Payday 3
by Dan Lenois
reviewed on PC
Lock n' load...
Payday 3 launches with a total of eight missions, each offering their own unique objectives and layout. One day you're going about a typical bank robbery, and the next, you're breaking into a nightclub to steal cryptocurrency before the alarms go off and the data is automatically removed from the servers. Visually, each map stands out as graphically impressive, with wonderful dynamic lighting and art direction that makes every set piece distinctly pop out at the player. As has always been the case with any Payday game, the gameplay formula is often split evenly between frantic action and stand-your-ground moments, most of which are highly enjoyable.
While most of the levels range from fantastic to at least decent, there are two exceptions, for very particular reasons, being "Road Rage", a vehicle escort mission, and "Rock the Cradle", the aforementioned nightclub crypto robbery mission. The main Achille's heel for "Road Rage" is the mission's pacing. While most Payday levels run fairly long compared to most other cooperative shooter game levels, taking anywhere from twenty-five to forty-five minutes, depending on both the mission itself and players' skill, "Road Rage" is the only instance where the game not only runs long, but more importantly, feels long. The truck moves slower than a crouched player, and will stop every fifty or so feet, due either to some internal malfunction, or because of conveniently-placed potholes along the linear driving path. Players are all but forbidden to deviate from said path, as there are few alternate flank routes, and the truck will stop if there is no player immediately next to it.
The issues within "Rock the Cradle" are somewhat smaller in scope, yet often result in equivocal irritation. Unlike the other Payday 3 missions, the game gives you very little indication regarding how to fulfill the current main objectives. Players are left to their own devices in figuring out how to infiltrate the nightclub, how to get into the VIP section, how to get their hands on the crypto, and how to get out. Given the otherwise constantly-present objective markers in any other level, which all through walls and ceilings, providing a generous, sometimes excessive amount of handholding, the choice to not include any of that specifically in "Rock the Cradle" is jarring and bizarre.
Some content not included...
Payday 3 contains a grand total of eight levels, down from its predecessor's base total of twelve. Of course, diehard enthusiasts may be desperate to screech into the online abyss that the developers have tons of maps that they just can't wait to deliver, but they were rushed and had to get the game out. But, considering that Payday 3 has been reportedly in development for at least half a decade now, the decision to low-ball the content offering, in favour of prioritizing paid DLC expansions, feels as deliberate as it is disappointing, given Payday 3's price tag of $39.99, and the fact that a full initial playthrough can easily be accomplished within four to five hours.
For some, the idea of getting four or five hours' worth of value for $39.99 might be considered a fair trade, but for most gamers looking to save money where possible, this limited amount of replayable content is just one of several reasons they might want to hold back on purchasing just yet.
There's also the unfortunate business of Payday 3 currently being playable exclusively as an online-only game. There is currently no support for an offline mode. Even modes that the player would assume to be offline-compatible, such as the tutorial map, functions entirely as online content. Starbreeze Studios has confirmed recently that they are looking at the possibility of adding an offline mode, although they have not confirmed any explicit details beyond this vague assurance.
Bugs, crashes, oh my...
Payday 3, both initially at launch, and even now, is plagued with an overwhelming number of game-breaking and game-affecting bugs and issues. Online server failure was a constant recurrent problem, the game oftentimes would refuse to allow the player to adjust the resolution or framerate. Repeatedly during preparation for this review, the game would lock my resolution arbitrarily at ridiculous standards, including 1182x702, 1570x850, or 1900x1050, all the while chugging along at a grand total of 5-8 fps. Repeated forced program termination via Task Manager would eventually clear this up, but it was impossible to determine from that point on whether the game would ever bother to run at a native 1440p on its own accord.
Overall:
Payday 3, from a performance perspective, is an unsightly abomination, which veers unpredictably and drastically between visually-impressive beauty, and screen-tearing, game-breaking insensibility. Its small map pool, inconsistent mission design, and low-quality cutscenes consisting merely of a few PNG files accompanied only by VO and the OST, all collide to form something that can best be described an an early access game. Something that, with the benefit of several years' redemption, might one day live up to the high standards it chose to set for itself. But today is not that day.
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6.0
fun score
Pros
Varied level design, decent friendly & enemy AI, more detailed atmospheres
Cons
Limited content offering, constant bugs & hard crashes, forced online-only play