Can't recommend this in good faith to anyone who isn't a hardcore Payday 3 until the servers get fixed, but I am concerned for a number of reasons, even though I bought it day 1 and have thoroughly enjoyed the few times I've been able to play.

Payday 3 has massively improved some of the weakest parts of Payday 2, namely stealth being completely reworked into being extremely dynamic and rewarding while removing all of the tedium, The removal of detection, addition of public/private/secure areas, and an overall increase in the depth of the mechanics.

I'm also a big fan of most of the changes to loud, though the meta needs to develop before any real conclusions are drawn. the new skill system is interesting, the special enemies feel very dynamic and threatening, and while the heists are limited and somewhat derivative of previous heists, their complexity is tenfold anything seen in Payday before.

Now I am worried about a few things in Payday 3. The Infamy system seems quite grindy and annoying, and once you cap out it be pointless to continue playing outside of (my very real) love of the game. The lack of offline mode is annoying, and even assuming competent servers the matchmaking system currently blows and is nowhere near as easy and convenient as Crime Net.

I'm confident that Payday 3 will get to a spot where it's worth its price, albeit for someone cynical reasons. Overkill is not in the spot to squander any money, and the good will that the fans have for this game is in some respects worth actual value that they can't afford to lose. I'm pretty confident that many of the decisions that caused this game to be in an a weird or bad spot (online only, limited content, poor ui/ux, limited polish) are due to a combination of the engine being ported, the failure of Overkill software's other products, Overkill's near bankruptcy, the Covid-19 pandemic, Payday 2 being revived for development post White House, and Overkill's new publisher Deep Silver. There's plenty of excuses and legitimate failings of Overkill but I'm confident there's no lack of love for the unique experience they've managed to make with this series.

Don't buy Payday 3 right now, wait until things get ironed out and stable, and I'll update or remove this review when I feel that's happened. I look forward to recommending this game, but I can't as of yet.

Can't recommend this in good faith to anyone who isn't a hardcore Payday 3 until the servers get fixed, but I am concerned for a number of reasons, even though I bought it day 1 and have thoroughly enjoyed the few times I've been able to play. Payday 3 has massively improved some of the weakest parts of Payday 2, namely stealth being completely reworked into being extremely dynamic and rewarding while removing all of the tedium, The removal of detection, addition of public/private/secure areas, and an overall increase in the depth of the mechanics. I'm also a big fan of most of the changes to loud, though the meta needs to develop before any real conclusions are drawn. the new skill system is interesting, the special enemies feel very dynamic and threatening, and while the heists are limited and somewhat derivative of previous heists, their complexity is tenfold anything seen in Payday before. Now I am worried about a few things in Payday 3. The Infamy system seems quite grindy and annoying, and once you cap out it be pointless to continue playing outside of (my very real) love of the game. The lack of offline mode is annoying, and even assuming competent servers the matchmaking system currently blows and is nowhere near as easy and convenient as Crime Net. I'm confident that Payday 3 will get to a spot where it's worth its price, albeit for someone cynical reasons. Overkill is not in the spot to squander any money, and the good will that the fans have for this game is in some respects worth actual value that they can't afford to lose. I'm pretty confident that many of the decisions that caused this game to be in an a weird or bad spot (online only, limited content, poor ui/ux, limited polish) are due to a combination of the engine being ported, the failure of Overkill software's other products, Overkill's near bankruptcy, the Covid-19 pandemic, Payday 2 being revived for development post White House, and Overkill's new publisher Deep Silver. There's plenty of excuses and legitimate failings of Overkill but I'm confident there's no lack of love for the unique experience they've managed to make with this series. Don't buy Payday 3 right now, wait until things get ironed out and stable, and I'll update or remove this review when I feel that's happened. I look forward to recommending this game, but I can't as of yet.