Paint the Town Red
" Chaotic action indie with visceral voxel combat and extensive modding but limited official maps "
Paint the Town Red Review
Paint the Town Red is a voxel-based first-person melee combat game that offers a unique blend of chaotic, brutal violence and emergent gameplay. Players enjoy engaging in frantic brawls across multiple official scenarios, an arena mode with escalating challenges, and a roguelike campaign called Beneath featuring procedurally generated dungeons and diverse enemy types. The core appeal lies in the visceral combat and the ability to use a wide variety of weapons and environmental objects to dispatch foes in creative ways. The game is highly praised for its extensive workshop support, providing thousands of player-made maps that greatly extend replayability beyond the limited official content.
While the combat mechanics are fun and satisfying, some players find them somewhat simplistic and limited in depth. The story mode Beneath adds interesting lore and gameplay variety but lacks polish and complexity. Despite minor technical issues and a feeling of repetitiveness after extended play, the game remains a popular, entertaining stress-reliever and offers a strong foundation for community-driven content and modding.
Highlights
Players especially praise the voxel gore and brutal melee combat that delivers satisfying, chaotic action. The variety of weapons and modifiers adds depth and fun to encounters. The roguelike Beneath campaign is noted for its unique enemies, bosses, and upgrade system, adding a compelling challenge. Workshop support with over 13,000 user-created maps significantly expands gameplay variety. The game's physics and humorous, over-the-top violence create an engaging atmosphere that many find addictive and entertaining.
Criticisms
Common criticisms include the limited number of official maps and scenarios, leading to some repetitiveness. Combat, while fun, is viewed as mechanically simple with limited attack variations and some weapons not feeling fully satisfying. The voxel damage system is mostly cosmetic, reducing strategic impact. Beneath’s story and bosses lack depth and polish. Technical issues such as bugs, crashes, and UI quirks affect some players, especially on Linux. Additionally, the vast amount of workshop content can be overwhelming without better sorting or tagging.
Pros
- • Extensive workshop support provides thousands of player-made maps for endless fun.
- • Visceral voxel-based gore and brutal melee combat are highly satisfying.
- • Roguelike Beneath mode offers unique enemies, bosses, and upgrade progression.
- • Wide variety of weapons and modifiers add depth and replayability.
- • Physics and ragdoll effects create humorous, chaotic combat moments.
- • Good stress-relief gameplay with fast-paced, engaging action.
- • Arena mode offers challenging fights and skill-testing runs.
Cons
- • Limited official scenarios and maps cause gameplay to feel repetitive.
- • Combat mechanics are somewhat simplistic with limited attack variety.
- • Voxel damage mostly cosmetic, reducing tactical combat depth.
- • Beneath mode’s story and bosses lack polish and complexity.
- • Technical bugs and UI issues reported, especially on Linux.
- • Workshop content can be overwhelming without proper sorting tools.
- • Some melee weapons feel awkward due to lack of custom animations.
Rating Criteria
Paint the Town Red is a chaotic first person melee combat game set in different locations and time periods. The voxel-based enemies can be punched, bashed, kicked, stabbed and sliced completely dynamically using almost anything that isn't nailed down.