Paint the Town Red

Including the dungeon-crawling mode Beneath does damage Paint the Town Red‘s sense of identity a little, but it’s certainly not a deal breaker. The real joy of this game is the fact that you can dip into it for 30 minutes or so of gore-soaked fun; if you’ve had a tough day, it could be quite a cathartic experience. Paint the Town Red may have spent more time in Early Access than most, but it’s still a bloody joy to play. Just don’t think throwing the first punch means you’ll come out on top.

The biggest compliment I can give Paint the Town Red VR is that whenever I’ve got a spare 30 minutes, I want to pick it up and play. Whether it’s slashing through a few arena levels or laying waste to a crowd of angry drinkers at a bar, it’s so easy to dip into. Not only that, but it’s a surprisingly good workout as well. If you’ve had a long day and need to decompress, look no further.

I was a little hesitant at first taking on the review for Paint the Town Red, especially after the last arcade bar brawler I reviewed, Drunkn Bar Fight. That game was just a mess all around and with Paint the Town Red having a similar concept it obviously caused me to pause. Well, fortunately for me, South East Games put some damn effort into this over-the-top bar brawler and I ended up really enjoying it.

The pinnacle of ceaseless, contextless voxel violence. It’s hard to top the high-octane, improvisation combat of Paint the Town Red, but those highs don’t always survive across its many modes.

Paint the Town Red is a fascinating title, to say the least, an adjective that definitely translates to all aspects of the game. Gameplay, graphics, and game modes are unique, for both better or worse. You’ll either LOVE the game right out of the gate or immediately hate it.

At $20 US it is hard to recommend it over something like Hades which is only $5 more. There just isn’t that much to the game. After your first run, you’ve seen most of what it has to offer for each mode, even if you only lasted 5 minutes. It’s fun, but I’m not sure it’s full-price fun as its lack of content can lead to boredom quickly if you try playing too often. As something to jump into for a fight or two a night though it is well worth it if what you’ve seen looks like it is right up your alley.

This gimped console port is not at all worth your time. The cool voxel-based damage, and awesome combat can't survive without co-op play.