80%PC

Max Payne is one of the all-time classics, a game that contributed a lot to the third-person shooter genre with its use of bullet time. The way it incorporated a graphic novel style of storytelling was very charming, even though over half the time it was just the actors (and devs?) making silly faces with a filter.

Level design was pretty straightforward, with fun areas to bullet-time through. That said, if I didn’t have a quick-save feature, I think I would have lost my mind—some of the areas are just downright unfair. For example, there’s this one giant hallway near the end of the game with rocket launcher guys on a balcony way up high. The intended solution is to snipe them down. Sounds easy, right? Wrong—you’re the one getting sniped instead. Honestly, if it weren’t for the bullet time mechanic and the ability to dodge, I don’t think I would have had the patience to finish the game. Thankfully, those two features are cool and fun enough to hold my attention for eight hours. I do wish they had included some kind of armor upgrades, though, since very early on it felt like enemies were one-shotting all the time (again, thank goodness for quick-saves).

The story was good, although cheesy at times. I especially liked the random ass horror segments they added when Max was hallucinating about his dead wife and kid. They came out of nowhere, but somehow fit in nicely thematically. Also, in the graphic novel cutscenes, Max would drop the cheesiest one-liners like: “She didn’t strike me as a stone-cold killer, but now she’s stone-cold dead.” I love it so much, oml.

Overall, Max Payne has some frustrating gameplay segments, but the story, its legacy, and its mechanics are enjoyable enough to make it well worth a playthrough in my book.

75%PC

This is a pretty fun game and I don't have too many complaints. It's short and sweet, ages very well, and still holds up in not only its gameplay and controls but story as well.

80%Xbox

This was the first game I ever bought and then logged on this website so it holds a special place in my heart. I tried to beat it 5 years ago, but I got stuck at the start of Act 3. 5 years later and I've finally conquered it.

I love this game's presentation as a playable novel. Games are long enough that you can have the internal monologues movies cut. The gunplay is decent, but the bullet-time mechanic elevates it to being good. Shotguns suck, but besides that all the guns are fun to use. Max is a great character, he's someone who's hellbent on revenge even though he knows it's bad for him. Sam Lake's smug grin should ruin the tone, but it loops back around to being perfect.

My only complaints are that the game's brightness is way too dark, the dream sequences sucked ass, the burning restaurant was a load of trial and error bullshit, and enemies started too get annoying near the end.

100%PC

*Warning: Spoilers*

Fantastic game from the past.

Max Payne was a gem to play and, even after many years, it still looks and plays great. In the core it is a standard, linear third person shooter, but very well implemented with a great story.

First, the love for this game is still alive, because normally, it will not run on modern hardware. But the community made a special patch that you can apply so the game will work perfectly after that.

In Max Payne, you are a cop that is chasing the murderers of your wife and child by unraveling the criminal gang that is behind it. You are a one-man army that eradicates everyone in your way. You search for answers, while meeting many different characters that help or betray you along the way, all while wiping out half of New York City.

Eventually, you find the b!tch behind it all, find out that a new drug is going to be used as an ultimate weapon for the US military and stop this dead in its tracks by infiltrating the facility and blowing it to bits.

I really liked the story element of this game. It always made me wonder what would happen next and the comic book L.A. Noire strips are a great way of telling you what happens.

The Nightmare levels in which you play the events of your family massacre over and over again are actually pretty disturbing. The crying of the baby, you wife begging for mercy, all while you run along endless corridors of your house in your own head.

This game is hard. It is all about timing your shots and anticipating enemies that come running towards you from out of nowhere. If you walk right into them, they shoot you faster than you can say “oh sh!t”. The Slow Motion really helps with the game, although in some fights, it makes it too easy.

The graphics are incredible, considering the time period this game got made, especially the facial animations and expressions. When looking at it closer, it is literally some dudes face in .png slapped over a polygon, but it is very well implemented. The animations, bullet holes and explosions are also very well done. Half the time, I forgot that I was playing a game from 2001.

The sound effects and music are excellent. Guns feel like guns instead of pea shooters and the explosions sound effects are as they should be. Thumbs up for the sound department.

The controls work fluently and feel responsive. The healing mechanics, the Slow-Motion, the aiming, it is all just right. There is nothing to complain about there.

Some minor annoyances that I had with the game are the slow-motion mechanics for example. While great for anticipating and reacting to sudden enemies that appear, it can be very frustrating when you dive into a dead corner which does not provide any cover and there is nothing you can do about it. You first must wait for the animation in slow motion until it’s over. This issue has been fixed in the next game, in which you can dive in slow motion and use it stationary.

