A banished demon breaking free from his prison, carving his revenge through the corridors of hell.

No gut-feeling pick here, so let's step into the profile criterion by criterion, on few votes, to be confirmed. Painkiller: Overdose draws a surprisingly balanced shape for a shooting gallery. The urge to take it to a desert island and the soundtrack both edge ahead of just over half the games, and the rediscovery does a touch better, in the upper middle. Which is a surprise for a pure FPS, where you'd expect the feel in your hands to lead. Yet it's the opposite: the motion, the attachment and the art style stay low, ahead of barely a quarter of titles. There's a small tension here, this shooter charms more through its atmosphere and metal soundtrack than through the raw sensation of firing, at least on these early votes.

In genre terms, it sits in the mid-2000s arena FPS line, heir to Serious Sam, built to push forward and clear hordes without thinking.

So, who is it for? For you if you love a brutal blast-fest soaked in a pounding soundtrack. Much less if you want shooting with flawless precision and bite.