''Pain'' (stylized as ''PAIN'') is an action

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by

Idol Minds Idol Minds, LLC (doing business as Deck Nine or Deck Nine Games since 2017) is an American video game developer based in Westminster, Colorado. The studio was founded in April 1997 by Mark Lyons and Scott Atkins and developed games exclusively ...

and published by

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...

for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

. It was released as a downloadable title on the

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in North America on November 29, 2007 and in the

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

region on March 20, 2008. The game was released physically in June 2009 in Europe, Australia and the United Kingdom. By 2009, ''Pain'' had become the all-time most downloaded digital game on the

Gameplay

In ''Pain'', the player attempts to damage a

ragdoll The Ragdoll is a List of cat breeds, breed of cat with a distinct Point coloration, colorpoint coat and blue eyes. Its Morphology (biology), morphology is large and weighty, and it has a semi-long and silky soft coat. American breeder Ann Baker ...

character and the environment as much as possible by flinging themselves from a rubber-band slingshot, utilizing the Havok physics engine. Each character has distinctive poses and phrases, can move by "ooching" and can grab things to throw or hang from. Replay videos can be watched, and can be edited and uploaded to

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or the PlayStation 3's hard disk drive.

Characters

Besides the regular characters available,

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

, Katsuaki Kato (''

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'' editor-in-chief),

Elvira Elvira is a female given name. It is believed to have first been recorded in medieval Spain, while other sources claim that it is likely of Germanic ( Gothic) origin. In the Balkans, Elvira is popular among Bosniaks, Croats, and Slovenes in the ...

Flavor Flav William Jonathan Drayton Jr. (born March 16, 1959), known by his stage name Flavor Flav ( ), is an American rapper and television personality. Known for his catchphrase "Yeah, boyeeeeee!" when performing, he is a founding member alongside Chuck ...

George Takei George Takei ( ; born April20, 1937), born , is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS ''Enterprise'' in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Takei was born to Japanese-American parents, with w ...

Andy Dick Andrew Roane Dick (born Andrew Thomlinson, December 21, 1965) is an American actor and comedian. Dick was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and joined The Second City and studied improvisational theater. Dick has had a long career as a stand ...

and

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on the soap ...

were remade in the game. PlayStation characters Buzz,

Daxter This is a list of characters in the ''Jak and Daxter'' series, a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 2. Currently, six games in the series have been released, with Jak as the primary playable character in ...

and Fat Princess are also available.

Levels

The original game download included only one level, "Downtown", a sandbox level with three unlockable environments. "Downtown" offered the modes 'Fun With Explosives', 'Spank The Monkey', 'Mime Toss', and 'Bowling'. On September 18, 2008, the "Amusement Park" level was added with one unlockable environment and four available modes including 'Hot N' Cold' and 'Trauma'. On November 13, the "Touchmounds Movie Studio" level was released which included a new mode named 'Cratetastic'. On May 13, 2009, the "Sore Spots" DLC was added and included two environments: "Morningwood High School" and "Area 69". This level added new modes named 'PAINalympics' and 'Mad Science!'. On August 13, the developers added "Stiffsonian Museum" to the game. In 2010, the "Alpine Ski Slope" level was added to promote the release of an update that enabled game functionalities for the

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. On November 24, the game was updated with the final DLC level, named "Hurt Falls", which was released for free and sponsored by

Axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

. It included the mode Fun With Explosives. Additionally, two ''Pain'' themed pinball minigames were made available for download, which include elements of "Amusement Park" and "Area 69".

Release

In June 2009, SCEE announced that the game would get a physical release through

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

disc format. It launched in Europe on June 24, 2009, in Australia on June 25, 2009 and in the United Kingdom on June 26, 2009. The Blu-ray version includes the original game as well as several other levels and features released as downloadable content for the PSN version.

Cancelled PlayStation 4 version

On October 25, 2013, Sony announced that ''Pain'' would be "reinvented" as a

free-to-play "Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...

game developed by Argentinian studio QB9 Entertainment. Footage of the project was showcased as the 2013 Brazil Game Show however no release date was provided. In 2015, the website for Idol Minds indicated it would be available on

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

. As of June 2025, the game has not been released.

Reception

''PAIN''

''PAIN'' received above-average reviews according to the

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website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. ''

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'' praised the game for its "great use of Havok physics engine" and "smartly sophomoric sense of humor," but criticized it for having just one level. ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' said, "One level, two characters, no online multiplayer and no way to share crazy clips sucks. However, there are a ton of trophies to unlock." The game was referenced in the

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

launch title '' Astro's Playroom'', a celebration of the PlayStation brand.

''Amusement Park''

''PAIN: Amusement Park'' received above-average reviews according to Metacritic.

References

External links

''Pain'' official websiteIdol Minds official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pain (Video Game) 2007 video games Action games Crossover video games Deck Nine games Inactive online games Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 3-only games PlayStation Move-compatible games PlayStation Network games Products and services discontinued in 2013 Sony Interactive Entertainment games Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Peter McConnell Video games using Havok Video games with stereoscopic 3D graphics