Another thing is that the game sometimes starts you in a room with four or five enemies in a level, giving you 0.1 seconds to react or else you get pumped full of lead instantly.

The game can be a little repetitive because it always follows the same principle. A linear doorway, enemies spawn, kill enemies, progress. But I do not mind, this game is just fine as it is. It offers a lot of playtime, levels and adventure and is worth every penny.

In the end, I can only praise Max Payne and wished I played it sooner in my youth.

Definitely recommend this blast from the past.

60%PC

The age of this one definitively shows, I liked the range of different guns, story is nice and simple and the gun mechanics are simple but fun enough to keep you engaged just about long enough to complete the game. Would never replay the game though. 6.5/10

90%PC

completed all difficulties (fugitive, hard- boiled, dead on arrival & new york minute mode)

70%PC

Had to install some fixes because the game wouldn't even launch on steam, just a heads-up.
The combat is really fun with the slow motion moments and the variaty of weapons to use. It is not an hard game but you will get 1-shot by a guy hiding in a corner with a shotgun a bunch of times.
Story wise I was expecting something more deep but it is still fun. It has a humorous look with the comic like cutscenes and the mix of in-game graphics and real life acting, something that would become a trademark in Sam Lake's games. Even though the game is comical it also has a dark twist to it, just didn't expand on it as much as I would like.

Dreams have a nasty habit of going bad when you're not looking.

90%PC

There's a lot to love about this game. The overall atmosphere and style was really cool. I like how the cutscenes were in a comic book type format. The gameplay feels extremely smooth, even to this day, and I really enjoyed the combat. It was cool how the world was very interactable also. The ending fight was a little quick, but the rest of the game more than makes up for it.

40%PlayStation 2

I played the PS2 version, which is vastly inferior to the PC version. It took forever to load, was buggy and the lack of save states drove me mad. Also, there should be a special place in hell for the dev that designed those sections where you follow the blood trials while the baby cries. I did enjoy the game in places but all-in-all it was a bit of a chore.

65%Xbox

There were definitely things I liked about Max Payne, but also quite a few things that bugged me. I'll start with the stuff that didn't sit right.

First off, the opening story beat. Why did the mom and baby have to die? We never really get a satisfying answer to that. I get that it's meant to be dark and gritty, but it would've been nice to have more clarity or some kind of deeper motive explained, especially since the game makes you invest emotionally in that moment.

The gameplay itself is mostly centered on gunplay, though they do switch it up a little with some surreal, dreamlike maze levels. The shooting is solid for what it is, and the slow motion mechanic is cool and definitely sets the game apart from other shooters of its era. Still, after a while, it starts to feel kind of one note. I would've appreciated even just a few light puzzles to change up the rhythm a bit.

Also, grenades. What a hassle. I basically never used them because it took too long to cycle through weapons. A dedicated grenade button would've helped a lot. And while we're on controls, it's actually great that you can customize them, but weirdly you can also delete essential inputs without realizing it. That actually happened to me, and it took a while to figure out what was going on. Kind of a bizarre oversight.

The audio in the game is just kind of inconsistent. It dips randomly during cutscenes. Sometimes it gets really quiet, and it generally makes following the story harder than it needs to be.

Speaking of the story, yeah, it was kind of hard to track the finer details. I think part of that had to do with the snappy, stylized dialogue they went for. It's poetic, sure, but it moves fast and doesn't always give you time to process what's happening. Combine that with the inconsistent audio and you end up missing important context.

Another thing I found odd. Every character you encounter is basically an enemy. There are no real "good guys" around to balance things out or provide another perspective, so the world starts to feel a bit flat in that regard. There's also little to no character development, which made it hard to get invested beyond the basic revenge plot.

It also felt like the game took itself very seriously. I think a little humor here and there could've helped break up the constant brooding tone.

But okay, let's talk about what worked. I liked the level design in a lot of spots, and the environments had a nice variety to them. The comic book panels used to tell the story between chapters were a nice touch and gave the game a unique visual identity. And even with the repetition, the core gameplay loop, slow motion dives, taking out enemies in style, was satisfying enough to keep me going.

So yeah, it was fine. I'm glad I played it, but I don't know that I'd go out of my way to recommend it unless you're really into this kind of noir action style. It has its moments, but it's a mixed bag.

