Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Game
Game2011
Max Payne
Developer Remedy Entertainment
Max Payne is a 2001 third-person shooter game developed by Remedy Entertainment. It was originally released for Windows by Gathering of Developers in July 2001. The game centers on former New York City Police Department (NYPD) detective Max Payne, who attempts to solve the murder of his family while investigating a mysterious new designer drug called "Valkyr". While doing so, Max becomes entangled in a large and… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
508 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
77
LovedLoved
238 positive · 70 negative
95% range 72–82%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 238 | 70 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 41 | 8 | 103 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 0 | 23 |
| Lemmy * | 5 | 0 | 18 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
8,302 of 9,579 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
A classic held back by a broken PC port requiring community patches.
Players overwhelmingly praise Max Payne's story, atmosphere, and bullet-time gameplay, calling it a timeless masterpiece. Many cite the noir style, clever level design, and memorable writing as highlights that still hold up decades later. [1][10][14][17][19]
However, a significant number of players allege that Rockstar sells the game in an unplayable state, requiring unofficial mods and hex edits just to launch. Some call this practice shameful and say it should be illegal, though they acknowledge the game itself is excellent once fixed. [28][29][31][33][36]
Praised story and writing · noir atmosphere · bullet-time gameplay · level design
Criticised broken PC port requiring mods · no official patch from publisher
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 8, 2026. Method
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Max Payne sits at 77% positive across 308 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Max Payne was released to positive reviews. AllGame praised the game's atmosphere, level and sound design while stating that the "story is, at times, predictable and full of clichés" and that "Unlike Half-Life, where the action is integrated perfectly with its simplistic, yet appropriate story, Max Payne frequently yanks you out of the game and forces you to look at a badly-drawn in-game 'graphic novel' and listen to mediocre dialogue." The review also noted a lack of replay value or multiplayer modes. In a mixed review, Edge praised Max Payne for successfully integrating the bullet time mechanic into its core but criticized its linear and shallow level design. The graphics were generally…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 508 · most liked firstRemedy: Alan Wake 2 sales exceeded 2 million units and the game started to accrue royalties Max Payne 1 & 2 Remake and FBC: Firebreak are in full production. Control 2 entering full production this month investors.remedygames.com/releases-and...
neutral · AI labelView post →Remedy game development status: -Control 2 development is on track towards meeting its next milestones - focus is now on gameplay, environments, and missions -The Max Payne 1 & 2 remake project continues its progress and remains in full production investors.remedygames.com/releases-and...
neutral · AI labelView post →This is incredible. My buddy showed me this clip and asked what I thought it was from and I said the Max Payne game but no apparently this is a finished scene of that new Punisher movie lol
neutral · AI labelView post →Day 763 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing. Today's game is Control. I went through the ashtray maze today. I had *wanted* to get a portrait of Jesse with the headphones and everything on, but i had a friend asking about the game and was focused on getting a small clip of this segment to show to him to convince him to try it. I had missed my window. From what i hear you can replay it in the AWE DLC so i'll settle for it there.…
neutral · AI labelView post →this is a good idea and all but speaking of things that should (and thankfully are) be remade, Max Payne has the best video game constipation face of all time
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm playing the Max Payne games for the first time 👀 The first game blew me away with how much of that Remedy DNA has carried on through the years So excited to start Max Payne 2 🙂↕️
positive · AI labelView post →Rose is ready to lock in! I reached GoD in Tekken last week and I really wanna see if I can’t push farther so we’re going for GoD1 today! Then we’re playing Suit for Hire after, a Max Payne meets John Wick meets Hotline Miami game that looks fun Live on twitch!
neutral · AI labelView post →This game's great. Max Payne-lite combat, a story about the worst breakup ever, and an AMAZING soundtrack with a ton of vocal stuff. The sequel was just announced. And it comes with the little prelude game too.
neutral · AI labelView post →Day 539 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing. Today's game is **Max Payne**. I went ahead and figured out how to renable the Developer tools again and was just playing around with it. Remedy games are always the most fun to do this with because not only does it let you get out neat screenshots (like the one above), but theres some interesting things to be found out of bounds.…
positive · AI labelView post →"Alan Wake 2 has now passed 2m sales and has finally started making a profit." At last! This is really deserved. Loved this game! Still have to play the DLCs. 🤗 BTW, remakes of Max Payne 1 and 2 are now in "full production", and Control 2 will enter full production at the end of this month.👍
neutral · AI labelView post →Game devs, post your first shipped game and your latest shipped game. The first game I was credited on that shipped was Max Payne, but I don't really consider having worked on it enough for it to count....
