarios, making it a fun and entertaining experience, especially when played with friends. Overall, the game's blend of dark humor and playful violence resonates well with players, contributing to its appeal as a stress-relieving and enjoyable title.
- “The combat system is satisfyingly brutal and fluid, making use of ragdoll physics to create hilarious and often absurd moments.”
- “This game is hilarious, fun, and very inventive.”
- “The physics in this game are hilarious and every kill is so satisfying.”
- “This game is like, I don't care if your head and skull are thick; my fist doesn't bleed, it only destroys. You are an unstoppable being until you get hit in the dome with a katana, then it becomes unfunny.”
- “The humor in this game falls flat and feels forced, making it more cringeworthy than entertaining.”
- “I expected some clever jokes, but instead, the humor is just repetitive and dull.”
graphics
244 mentions
43 % positive mentions
55 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Paint the Town Red" are characterized by a retro, blocky pixel art style that complements its over-the-top action and gore, creating a unique and charming aesthetic. While some players appreciate the simplicity and smooth performance, others find the graphics lacking in detail and optimization, leading to lag issues on lower-end systems. Overall, the visuals are seen as fitting for the game's chaotic gameplay, though opinions vary on their appeal and execution.
- “Graphics and design: the game's visual style is intentionally retro, with blocky, pixelated graphics that complement its over-the-top action.”
- “What sets Paint the Town Red apart is its stylized voxel art style, which infuses every scene with an appealing and visually striking aesthetic.”
- “The graphics, although simplistic, do what they're supposed to and make the game more unique: if I see a square-headed man with his skull showing, I will associate it with this game.”
- “The graphics aren't working right for me and the game looks horrible.”
- “I want to like this game, but it seems horribly optimized, especially given its graphical quality and art style can't exactly be described as 'state of the art'.”
- “There's also the fact that the graphics are honestly shit and it still lagged on my computer on the lowest settings I could bear.”
story
181 mentions
17 % positive mentions
68 % neutral mentions
15 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its minimal presence, with many players noting that it lacks a substantial narrative or character development. While some modes, like "beneath," offer a semblance of story through environmental clues and challenges, most reviews indicate that the game is primarily focused on combat and gameplay rather than storytelling. Overall, players seeking a rich narrative experience may be disappointed, as the game is more about chaotic fun than a cohesive plot.
- “The second game mode is a story mode, in which you set out to explore a hellish location.”
- “Awesome first-person beat 'em up with great levels, and a chilling but fun story mode.”
- “This game is one of the greatest games I've played in a while; the beneath mode is so much fun and the story is very interesting.”
- “For this to be your story mode, you made the worst roguelike I've played to date.”
- “Do I recommend this game? 100% yes, but the only downside is that there's like, no story.”
- “There's no story, no character development, no dialogue, just you - disgruntled for whatever reason - I mean, I assume you are, you could be a happy-go-lucky psychopath - and your fists.”
music
122 mentions
44 % positive mentions
51 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The music in "Paint the Town Red" is generally described as fitting and enhancing the game's chaotic atmosphere, though it may not be particularly memorable on its own. Players appreciate the ability to customize their experience by adding their own soundtracks, often recommending high-energy tracks like those from the "Doom" series to amplify the gameplay. While the original soundtrack has its moments, many users feel it could benefit from a broader selection or the option to include more custom music.
- “The game’s aesthetic and soundtrack complement its wild energy perfectly.”
- “The music pumps you up and fits the frenetic pace of the action, making each level feel like a high-energy set piece.”
- “The soundtrack is great, graphics are great (for what it is, anyway), and it has full controller support.”
- “I would recommend it before but now when the music is changed the game is terrible.”
- “The music itself gets really annoying after a while.”
- “My only real issue with the game at the moment is that the soundtrack has a total of 5 songs in it, which are all royalty free, sound like crap, and are used in a lot of generic 10-year-old YouTubers' intros.”
replayability
95 mentions
42 % positive mentions
52 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability, primarily due to its extensive user-generated content, including workshop maps and a level editor, which provide virtually limitless gameplay options. While many players appreciate the variety offered by community-created levels and game modes like "beneath," some criticize the core gameplay for becoming repetitive over time. Overall, the combination of creative community contributions and gameplay modifiers ensures a rich replay experience, though opinions on its longevity vary.
- “If you're looking for a game with tons of replay value and a creative community behind it, this is a must-play!”
- “The different classes also contribute to the game's replayability as they each excel in their own attributes and have their own powers.”
- “With all the player-made maps, the beneath game mode, modifiers, and more, it makes the game super fun and replayable.”
- “However, some players have criticized the game for lacking variety in replayability elements.”
- “This game makes you forget that it has very few levels, not because it's good and has replay value, but because it gets stale and boring real quick before playing all 5 or so levels.”
