Sometimes all a game needs is a simple hook, and Payday is a perfect example of this. It’s certainly not a game you play for the deep story or world exploration, and its shooting mechanics, while competent, are far from revolutionary. However, it is the fun and addictive co-op heist gameplay loop that embodies that “one more game” feeling that has seen the series become so successful. I spent hours upon hours playing Payday 2 on the PS3 and PS4 before giving up due to its console DLC practices. Now, 10 years after the release of Payday 2, Starbreeze Studios is on the verge of releasing Payday 3, which is set to launch on current-gen consoles and PC on September 21. Recently, I went hands-on with the game to get an idea of what Starbreeze has in store for heisters, and unsurprisingly it is more of an iteration than innovation, which quite frankly, is all it needs to be.
It’s important to start by saying that Starbreeze isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel here. It knows what Payday’s strengths are and what its players want: more of the same. It’s a bit like getting a new Breaking Benjamin album – to go in expecting radical change to a formula that has worked wonders would be a bit naff.
Taking place after the events of Payday 2, our four heisters (Chains, Hoxton, Dallas, and Wolf) resurface in New York after being forced out of retirement by old enemies. Interim Game Director Per Storløkken told me during an interview that the team chose New York as the game’s setting because it’s the “capital of capitalism,” and that “there’s a lot of interesting stuff to steal in New York.”
Another reason was that it allows the team to create a busier world, which sees more NPCs and traffic populate an area, meaning more eyebrows can be raised at your suspicious behaviour. It all ties into what Starbreeze is calling an “evolution of the franchise,” adding minor improvements to the gameplay loop.
The first heist I played was the Secure Capital Bank, where the goal was to break into the vault and take as much cash as possible. Much like previous Payday entries, a successful heist is built on solid planning, including scouting an area for entry points and threats. However, even the best laid plans don’t work out, there’s always someone who gets a little too confident – and that person was me. After sneaking in through a back door I identified a guard with a keycard. I attempted to nab it from them without success, forcing our team to go loud.
Once the action kicks off it’s important to get things done as quickly as possible, and in our case, we decided to burn through the roof of the vault by using thermite. It’s a slow process that will see you fighting off waves of police, with more difficult types joining the fun during the shootout. If you’re smart enough to capture some hostages, that will buy you some respite throughout the heist.
It wouldn’t be Payday without something stopping you from entering the vault, and in this particular heist, the cops can trigger the fire alarm which will put out your thermite. It brought back memories of the drill constantly breaking down in Payday 2.
After several minutes our thermite had done the trick and it was time to grab as much cash as possible and leave. It’s much easier said than done, as carrying bags of cash slows you down and by this stage you’re fighting some fairly challenging enemies, such as the Dozer.
Despite loading the getaway vehicle with a handful of bags we were hungry for more. Of course, the greedier you are, the more you risk leaving empty handed, which is exactly what happened. Police can raise bollards in the streets and you’ll need to lower them if you’re to escape. Sadly, we were overpowered and left to rue what could have been.
Running through that same heist again yielded a much more successful result. Although our point of entry was different, it didn’t take long for chaos to unfold. Luckily, lessons had been learnt from our previous attempt – actually that’s a flat-out lie, of course we tried to escape with as much as possible and we got lucky. But as Vin Diesel once said, “Winning is winning.”
Rather than immediately forcing you to go loud, being detected in a private area can see you simply escorted back to neutral territory, it’s what Starbreeze is calling a ‘soft fail’
The second heist we played was the Surphaze Art Gallery, where we were tasked with acquiring some paintings, and this time we endeavoured to take a more stealthy approach. Storløkken says that he hopes one of the biggest differences between Payday 2 and Payday 3 is how the game encourages you to approach stealth.
“Stealth in Payday 2 is very binary and you benefit from it by doing it solo,” explains the interim game director.
“We wanted to make sure that you were benefited by getting players into your team, whether that’s certain things getting easier or faster, or having soft fails. It means that people don’t come in and accidentally ruin your stealth experience, instead they can contribute and make things faster and easier.”
In this heist, the game’s stealth improvements were on show, with one of our heisters caught in an area they shouldn’t have been. Rather than immediately forcing you to go loud, being detected in a private area can see you simply escorted back to neutral territory, it’s what Starbreeze is calling a ‘soft fail’. It’s an excellent idea because it doesn’t ruin all your hard work if you make a minor mistake before putting the guns to use. Of course, being caught in a secure area automatically raises the alarm and triggers masks on, but best of all the game HUD will tell you what type of area you’re in at any given moment.
Another new mechanic is the ability to vault over objects and up onto platforms. Doing some recon on the art gallery I noticed a door on a higher level. Although vaulting requires putting your mask on, I was able to make my way to the doorway and sneak in undetected.
While our stealth approach only lasted so long, we didn’t wait around longer than we needed to this time, especially seeing as the police body count was piling up and the heavy hitters were starting to make their presence known.
Gunplay in Payday 3 does feel improved from its predecessor, but again it lacks a little bit of oomph that the best shooters have. During my hands-on time, I used an assault rifle, shotgun and handgun, and while they were all fine, none of them made me feel like the absolute badarse I know I am. Players also have access to an Overkill weapon, which will charge up during the siege and deliver devastating damage when activated. Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to use this during my hands-on time.
I will admit there is a small part of me that had hoped that Payday 3 had taken inspiration from a series such as Hitman, giving players a few more options to immerse themselves in the heist outside of simply stealing keycards and the like. For example, it would elevate the experience if you could knock out a guard or employee and take their uniform, allowing easier access into restricted areas. I do wish Starbreeze had given heisters the ability to take enemies down silently during stealth or to kick to provide combat and stealth with a few more options.
Outside of heisting, I perused the game’s menus, checking out the skill tree, which seems fairly rudimentary. I remember Payday 2 being a bit of a grind, so I asked Storløkken if they had got the balance right this time and he admitted that he wasn’t confident they do as of yet, and they won’t know until the game is in players hands.
“It’s something we’re definitely keeping track of because in order to space out how you achieve and get access to things, you need to do something to get there,” answers Storløkken.
“We can predict roughly how that will play out, but at the same time, when we’re testing we’ve been playing this game for three years, so the experience we’re having is going to be different to people coming into the game.
“We don’t want it to be the same kind of grind as Payday 2, but we also want to reward you for playing the game and unlocking things as part of that progression.”
As someone who loved playing Payday 2, Payday 3 is easily shaping up to be more of a good thing, and even better, all of Payday 3’s DLC will launch on consoles on PC on the same date. It’s the simple hook of heisting with your mates and racking up a body count that would put John Wick to shame in the process that just hits the spot. I’ve been craving a new co-op shooter, and after a couple of hours with Payday 3, I can’t wait to sink in hundreds more come September.
Previewed on PC // Preview code supplied by publisher
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Payday 3 launches on September 21 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
