Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

PAIN delivers a delightfully chaotic twist on physics-based gameplay, inviting players to launch a character from a human-sized slingshot into a bustling urban environment. The core mechanic revolves around setting both power and rotation for your ragdoll, then taking direct control of its trajectory mid-flight using the game’s unique “Ooch” steering system. This mechanic allows you to chain together collisions, bounce off buildings, vehicles, and street fixtures, and maximize the carnage you leave in your wake.

The single-player component is split across three distinct modes. In Mime Toss, you grab a silent mime in midair and send them hurtling through windows, signs, and unsuspecting pedestrians. PAINdemonium unleashes you in an open-ended sandbox, where the only objective is to create as much property damage and score as many points as possible. Spank The Monkey tasks you with targeting a series of mechanical monkeys positioned around the level, rewarding precision hits and creative ricochets.

Multiplayer ramps up the insanity with modes like Bowling, where up to four players take turns launching themselves while opponents toss obstacles—mimes, anvils, cereal boxes—into the flinging lane. Fun With Explosives challenges players to trigger strategic chain reactions by targeting explosive crates, while HORSE pits two competitors against each other in a score-chasing duel reminiscent of the classic basketball game. The addition of a trophy room unlocks cosmetic rewards and challenges, encouraging repeated runs to master each mode’s quirks.

The combination of ragdoll physics and environmental interaction feels gratifying and unpredictable. Steering your airborne avatar toward a brick wall at full tilt and watching them somersault off a street sign captures a cartoonish brutality that’s endlessly entertaining. Minor frustrations can arise when collision responses feel inconsistent, but the sheer joy of stringing together a perfect pandemonium run outweighs those occasional hiccups.

Graphics

PAIN’s visuals strike a balance between cartoonish exaggeration and realistic urban detail. The downtown setting features a variety of familiar street elements—parked cars, storefront windows, telephone poles—each rendered with enough texture to feel tangible, yet stylized enough to absorb the repeated beatings you deliver. Rusty dumpsters, cracked sidewalks, and graffiti-splattered walls provide a gritty backdrop that complements the game’s outlandish action.

The ragdoll animations shine when you achieve that ideal launch angle, sending your character twisting through the air in slow-motion theatrics. Impact effects—glass shattering, metal crumpling, and concrete chips flying—are accompanied by satisfying sound design, reinforcing the sense of destructive momentum. Even minor collateral damage, like flipping a parked bike or sending trash cans skittering, contributes to the visual tapestry of controlled chaos.

While the draw distance in PAIN remains surprisingly stable, occasional texture pop-in can occur during frenetic gameplay, especially when you’re steering your ragdoll at high speed across the map. Lighting is functional rather than spectacular, with straightforward daytime illumination that keeps your focus on the physics rather than atmospheric mood. Though it doesn’t push console hardware to its limits, PAIN’s graphical presentation supports its core loop perfectly—there’s always something in the environment to smash into, and that promise is clear the moment you load the level.

Story

True to its sandbox roots, PAIN offers very little in the way of traditional narrative. There’s no overarching plot, no characters with backstories, and no dramatic arc to follow—your motivation is purely mechanical. This might disappoint players seeking a story-driven experience, but it also liberates the game from cumbersome exposition. You’re free to embrace the absurdity of hurling humans into urban obstacles without questioning your role or allegiance.

Instead of a storyline, PAIN builds its identity around the personality of its game modes. Each challenge—whether it’s targeting monkeys, smashing panes of glass, or outscoring your friends in HORSE—carries its own tongue-in-cheek premise. The trophy room adds a layer of meta-progression, rewarding you with new ragdoll skins and humorous unlockables that hint at a playful universe, even if that universe has minimal lore.

Comparisons to titles like Truck Dismount and Stair Dismount are inevitable: all three share a devotion to ragdoll physics and painful hilarity. PAIN distinguishes itself by offering tighter controls and a wider variety of objectives but remains content to let players write their own stories—moment-to-moment epics of breakneck velocity, gravity-defying flips, and spectacular wreckage. If you’re open to a narrative that unfolds in shattered glass and crumpled steel, PAIN delivers in spades.

Overall Experience

PAIN succeeds where many physics-based titles falter, offering a rich playground for players who want to test the limits of ragdoll mayhem. The suite of single-player and multiplayer modes ensures there’s always a new way to launch, steer, and smash your way to a high score. Even after dozens of runs, discovering fresh collision combos or leveling up your trophy collection keeps the sandbox feeling vibrant.

Controls feel intuitive once you master the Ooch steering system, and the reward of watching your ragdoll flip into a neon sign or bounce off a taxi remains as satisfying on your fifteenth run as it was on your first. Although minor graphical hiccups and the lack of a cohesive story might deter some, the game’s focus on pure, unadulterated chaos is its greatest strength. It gives players permission to experiment and fail spectacularly, then try again with a grin.

For anyone drawn to physics-driven antics or looking for a riotous multiplayer party game, PAIN hits its mark with flair and humor. It may not tell a deep story, but it delivers unforgettable moments of destruction, laughter, and unexpected artistry. Jump in, pull back that slingshot, and prepare for a delightfully painful adventure through the heart of the city.

Retro Replay Score

6.9/10