Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.

Very Positive · 94%Very Positive · 94%2008

$9.99

US Steam price, checked 1 h ago · Lowest we’ve seen since Oct 20, 2026: $2.49

The verdict

A short, cinematic noir shooter with polished bullet-time gunplay and fun physics. The Steam version often needs community fixes on modern PCs. Skip it if you want a long, hard game.

Great for

Fans of noir stories and slow-motion action shooters who don't mind a short campaign and some tinkering

Main risk

Game may not launch on Windows 10/11 without unofficial community fixes

What players love

Improves on the first game

Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews

“the greatest sequel ever in terms of improving literally everything upon the original.”
Steam review · 7 h played ↗

“Everything from the first game cranked up. Slow mo is better, improved mechanics, graphics are slick”
Steam review · 4.8 h played ↗

“Mechanically and story-wise it's two heads above the first game.”
Steam review · translated · 7.7 h played ↗

Satisfying bullet-time gunplay

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews

“The slow-motion gunfights and diving through the air are just so satisfying.”
Steam review · 6.5 h played ↗

“Clearing a room full of enemies using Bullet Time feels even more satisfying here than it did in the first game.”
Steam review · 7.5 h played ↗

“Slow motion and stylish side dives turn ordinary fights into spectacular action-movie scenes.”
Steam review · translated · 6 h played ↗

Dark noir atmosphere

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews

“a dark and rainy New York doesn't prevent it from being a video game like a film noir with good action and a story that is both romantic and interesting”
Steam review · 18.6 h played ↗

“rainy New York, expressive dialogue and a gloomy soundtrack support the mood perfectly”
Steam review · translated · 6 h played ↗

“Max Payne 2 is rain, regret, and bullet time.”
Steam review · 8.8 h played ↗

Holds up well, runs on low-end PCs

Mentioned in ~1 in 6 positive reviews

“The game runs super smooth on low end PCs”
Steam review · 5.2 h played ↗

“Still holds up to this day without modification, fantastic old school action game”
Steam review · 4 h played ↗

Fun physics and ragdolls

Mentioned in ~1 in 7 positive reviews

“I just love how enemies react to every single bullet you pump into them, how they fly across the room with a perfectly landed grenade”
Steam review · 37 h played ↗

“the addition of physics makes the whole experience way better.”
Steam review · 5.2 h played ↗

“Physics of various objects: everything flies off from explosions and hits. Beautiful, sometimes funny.”
Steam review · translated · 7.7 h played ↗

Tragic noir love story

Mentioned in ~1 in 9 positive reviews

“The tragic noir love story between Max and Mona Sax is gripping, poetic, and melancholic.”
Steam review · 25.1 h played ↗

“The story of Max and Mona is memorable for its sad romance against a cruel, gloomy world.”
Steam review · translated · 7 h played ↗

What players complain about

Won't launch on modern Windows

Mentioned in ~2 in 5 negative reviews

“DO NOT BUY THIS GAME IF YOU'RE RUNNING WINDOWS 11 IT DOES NOT LAUNCH!”
Steam review · 0.3 h played ↗

“To actually PLAY the game, you have to install some unofficial fixes for it”
Steam review · 0.1 h played ↗

“The game simply doesn't launch. I bought it to play, not to scour the internet for fixes.”
Steam review · translated · 1.6 h played ↗

Weak, confusing or cringey story

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews

“This one makes absolutely no sense and relies primarily on a tiresome love story straight out of a soap opera.”
Steam review · 7.5 h played ↗

“Mona coming back from the dead is never explained”
Steam review · 4.7 h played ↗

“the story of part 2 is simply absurd”
Steam review · translated · 6.7 h played ↗

Worse than the first game

Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews

“Not as tight and polished as 1”
Steam review · 15.1 h played ↗

“Worse than the first game in every way except graphics and more dynamic gameplay.”
Steam review · translated · 13.6 h played ↗

Quicksave-heavy, frustrating checkpoints

Mentioned in ~1 in 21 negative reviews

“You will constantly have to abuse the quick save/load feature”
Steam review · 3.6 h played ↗

“when you die you have to restart the whole mission”
Steam review · 1.5 h played ↗

Too easy, bullet time overpowered

Mentioned in ~1 in 30 negative reviews

“In Max Payne 2 you spend almost the entire game in bullet time.”
Steam review · 7.3 h played ↗

“this game is just way too easy to break”
Steam review · 1.9 h played ↗

System requirements

From the Steam store page

Steam Deck: Playable

Minimum

OSMicrosoft® Windows® 2000/XP

Processor1Ghz PIII/Athlon or 1.2Ghz Celeron/Duron processor

Memory256MB RAM

Graphics32MB AGP graphics card with hardware transform & lighting support

Storage1.5 GB hard drive space

OSMicrosoft® Windows® 2000/XP

Processor1Ghz PIII/Athlon or 1.2Ghz Celeron/Duron processor

Memory256MB RAM

Graphics32MB AGP graphics card with hardware transform & lighting support

Storage1.5 GB hard drive space

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