When comparing Painkiller: Hell & Damnation vs Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, the Slant community recommends Half-Life 2: Deathmatch for most people. In the question“What are the best PC arena shooters?” Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is ranked 22nd while Painkiller: Hell & Damnation is ranked 31st.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Fun, over-the-top weapons
The game includes weapons such as Ectrodriver, that can shoot electrified shurikens, Stake gun-Grenade Launcher, that can shoot stake propelled grenades and Shotgun-Freezer that can shoot a freezing charge.
Cons
Con Pretty much dead
According to SteamDB data the game averages about 50 peak daily concurrent players.
Con Bad netcode
They made an HD remake of the original Painkiller, and that's regrettably the only thing they improved on. This game was fantastic on LAN and tournaments, but horrible online if you're pushing above 40 ping. Painkiller's bad netcode primarily contributes into the game's unpopularity as well.
Con Aim heavy gameplay
The game rewards accuracy a lot more than map control and item timing. Item timing isn't really a thing either, there's armor panels that charge up over time, where you have to stand for a while to get it. However, half of the weapons can take all of your armor away with a well landed shot. Some of them, like the gravgun (a spawn weapon) can deal a lot of damage in a quick succession using explosive props and other non-solid objects. This could be either a pro or con depending on which kind of game you're into, but if you're looking for a traditional arena shooter then it's a con.