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Episode 1: The Cemetery

This is Painkiller: a tense, atmospheric horror adventure game released by People Can Fly in 2004. This is also the ~spooOoooOOOkiest~ game ever, particularly the opening chapter, The Cemetery, which I will be showing off! Since the game is a slow-paced adventure game, I'll be doing this in screenshot format.



We play as Daniel Garner, a man haunted by the recent death of his wife in a car accident. Here, Daniel has gone to the cemetery to remember her, as well as to confront and deal with his sadness and grief.



Immediately upon entering the cemetery, I notice that the cemetery gates have shut behind us. I try to open the gates, but they're locked. At the same time, ominous music starts to play. Looking out through the gates, it appears that the world outside has disappeared and been replaced with a featureless black void.



I look at one of the headstones. Based on the writing on the stone, it appears that this game takes place in Poland. Daniel doesn't comment on the stone, so I don't think that the person buried here is anyone he knows. His wife's burial place must be deeper in the cemetery.



I try to move on, but I find that the path ahead has been blocked by a mysterious wall marked with Nordic runes. I look up a runic alphabet, and it appears that the letters on the walls are actually backwards, spelling out the following in reverse:

FPGH
UZVI

On its face, the writing doesn't seem to make much sense, but I make a note of it in case it becomes relevant for a puzzle later.



We find our first puzzle item: a small crate of logs. It's not immediately clear why we would need a crate of logs, but Daniel, being a traditional adventure game protagonist, has a sixth sense that tells him that we will eventually be needing this crate of logs for something.



Looking around, I find another way through the graveyard, but the way is marked by an eerie glowing red pentagram. I'm hesitant about stepping over it, but it seems to be the only way through the cemetery.



As we step through, the path closes up behind us with another rune-covered wall. This part of the cemetery is dominated by a looming mausoleum which casts an oppressive shadow over the surrounding graves.



I take a look inside the mausoleum and find another puzzle piece: this ancient-looking suit of armour. The armour is covered in glowing runes, but it's not a language I recognise, and we don't have anything that will allow us to translate the runes at the moment.



Not sure where to go, I look around the area surrounding the mausoleum. Behind the mausoleum, I find a large pile of old coffins stacked haphazardly on top of each other. At this point, one might begin to wonder whether what we are seeing in this cemetery is to be taken literally, or if some of the things that we are seeing are illusory or metaphorical, perhaps manifestations of Daniel's grief over his wife.



I soon notice that the path back to where we started has opened up again, but that it is guarded by another one of those glowing red pentagrams. It doesn't seem like a good idea to follow the pentagrams, but as usual, it's the only path available to us.



We end up back at the entrance where I find this old woman. I try to approach her, but she mysteriously disappears. Was she another manifestation, or is there really an old woman in the cemetery with Daniel right now? I suspect that she will be showing up again later.



Behind the old woman, the path blocked by the runed wall suddenly slides open. In the distance, I can faintly see the spires of a church or a cathedral. Perhaps the answers we are looking for can be found inside.



The church is imposing. I try to open the door, but it's locked. We'll most likely have to solve some sort of puzzle to enter. I look around the courtyard to see if there are any clues.



Behind the church, I find another pile of coffins as well as a mysterious glowing orb. It occurs to me that a pile of coffins was hidden behind the building both here at the church as well as at the mausoleum. This may be symbolic of Daniel's attempts both to put death behind him and to hide it away from his conscious mind in order to spare himself the constant feelings of grief and regret. Of course, this has uncomfortable implications: by uncovering these, am I, the player, causing Daniel additional grief by forcing him to uncover these memories that he has hidden away? Am I cruel for imposing this on Daniel, or am I justified in forcing him to confront his past in order to hopefully allow him to move on?

Oh, and I pick up the glowy thing.



I find another very small mausoleum nearby. The tablet in front of it reads:

GROB
BODZINY
CELINSKICH
MDCCCXXXII

This is probably just the name of the interred and the year of their death, but it is presented so prominently that I suspect that it might have something to do with a later puzzle. I note down the name as well as the year 1832.



After looking at the small mausoleum, I discover that a whole new wing of the cemetery has opened up next to the church. It is starting to get a little unnerving. Is someone, or something, observing Daniel? Who is blocking off and then opening sections of the cemetery for us? Are they friend or foe?



I barely mange to step into the new wing before I'm jumped by old women and skeletons! The old women all look identical, looking just like the mysterious old woman from earlier. We're in no position to fight them, so I run back to the church area to hide.



I manage to lose the women and the skeletons. I wait in hiding for a little while before exploring the new wing again. Luckily, it seems that the old women and the skeletons have disappeared. I come across what looks like a small classical temple. However, the columns at the front do not belong to any known traditional Greek or Roman order. This is perhaps symbolic of the twisted nature of this cemetery, as well as Daniel's own twisted psyche.



Inside, I find a large cross as well as an old, tarnished box labelled "AMMO PACK". Is this cemetery being used by the military to store ammunition? It seems unlikely, but then what is the box doing here? Looking closer, the box looks very old and dirty. Perhaps Daniel once served in the army, and this box is another echo of his past, similar to the coffins from before. It is also notable that just like coffins hide the dead, ammo crates hide the lethal bullets inside, again hinting at a narrative and psychological connection between the two in relation to Daniel. I add the box to my inventory and return to the church.



To my surprise, I find that the church courtyard is covered by strange green lights similar to will-o'-the-wisps. They dance around for a few seconds, then they all disappear. Even though I have played this a few times before, I am still not totally sure what those green lights are meant to represent or convey. If any of you can tell me about the symbolism of the green wisps, please let me know! Additionally, it looks like the door to the church is finally open! Let's head in there and unravel the mystery of this cemetery.



I peek through the doorway, but it is too dark to see anything inside. Behind the pentagram, there are an additional three boxes of logs, similar to the one we picked up earlier. It seems that they really wanted to make sure that we have logs in our inventory when we enter the church. I cautiously step inside.



As soon as I step inside, a hulking monster charges right at me! I try to run, but the door has just closed behind me, and I am trapped inside! I run around the room trying to stay away from the monster while I try to think of a solution.



Then it hits me. We could try to use the logs on the monster by combining the logs with our stake shotgun!



I start using the stakes on the monster, and it goes down! Daniel has solved the puzzle and has managed to suppress his inner demons – for now.



After killing the monster, this golden pentagram appears, signifying the end of a chapter.

I feel like Daniel has come a long way already, but at the same time, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. I'd recommend that anyone who is curious about Daniel's further development and about the story of Painkiller try the game out, it really is a gem of the horror/adventure game genre. Happy Spooktober, everyone!