(Created with Media Review Aide 🎭 okmss.com/mra)

80%PC

Good shooting game with a little bit of story, work well on low end pc/laptop but the graphics are not good for today standards.

80%Mobile

That was hard to play on phone, because it's obviously, not comfortable as PC controllers. But I do loved to play this game between long breaks at school, chatting with friends and trying to kill that fcking merc in factory. And, that was when I started to love Remedy and Max Payne series.

65%PC

Real good game but its age is defiantly showing

85%PC

Max Payne is still brilliant all these years later. Bullet time is still as fun as ever and even though the gameplay can get slightly repetitive, the fun over the top action keeps it fresh.

My only real negatives is that damage output both for Max and enemies can feel super random. Sometimes you get hit once and half your health is gone, other times in that same situation you end up taking no damage at all. There many enemies that can one shot you in this game, that it at times can feel ridiculous.

Max is frail and cannot take a huge amount of damage so get used to abusing the save system, which is very generous in this game to pass certain sections.

40%PC

Unsatisfying shooting.

55%PlayStation 2

Ough. That was kinda heavy. Sometimes I wasn't sure if I played an adventure shooter game or a horror game. As a kid, the beginnings of the 2nd and the 3rd chapter would have scared the hell out of me.

The game has very few cutscenes used for storytelling. Instead, they used comic pages with the voices of the characters reading the speech bubbles, which is kinda funny and I hadn't seen it done like this yet. The story in itself was good after all though.

I would advise everyone to *not* play the game on the PlayStation 2. You know a game is old when the vertical stick is inverted by default. Also, while the game has auto-aim, it resets the camera every couple of seconds, which is really bad. The performance is ass too. It literally goes from 60 FPS to like 5 FPS in a second when a lot of action is going on suddenly.

70%PC

Игре почти четверть века, а она хорошо ощущается даже сейчас. От сюжета с нуарной атмосферой со скандинавскими отсылками, который рассказывается через комикс до мрачной и трагичной музыки и юмором, которые работают на раскрытие персонажей, все это ничуть не устарело и выглядит до сих пор самобытно. Из минусов разве что враги, которые слишком толстые, у них бывают проблемы с анимациями, а еще болванчиков слишком много и они давят числом. В остальном все супер. Жду ремейк.

90%PC

[SPOILER][/SPOILER]Everything is subjective. Choices, answers, good and evil.

40%PlayStation 4

J'avais fait le 3 à l'époque et je le trouvais vraiment cool, mais alors ce premier Max Payne n'est pas aussi bon qu'on nous le dit...

Il y a une très bonne ambiance, bien glauque, bien sale qui fait bien le lien avec ce qu'a vécu le perso, les cinématiques en BD sont stylés, on a des bonnes séquences d'action et des bonnes idées avec les séquences de cauchemar, les petites refs à Seven, X-Files font plaisir et tout hein

MAAAAAAAAAAAIS

La VF est absolument abominable, le rythme est hyper saccadé avec toutes les micro-cinématiques qu'on se tape, le bullet time sert vraiment pas à grand chose en vrai, le jeu reste quand même assez répétitif, les séquences de "plateformes" sont juste affreuses et sont mal foutues (on tombe pour aucune raison) et ça en devient frustrant pour rien. Dommage pour les séquences de cauchemars qui sont sous exploitées alors qu'on tenait un truc cool, le fait d'être obligé de se retaper chaque cinématique sans les passer quand on meurt à certains endroits ça fait chier. Et techniquement, j'ai eu des sacrés chutes de fps qui aident pas au confort de jeu

Donc au final Max Payne a beaucoup trop vieilli et n'est pas aussi bon qu'on nous le dit en 2025, j'ai tout de même hâte de découvrir le remake qui pourra changer la donne

80%PC

I was pleasantly surprised by Max Payne's first entry. I had it in my mental to-do list of games I wanted to try out, and I'm not disappointed by having given it a chance.

The main gameplay mechanic of slowing down time, jumping around, and gunning down guy after guy is very well achieved. There were some hiccups (Those controls were something else, and not in the good way!), but I can only imagine what was done with the formula as the saga continued on into modern times.

The story was nothing spectacular, but it had an interesting twist at the end, and I will give bonus points for taking the time to present it in a graphic novel format, I can't imagine that was easy or cheap.

Given that it was also a short game, I couldn't be happier, honestly. I know games like these that run for double or even triple the time, and by the end, you just want it to be over so bad.