neutral · AI labelView post →Day 543 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing. Today's game is **Halo 3**. I was bored and doing a little "Spring Cleaning" of my Steam Library, narrowing everything down to what's on hold and what i'm playing. Right now Max Payne and Halo are in the Currently Playing, while my on hold looks like this:  I had the overwhelming urge though to play the last mission of Halo 3. I'm not exactly…
neutral · AI labelView post →Day 547 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing. Today's game is some more **Max Payne**. Today was a bit short due time constraints and just overall exhaustion (i'm in the middle of moving). I did the Jack Lupino boss fight today. I bring this up because i wanted to talk about the very allusion to norse mythology, and which flew over my head until the last few chapters.…
neutral · AI labelView post →🎮 Max Payne 3 Continuing my first ever playthrough of this franchise 👀 Max Payne 1 - Great Max Payne 2 - Masterpiece So far all I can say about this is that it's definitely NOT a remedy game 😬
neutral · AI labelView post →Holy shit you guys we can finally play Max Payne with a mouse and keyboard 😳🤯🤯🤯
positive · AI labelView post →My first games were Worms, Creatures and Age of Empires. My first PC game was Max Payne. I didn't touch a Nintendo until Wii sports.
neutral · AI labelView post →Day 541 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing. Today's game is **Max Payne**. I continued my playthrough today with a friend who's on call. I was just kind of peeking around with the camera when i noticed the writing on the wall behind Max (literally). I probably missed it my first playthrough because i was blind, but it's kind of ironic that the writing was literally on the wall the entire game.…
positive · AI labelView post →Game doesn't actually run without doing some extra homework on modern systems. So shame on the devs for selling it as such and Steam for allowing games that don't even run to be sold.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Day 575 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing. Today’s game is some more Alan Wake II. I already made it through the hotel today. I always forget how fast this game goes by. It definitely is a good length, but damn does it leave me wanting more.  Speaking of the Hotel, while in room 666 I had noticed the furniture in there (as in the stuff in the shadows) is all Pitch Black. With how much…
neutral · AI labelView post →Not to be controversial, but I think GTA + Max Payne + two of the hottest characters to ever lead a video game is a pretty good idea
positive · AI labelView post →Original photos of Sam Lake, the iconic face of Max Payne, were used to create the game’s unforgettable graphic novel screens. Each shot was carefully photographed and processed to achieve the gritty, noir aesthetic.
neutral · AI labelView post →I've never paid a cent to stream anything. There's all kinds of streaming everything that wants me to pay money to stream their shit. Guess what? No. You can do it now. You'll be able to do it in the future too. Movies, games, makes no difference. There are several lifetimes worth of games you can play without capitulating to the stupid late-stage capitalist bullshit that's going on in this moment. And it's not always easy. I recently purchased a copy of Max Payne 3, a *14 year old…
neutral · AI labelView post →Choose 20 of your favorite video game characters. One character per day, for 20 days. No particular order. Day 11: Max Payne Max Payne is so cool. He always will be. Gritty, tough and determined. He fights through the pain and is a master of bullet time. #Games 🎮 #CharacterChallenge
positive · AI labelView post →Max Payne is a Christmas game.
neutral · AI labelView post →Rockstar games a multibillion dollar company put's a classic game on steam without even patching it for new computers, first thing you have to do is download 2-3 mods that are made by the community to make this game work and run. The guides section in the community hub is littered with fixes/patches/links to these mods because everyone has this problem. It's a great game I enjoyed when I was younger but I'm not going to download 2-3 mods to play a game that is supposed to work in just 2…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Max Payne 3 is $5.99 on Steam buff.ly/4gKYGvI Max Payne 1 + 2 bundle $4.49 buff.ly/4060EkI $8.99/$6.99 Xbox (Game Pass discount) buff.ly/Op3C2fE
neutral · AI labelView post →I wanted to play Max Payne 1 and stumbled onto a problem: The game doesn't exist in Germany So I wanted to play Max Payne 2 and stumbled onto another problem: The German version only has the German VO So I wanted to play Max Payne 3- It is heavily censored Germany fucking HATES Max Payne lmao
neutral · AI labelView post →Choose 20 games that greatly influence you. One game per day, for 20 days. No explanations, no reviews, no particular order. Day 17: Max Payne #games #gamechallenge
neutral · AI labelView post →Billion dollar corporation that puts their unplayable games on steam? You need a few mods to run this game on newer pcs which is advertised nowhere when purchasing the game. The community is the only reason you can still play this game in its current state. Good game, bad port.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →sharing clips of regular Max Payne 3 gameplay is always neat because it's the coolest any game has ever been (loud bsky volume warning!)
positive · AI labelView post →I still think about this guy and his dog Shadow. What a time bouncing between this game and Max Payne!
neutral · AI labelView post →Christ, now this is a game. It's like right after the tutorial you know it's gonna be great. Be forewarned however that you need to do a lot of patching and configuring to make it behave. Also, no controller support but the keyboard works really nice.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Im gonna do Max Payne 3 this weekend because I need to run defense for that game being Rockstars best. The other one I need to do is Metal Gear Rising because everyone thinks its about killing Trump when it's actually about how violence fucking rules.
positive · AI labelView post →That said, this would be great for the trippy parts of a Max Payne game where you have to navigate a dream world.
