Max Payne cover
FranchiseMax PayneSeriesMax Payne

Max Payne

Critic score2 critics
First release
Jul 23, 2001
Engine
MAX-FX
Genres
Shooter · Action, Thriller

Max Payne is a man with nothing to lose in the violent, cold urban night. A fugitive undercover cop framed for murder, hunted by cops and the mob, Max is a man with his back against the wall, fighting a battle he cannot hope to win. Max Payne is a relentless story-driven game about a man on the edge, fighting to clear his name while struggling to uncover the truth about his slain family amongst a myriad of plot-twists and twisted thugs in the gritty bowels of New York during the century's worst blizzard. The groundbreaking original cinematic action-shooter, Max Payne introduced the concept of Bullet Time in videogames. Through its stylish slow-motion gunplay combined with a dark and twisted story, Max Payne redefined the action-shooter genre.

Also known as Max Heat

Attributes

No Attributes added.

Details

Storyline, release dates, time to beat, age ratings, modes, links, keywords

Storyline
In December 2001, as New York City is enduring the tail end of the worst snow blizzard in the history of the city, Max Payne, a renegade DEA agent and former NYPD detective, is standing at the top of a skyscraper with a sniper rifle in his hands, smiling, as police units arrive on the scene to arrest him. He then experiences flashbacks from three years ago and the last two days he experienced. Three years earlier, on August 22nd 1998, Max was working as a regular NYPD detective, having just finished his day's work. His longtime friend and DEA agent, Alex Balder, invites him to transfer into the DEA, but Max declines the offer, wanting to focus on his full-time life with his wife, Michelle, and their newborn daughter, Rose. As he returns to his house in New Jersey, he finds that a trio of junkies had broken into his house, all addicted on a brand new designer drug, Valkyr. Max receives a call from a mysterious woman who seems pleased at the trouble in the house and refuses to call for help. Max rushes to aid his family and kill the junkies, but is too late as he finds his wife shot dead, and his daughter slaughtered. After his family's funeral, Payne accepts Alex's offer, and transfers to the DEA at his own request to stop the spreading of the drugs.Read more

In December 2001, as New York City is enduring the tail end of the worst snow blizzard in the history of the city, Max Payne, a renegade DEA agent and former NYPD detective, is standing at the top of a skyscraper with a sniper rifle in his hands, smiling, as police units arrive on the scene to arrest him. He then experiences flashbacks from three years ago and the last two days he experienced. Three years earlier, on August 22nd 1998, Max was working as a regular NYPD detective, having just finished his day's work. His longtime friend and DEA agent, Alex Balder, invites him to transfer into the DEA, but Max declines the offer, wanting to focus on his full-time life with his wife, Michelle, and their newborn daughter, Rose. As he returns to his house in New Jersey, he finds that a trio of junkies had broken into his house, all addicted on a brand new designer drug, Valkyr. Max receives a call from a mysterious woman who seems pleased at the trouble in the house and refuses to call for help. Max rushes to aid his family and kill the junkies, but is too late as he finds his wife shot dead, and his daughter slaughtered. After his family's funeral, Payne accepts Alex's offer, and transfers to the DEA at his own request to stop the spreading of the drugs.

Release dates
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Jul 23, 2001
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Jul 27, 2001
PlayStation 2
Dec 06, 2001
All 15 release dates
Xbox
Dec 17, 2001
PlayStation 2
Jan 11, 2002
Xbox
Mar 14, 2002
Mac
Jul 16, 2002
PlayStation 2
May 22, 2003
Xbox 360
Apr 27, 2009
iOS
Apr 12, 2012
Android
Jun 14, 2012
PlayStation 3
May 01, 2013
PlayStation 3
May 02, 2013
PlayStation 4
Apr 22, 2016
Xbox One
Nov 15, 2021
Time to beatIGDB · recorded
Main Story
7h
Main + Extras
11h
Game modes
Single player
Perspective
Third person
Where to buy
Keywords
neo noir, murder, drugs, ps2, death
… All 83, insanity, action-adventure, noir, steam, bullet time, building, crime, revenge, snow, torture, easter egg, slow-motion, dreams, cult, one-man army, comic book, digital distribution, voice acting, protagonist's name in the title, polygonal 3d, breaking the fourth wall, game reference, launch titles, original soundtrack release, white noise, non-player character, profanity, playstation plus, sniping, melee, real-time combat, wilhelm scream, female antagonist, quicksaving, quickloading, unreliable narrator, vending machine interaction, cheat code, addiction, non-linear storytelling, interactive environments, film noir, anti-hero, disorientation, games on demand, banter during gameplay, meme origin, women in refrigerators syndrome, comic book cutscene, crime fighting, dual wielding, character models based on actual people, cutscene menu, waking up captured, satanism, dream sequence, vigilante, trilogy, tragic hero, dynamic difficulty, greatest hits, ps2 classics, exploring yourself, novint falcon support, pc to console port, framing, realistic ballistics, metafiction, bafta games award, femme fatale, infinite pockets, adapted to - movie, elevator music, xbox 360 backwards compatibility, rogue cop, fate, male protagonist, dynamic narrative

At a Glance

Critic Score
74
Main Story (IGDB)
7h
Main + Extras (IGDB)
11h

Overview

Steam review summary

Steam users rate this Very Positive, 12,842 reviews in all languages, recorded 16 October 2026

Valve's summary of Steam user reviews. Valve counts only reviews from purchases on Steam, not key activations, and leaves out review periods it has marked as off-topic. It isn't part of the CritScore score.

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About storefront and compatibility information

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