A new fan mod brings modern lighting to the original Painkiller. DSOGaming reports that modder “capzor” has released a demo for a Painkiller RTX Remix Path Tracing Mod. The mod uses Nvidia’s RTX Remix tools to add path-tracing support and upscaled physically based rendering (PBR) textures to the first four levels of the 2004 shooter.

According to the report, capzor shared a video showing how the enhanced levels look with full path tracing and improved textures. The demo can be downloaded for both the GOG and Steam versions of Painkiller: Black Edition, making it accessible for long-time fans. DSOGaming notes that there will likely never be an official remaster of the original game, so this fan mod is a welcome upgrade.

The article also highlights quality-of-life improvements added by the mod. Because path-traced lighting can make scenes darker, the demo includes a new flashlight option; players can enable it via the in-game RTX Remix settings and adjust the “Fallback Lighting” parameter to always on. With modern lighting and high-resolution textures, the mod offers a fresh way to revisit Painkiller’s first levels while waiting for the upcoming 2025 reimagining.

A recent preview build of Painkiller from Anshar Studios and 3D Realms shows that the upcoming reimagining is not a straight sequel or remaster but a modern take on the 2004 shooter. According to a hands‑on report from GamingTrend (July 24 2025), the co‑operative FPS places players in a gothic hellscape where up to three friends can battle hordes of demons. The new version emphasises snappy movement—dashes, jumps and slides allow players to maintain momentum while navigating vertical arenas.

Gunplay remains at the heart of the experience. The preview notes that players start with a handful of weapons but can quickly unlock more, with each weapon offering branching upgrade paths and elemental effects. Combined with character perks and tarot card modifiers, this system encourages experimentation and allows fans to tailor their playstyle. Matchmaking is built around online co‑op, though bots fill empty slots and difficulty levels can be adjusted.

Early impressions suggest the new Painkiller has plenty of potential. The article praises the depth added by the weapon upgrades and tarot cards and anticipates that the final game will offer varied levels and epic boss encounters. Painkiller is scheduled to launch on October 9 2025 with pre‑orders already available.

Long ago I put PK++ on Sourceforge as open source. Since GitHub is more popular these days, I have put it there too.

You can find it here: https://github.com/EKBlowfish/PKPlusPlus