neutral · AI labelView post →Just a reminder as we head into the season that MAX PAYNE is a Christmas game 🎄
neutral · AI labelView post →tl;dr This game literally can not be loaded into without unofficial community patches, and I feel like Rockstar / Remedy should not be allowed to charge money for this. The fact that this game is being sold in the state its in should honestly be illegal, or at the very least Steam should step in and pull this from their store. The game literally can not even be played without users having to hunt down unofficial patches to fix it. You can get to the title menu, but if you try to actually load…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Max Payne absolutely counts as a Christmas game
neutral · AI labelView post →Max Payne 3 is $5.99 on Steam buff.ly/4gKYGvI Max Payne 1 + 2 bundle $4.49 buff.ly/4060EkI $8.99/$6.99 Xbox Game Pass discount buff.ly/BEPZbMY MP1 $8.99 US PSN buff.ly/ubJm4rz
neutral · AI labelView post →So far Control Resonant is the best gameplay Remedy has had in a couple decades while possibly its least interesting writing. They just can't seem to do both since Max Payne 2, their only perfect game
positive · AI labelView post →Sam Lake tells me about this cool new game called Max Payne in this weekend's premiere of #EPClassic, brought to you by the fantastic @pnpgames.bsky.social! Play Forever. Right @samlakewrites.bsky.social?
neutral · AI labelView post →This is the very same copy of Max Payne I played back in 2001 and it followed me all these years 🥹
neutral · AI labelView post →Tonight we are going to South America to remember the time Rockstar spend 80 million dollars making a Naughty Dog game about shooting Brazilians in the head. It can only be Max Payne 3. See you at 8:30PM EST.
neutral · AI labelView post →You have to do modding to get the game into an actually playable state. Would avoid the steam store version.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Me when I wanna play the first Max Payne game, but it's not available for purchase on Latin American Steam, friends can't gift me a copy, and I can't buy it anywhere else
neutral · AI labelView post →I mean this 100% positively, don’t get me wrong, Hellraiser: Revival feels like a really impressive remaster of a game from 25 years ago. Something about its level design, enemy AI, and sense of humor all feel like they fell through a wormhole from the era when Max Payne and VTM Bloodline reigned.
neutral · AI labelView post →I stretched my entertainment budget a little to pick up Resonant but I've been playing every night and haven't regretted it for a second. Remedy, I see you and appreciate you. This game is an absolute delight, and I've been with you since the Max Payne mouse pad.
neutral · AI labelView post →Ngl Max Payne on the Game Boy Advance looks amazing 😲 I need to sample this!
positive · AI labelView post →Make sure you use the MaxPayne-FixItAll mod. The game's sound would not work without it. Great game, loads of style and atmosphere. The combat feels old and janky, but it's tons of fun to play with.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Should not be legal to sell a game in this busted of a state. Right from the beginning, the audio is completely cut. The narration is literally what gives this game it's unforgettable personality. No one should have to go download third party mods to make a game playable while the devs and pub continue to make money off of it. Shameful. Game is great, but I cannot in good conscience recommend the steam version
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is not made from the original game models from Max Payne 1! Why would you say this bsky.app/profile/joew...
neutral · AI labelView post →Back in the PS2 era, my friends and I used to play Max Payne 1 and 2 together. We had a rule: once you died, you passed the controller to the next player. I have no idea how many times we finished both games. At some point, every single one of us was capable of completing a full run without dying. I even remember finishing multiple levels on the hardest difficulty without getting hit a single time. We knew every level by heart, blindly tossing grenades to take out enemies seconds before they…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Warning for everyone, none of the games in this trilogy play like each other. Bloodrayne 1: Max Payne clone Bloodrayne 2: More traditional action game Bloodrayne Betrayal: Wayforward
neutral · AI labelView post →I haven't played Max Payne since the PS2 days and I'm happy to know the game is still fun as hell. The story is still strong and the gunplay holds up great especially on the Steamdeck. If you are having issues running it on Steamdeck, go to the Max Payne steam guides page and under 'Modding or Configurations' look up the guide by 5L0TH called: "How to get Max Payne working on Steam Deck". The fix is as easy as dragging and dropping a downloaded file in the Max Payne game folder. Its very…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're willing to patch your games, this is a recommend. However, go into this expecting to patch launcher crashes, audio not playing, buggy physics interactions, and potentially more. I personally can't recommend this in the state that it's in, even if this is my favorite.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the fact this allowed to be sold while being completely non functional is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ insane like at least the fallout games actually allow you to play the game for a bit before they crash this couldn't get past the first cutscene with the patch that's supposed to fix it play the game on og hardware instead
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There’s something about early 2000s video game NYC that is unmatched. Max Payne pictured
neutral · AI labelView post →they sell Max Payne almost dying SO HARD in that game that it somehow becomes gritty and believable despite him killing, literally, 500,000 people
neutral · AI labelView post →they should make a Max Payne game that's just a fishing simulator because after max payne 3 he's finally got his fucking life together and is boring as hell
neutral · AI labelView post →Max Payne is a game about quicksaving.
neutral · AI labelView post →Max Payne at the start of his own game be like "People died 😏"
neutral · AI labelView post →
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