My biggest gripe with the game, without a doubt, is the weird fixation of the devs with making platforming sections in their game. Seriously, what's up with that? Max doesn't control nearly well enough, nor has he the mobility, to justify putting me in situations where I need to intricately jump between platforms.

That being said, solid game and start to a bigger series. I am really curious about what the next games will be like.

60%PC

(пиратка)
блен я такой нуарный и крутой

90%PC

Great start of one of my favourite game series. Interesting characters and amazing atmosphere - playing nightmare levels as a kid was such an experience. Introduction of a graphic novel in comic style was 10/10 idea. Game is sometimes clunky but overall has aged pretty well. And remember "mirrors are more fun than television"

95%PC

Специфічний ігролад дав мені купу приємних вражень, зокрема збереження, які є однією з ґеймплейних механік. Вороги стають куди складнішими, навіть якщо добре вибирати позицію, контролювати вповільнення й тд. Може інтелект у них занадто хороший, бо стріляють щойно вийшов з-за кута... Та це було насправді круто, ніколи не вгадаєш, як складеться момент. Вороги під стрейфами можуть не влучити ні разу за перестрілку, а можуть з одного пострілу дробовика відправити до перезавантаження.

70%PC

for how old it is, I think it held up pretty well

80%PC

The game is unplayable on modern PCs without a fan made patch/fix, so installing that is the first step in making Max Payne work. Also, adaptive difficulty doesn't seem to work correctly, so the game is much harder than it should be. Thus, playing on Hard Boiled might be easier than on Fugitive.

Other than that, it's still a good experience, and even though outdated, slow time mechanics still work and offer a lot of fun. And the story and the writing are as great as they have always been.

70%PC

Very Good - Good pacing and a well-written story that offers a deep dive into a troubled mind. Bullet-time enhances gameplay that has a slight tendency to get somewhat monotonous.

100%PC

first time playing

80%PC

A great start to a great series. Not particularly pretty to look at, and some (many) of the combat encounters rely on heavy use of the quick save/load feature.

Never play this game on PS2/3/4. It's awful.

70%PC

Max Payne is a blast, especially with bullet time and shoot dodge—definitely the highlights of the game. The story’s solid, and I really like how it’s told in that graphic novel style. It gives the game a unique vibe that keeps you hooked.

The gameplay feels pretty dated, though. If you’re used to modern controls, it can be a bit janky. But hey, the remake coming out is probably gonna fix a lot of that, and I’m sure it’ll bump the game’s rating up for a lot of people.

For now, 7.5/10. Fun, but with room for improvement.

100%PC

This is probably my favorite game of all time. I don't remember what year I played this game first. I was just a kid back then. I'd just leave my computer on the main menu because I really love the theme song. The nightmare chapter actually frightened me. The dialogue and the character of Max is just perfection. Really love it.

90%PC

An amazing game. Mechanically, for a 2001 game, it's impressive, and even back then it introduced new concepts like slowing down time. Still very fun to play today. Its story is pretty average and doesn't take itself too seriously, but it has a certain auteur charm that is highly valued nowadays. A true classic.

100%PC

First time I play this game, it feels awesome to play considering it's more than 20 years old. A quintessential PC Game.

The whole hardboiled detective/noir style just feels awesome and badass. Not sure if the game takes itself too seriously or not at all but is just an unique experience.

It aged like the finest of wines.

70%PC

Gameplay: 3.5
Story: 4
Atmosphere: 5
Controls: 3.5
Graphics: 5
Sound: 4
Replayability: 4

100%PlayStation 2

I regret having waited so long to play this game. 10/10 action game. Great story and gameplay. Can't knock the controls/movement too much as it was released in 2001.

95%PC

A Classic, what can I say?

90%PlayStation 4

Ps2 versio ps5:llä ekaa kertaa läpi

90%PC

aged very well. being able to destroy and interact with so many objects wasnt something i was expecting from an old game like this. the only part i didnt like were the drug trip platforming part which was super buggy and frustrating and the very end i feel like it didnt make it clear what to do with the helicopter

85%PC

"He had a baseball bat and I was tied to a chair. Pissing him off was the smart thing to do." - Max Payne

Max Payne is a cult classic and, in my books, one of Remedy's best entries into the game industry back in the 2000s after their first game, Death Rally. It easily sets itself apart through how it tells the narrative of Max Payne and that's done by no other then Payne himself the whole game. We have a front row seat of his thoughts, struggles/pains, and feelings making him a character we connect with from the start and end of this bullet-filled revenge story.

