You’re in a biker bar. Someone looks at you wrong. Five seconds later, you’re swinging a frozen leg of ham at a guy’s head while a disco ball spins overhead and "Stayin' Alive" blares through the chaos. That is basically the essence of Paint This Town Red. It’s messy. It’s voxel-based. It is, quite honestly, one of the most satisfying power fantasies ever coded into a game engine.
Most people see the blocky graphics and assume it’s just a Minecraft-style gimmick. They're wrong. Underneath that colorful, pixelated exterior lies a surprisingly complex physics engine that handles localized damage better than most AAA shooters. Southgate Mods, the developer behind this madness, didn’t just make a brawler; they made a physics playground where everything—and I mean everything—is a weapon.
What Actually Makes Paint This Town Red Work?
It’s the voxels. Standard character models in games are like hollow balloons; you hit them, and they play a pre-baked animation. In Paint This Town Red, characters are composed of thousands of tiny individual blocks. When you punch someone in the jaw, the blocks actually displace. You see the damage where it happens. It feels visceral in a way that’s hard to describe until you’ve successfully kicked a pirate off a balcony and watched him shatter into a dozen pieces on the deck below.
The game thrives on spontaneity. You aren't following a complex combo list. You're reacting. Maybe you grab a mug. Maybe you grab a chair. Sometimes you find yourself backed into a corner in the Disco level, desperately looking for anything to throw, and you realize the pool cues are your only hope.
It's chaotic. It's fast.
The "Shockwave" ability is a literal game-changer when you're surrounded by thirty angry NPCs. But the real genius is the "Smite" power. Targeting a specific enemy and watching them explode from above never gets old, even after fifty hours of gameplay.
The Beneath Mode: A Massive Shift in Tone
If the standard levels are a bar fight simulator, the "Beneath" mode is a full-blown roguelike descent into madness. This is where most players lose their minds. You start in a hub, pick a class—like the Vanguard or the Warlock—and dive into procedurally generated caverns.
It’s hard. Like, really hard.
Unlike the main Scenarios, Beneath requires genuine strategy. You have to manage your gold, upgrade your stats at altars, and pray you don't run into a Crystal Entity before you've found a decent weapon. The elemental powers here add a layer of depth that the base game lacks. You aren't just swinging a blunt object anymore; you're managing fire, ice, and shock damage while trying to find the exit to the next floor.
Many players ignore this mode because it looks intimidating. Don't be that person. Beneath is where the real longevity of Paint This Town Red lives. It transforms the game from a "ten-minute stress reliever" into something you can sink an entire weekend into.
✨ Don't miss: Gifts for Gamers 2024: What Most People Get Wrong
Why the Level Editor Changed Everything
Let’s be real: the base scenarios (Biker Bar, Disco, Prison, Pirate Cove, Saloon) are great, but you can beat them all in an hour. The reason this game is still topping Steam charts and getting discussed in 2026 is the Steam Workshop.
The community is insane.
I’ve played levels that recreate the hallway fight from Oldboy. I’ve played levels that are basically John Wick simulators set in high-end hotels. Because the level editor is so robust, players have built entire campaigns with custom music, complex triggers, and narrative beats. It’s essentially a platform now, not just a game.
If you haven't checked the "Most Subscribed" list on the Workshop lately, you're missing out on the best content the game has to offer. The logic tools they've added allow for actual "boss fights" with custom health bars and multi-stage mechanics. It's a far cry from just punching a bouncer in the face.
Common Misconceptions and Technical Hurdles
A lot of people think the game is "abandonware" because updates can be slow. It isn't. Southgate is a small team. They’ve focused heavily on optimization because, as it turns out, calculating the physics of two hundred voxel characters hitting each other at once is a nightmare for your CPU.
If your frame rate is chugging, check your blood settings. The "Permanent Blood" option is cool for the aesthetic—painting the room red, literally—but it eats performance. Lowering the voxel debris count can also save your processor from a meltdown during the more intense prison riots.
Mastering the Mechanics
To actually get good at Paint This Town Red, you have to stop playing it like a standard first-person shooter. It’s more about spacing and timing.
- The Kick is King: Don't just punch. Kicking creates distance and staggers enemies. If you're near a ledge or a spike trap, a well-timed kick is an instant kill.
- Weapon Durability Matters: Every item breaks. That katana looks cool, but it’ll snap after a few kills. Always be looking for your next pick-up while you're still using your current one.
- Prioritize the Ranged Enemies: In the Pirate Cove or the Saloon, the guys with flintlocks or revolvers will end your run instantly. Close the gap or throw something at them immediately.
- Environmental Kills: Look up. See that chandelier? Shoot the chain. See that barrel? It’s probably explosive. Use the room to your advantage.
The shift from "frantic button masher" to "calculating brawler" is what makes the game click. You start seeing the room as a series of opportunities rather than a room full of threats.
What’s Next for Voxel Brawlers?
We're seeing a trend where physics-heavy games are moving toward more realism, but Paint This Town Red proves that the "toy-like" nature of voxels is actually more fun. It allows for a level of gore and destruction that would be too nauseating or technically impossible in a photorealistic game.
It occupies a weird, perfect niche. It's a comedy. It's a horror game. It's an action movie.
Actionable Steps for New and Returning Players
If you’re looking to get the most out of the experience right now, follow this specific path to avoid burnout and see the best content.
- Start with the Biker Bar: It’s the classic for a reason. Learn the timing of your blocks and the range of your kicks here before moving to harder scenarios.
- Head to the Workshop Immediately: Search for "Superhot style" maps or "Western" maps. These often have better pacing than the default levels and show off what the engine can really do.
- Tackle Beneath with the Vanguard: This class is the most forgiving. Use your shield to learn enemy patterns without dying every thirty seconds.
- Experiment with VR: If you have a headset, the VR version of the game is a completely different beast. It’s physically exhausting but arguably the most immersive way to play.
- Join the Discord: The community is the best place to find "Logic Guides" if you want to start building your own levels. The learning curve is steep, but the payoff of seeing a thousand people play your map is worth it.
Ultimately, this game isn't about winning. It's about the ridiculous, emergent stories that happen when a voxel-based pirate tries to hit you with a fish and accidentally knocks out his own captain. Grab the nearest blunt object and get to work.