- “Honestly fun game, the community makes some actually quality levels, and there's some replay value, but overall the gameplay gets a bit boring pretty fast.”
optimization
61 mentions
20 % positive mentions
56 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant performance issues, including stuttering and lag, especially in crowded scenarios. While some users report improved performance on higher-end systems, others find it poorly optimized overall, particularly given its simplistic graphics. Despite these challenges, players express hope for future updates to enhance optimization and performance.
- “While the graphics might seem simplistic at first glance, they serve the gameplay well by ensuring smooth performance and clear readability in the heat of battle.”
- “Performance is good on my 17 7700k and 1070 at 1440p on high settings, getting more than 144 fps in most scenarios.”
- “Very well optimized for a game that's in early access.”
- “This game is really poorly optimized.”
- “It is also not optimized well, so when you have many NPCs around, it will lag even though it doesn't look graphically impressive at all.”
- “Fun, but very unoptimized and buggy.”
stability
52 mentions
6 % positive mentions
2 % neutral mentions
92 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with numerous users reporting various bugs and glitches, particularly in multiplayer and specific modes like "Beneath" and "Arena." While some players find the bugs amusing and part of the fun, others express frustration over issues like rubber banding, freezing, and enemies getting stuck. Overall, the game is still in early access, and while it shows promise, it requires further optimization and bug fixes to enhance the overall experience.
- “The game itself is not buggy and functions properly; multiplayer mode is also fun too.”
- “It's a very fun game to play, with nice music before and during fights that fits the moods and settings. I like the graphics quality, and there are no glitches as far as I can tell. A very fun game altogether; I recommend it to all above 13 years of age due to excessive blood.”
- “Runs great.”
- “The game is still a buggy mess even after coming out of beta.”
- “It's also buggy and enemies can get caught outside the map, making you unable to complete the level.”
- “The doors are a bit buggy and sometimes just teleport me through it.”
grinding
44 mentions
7 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
48 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and time-consuming, often requiring significant investment to progress. While some enjoy the challenge and potential for improvement, many express frustration with the repetitive nature of grinding, particularly in modes like "beneath" and "berserk." The lack of meaningful rewards and the feeling of wasted time contribute to a generally negative perception of grinding in the game.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “I really do wish the berserk mode were more polished; it feels very empty and grindy on top of that.”
- “If you challenge yourself to do it as quickly as possible, it's fun, but otherwise it gets tedious—what's the point?”
- “The game is good in practice, but it gets tedious and repetitive real quick. It's the type of game you pick up and play for 1-2 hours then never touch it again or at least for a long while, because all the game really is, is a voxel beat'em up with the attractive punchline being the gore.”
atmosphere
8 mentions
63 % positive mentions
13 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in "Paint the Town Red" is characterized by its engaging retro pixel art style and effective sound design, which together create a fun and immersive experience. Players appreciate the game's ability to balance relaxation with chaotic gameplay, enhanced by satisfying gore-physics and a fitting soundtrack that complements the various levels and modes. Overall, the atmosphere is described as both enjoyable and creepy, with notable improvements throughout the game's development.
- “The sound design also offers fun and atmosphere-enhancing features.”
- “I honestly like the music; it's not an epic orchestra, but you never feel like it needs to be. The game does a wonderful job with setting atmosphere and moods for all the available levels and game modes.”
- “The sound design of the enemies and the gruesome sticky splatter and damage sounds give the experience a very creepy atmosphere.”
- “I've seen the earlier stages of the game, and the improvements in the atmosphere, mob elements, and just the physics have gotten way better!”
emotional
8 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight a mix of emotional responses, with many players finding the game to be a wholesome and enjoyable experience that evokes laughter and tears. However, some express frustration with repetitiveness, suggesting that while the initial emotional impact is strong, it may not sustain over time.
- “What a wholesome simulator, painting sure is fun.”
- “Fun very wholesome.”
- “I laughed and I cried because the tech demo is enjoyable, but for about 15 minutes then it gets repetitive.”
character development
3 mentions
33 % positive mentions
-33 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game lacks significant character development, story depth, and dialogue, focusing instead on excessive gore and simplistic character design. Players seeking rich narratives and well-developed characters will likely be disappointed, as the experience is primarily centered around action rather than storytelling.
- “A warning - if in-depth character development, story-rich plot, and wondrous attention to visual detail are aspects of a game you pine after, then this game is not for you.”
- “There's no story, no character development, no dialogue, just you - disgruntled for whatever reason - I mean, I assume you are; you could be a happy-go-lucky psychopath - and your fists.”
- “The character development is non-existent, making it hard to connect with anyone in the game.”
- “The characters feel one-dimensional and lack any meaningful growth throughout the game.”
monetization
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy for the game appears to rely heavily on advertising, with some users noting that the promotional material may not accurately represent the gameplay experience. While some ads claim the game is a top-tier 3D brawler, there is a sense of disconnection between the marketing and the actual content.
- “Most of the advertising material points towards the game being, as I described it above in a half-hearted sort of way, a 3D brawler.”
- “Best game I've ever played in my life makes some ads on TV for this game.”
- “>accurate advertising.”