The gameplay is riddled with a variety of weapons from pistols to grenade launchers making every encounter a duel to the death or an explosive one. In addition, part of the gameplay's identity is its iconic bullet time that has likely influenced many games down the line but it is exciting every time you initiate that moment as it becomes just you and your bullet making the difference before some gang member makes that difference for you.

Overall, it is nothing short of an amazing and thrilling game that has its iconic moments from dialogues to gameplay sequences and I look forward to how the Max Payne 1 and 2 remake will be adapt the material.

Rest in Peace, James McCaffrey.

65%PC

Funny to play. Slowmo mechanics well made and easy to adapt. Enemies tank too much.

50%PC

Es un buen juego por su historia, muy repetitivo y poco divertido debido a las limitaciones técnicas de los NPC's, le doy un 5 por el hecho de que me gustó la historia.

"El disparo final fue un signo de excitación"

95%PC

One of really good game with original gameplay

75%PC

I had a lot of fun with this. There are a lot of really great level design decisions here. My only criticisms are the inconsistent weapon damage and those unchoreographed scripted moments like a grenade down the stairs while rounding a corner or a door blasting off the hinge into you. Thankfully, save states made them bearable.

95%PC

It's 2012, and I'm still impressed.

Good

- Great story. Max Payne is on a journey to take a down a big hierarchy starting from the bottom.

- Very fun gameplay. Bullet-time ability is well implemented.

- Intuitive shootdodge mechanics. There is this one part where you have no ammo, and enemies are right around the corner. What you have to do is jump out in matrix style, grab the pistol, and shoot them, all in one action. It is very epic.

- Reasonable difficulty

- Good placement of cover objects

- Interesting graphic comic cutscenes

- Good voice acting

- Intense and poetically dark dialogue

- Good graphics for its time

- Interesting characters

- Nice array of weapons

- Good replay value with additional difficulty and a time attack mode

Bad

- Nothing

60%PC

it was pretty good, but it was simply a tough act to follow after F.E.A.R. and the XP expansion. It's clear why this has a cult following, and I really enjoyed the narration style.

85%PC

Audio-visual: 7 Gameplay: 8 Story: 8 Enjoyment: 8

100%PC

True masterpiece game from Finland developers. Rare to give 10/10 for a game.

85%Xbox

Max Payne is a classic for a reason. The storytelling that developer Remedy would come to be known for is all here, and somehow the game feels both ahead of its time and old school. It has a style that few if any games of its era can match, while holding on to some of the core gameplay elements of time gone by (the 3D platforming sections in particular, along with a puzzle involving a sort of mine cart).

For the most part it holds up gameplay wise and story wise, and today it’s still worth a play through for any action game or shooter fan.

90%PC

Remedyn klassikko. Hyvä tunnelma ja diggailin välipätkien toteutuksesta sarjakuvastrippien muodossa. Ääksöni maustettuna Matrixista pöllityillä hidastuksilla tekevät tämän pelin. Räiskintä tuntuu melkein liiankin hyvältä! Tähän tulee pienenä miinuksena pelin semi vammainen liukuva vaikeusaste, jossa viholliset muuttuvat sitä vaikeammaksi mitä pidempään olet kuolematta. Tämä johtaa siihen, että viholliset muuttuvat ennen pitkää kirjaimellisesti mahdottomiksi, kunnen kuoleman johdosta vaikeusaste palautuu normaalimmaksi.

70%Game Boy Advance

A good port of a good game. Everything is recreated with love and trembling, down to the last detail. But of course, it couldn't be without cons. First of all, I would like to note the sound - it is bad, you don't need to have a musical sense to understand how much the dialogs are overcompressed. The controls are fine, but in some moments it makes you wonder if the developers tested the game, it is especially noticeable on the sections with platforming and fire - a real torture. And, of course, as in the original there is unfair AI - opponents shoot at you from the first second of visual contact and almost from three kilometers away, even when you can't physically see them, especially cool to run into a new room and immediately lose half of your health. Nevertheless, the port is cool, I highly recommend at least to try it out

60%PC

To get the game running without issues I had to do 2 things:

1. Download the installer from here that fixes the major audio and start up issues, as well as a few other smaller ones. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1633394421&insideModal=0

2. Limit the FPS to around 59.7 using your preferred method, I used nvidia inspector. For detailed help, click the below guide and see the "Frame Limiting" section. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=815417355