Payday 3 is here, and that means everyone gets to jump in and have a fun time robbing banks and doing cool stuff. That is assuming the game is working and you aren’t stuck in limbo for hours on end waiting for the matchmaking to work as you slowly go insane listening to the same music on repeat for all eternity, of course.
That minor gribble aside, Payday 3 is the third game in the series which I am sure comes as no surprise to anyone. This means some things have changed, some things have stayed the same, and we are going to exclusively talk about the former. Let’s dive right in so you can get back to stealing necklaces or whatever.
More Payday 3 content:
Is Payday 3 Cross-Platform? | When Will Payday 3 Be Set? | Will Payday 3 Be On Gamepass? | Is Payday 3 Always Online?
Always Online
The change everyone should be talking about prior to lamenting is the fact that Payday 3 is always online. Let me tell you, no game squeezed out of the development tube has ever been made better by being online 100% of the time. Not a single one.
Does Payday 3 break the curse? No. Payday 3 mostly works without hitch, but being forced to tether your platform of choice to the internet to play your game – even with bots – is nothing but a hindrance for players. It’s a practice that needs to die. It’s a change though, so it goes on the list.
Matchmaking Is Worse
Another change worth talking about is matchmaking. Payday 2 had a pretty nippy system where you loaded the game up and then hopped into a game with minimal downtime. Payday 3 abandons that model for matchmaking that takes noticeably longer – even when it’s working as intended.
Will this get fixed over time? Who knows, but as it stands, the game can be a bit hit-or-miss on getting you into a game quickly. Some sort of lobby system to go with matchmaking would have been nice too.
Looks Prettier
That’s all the negativity out of the way though, let’s delve into some cool stuff – like graphics. Payday 2 was showing its age. The game originally launched on the PS3 way back when, and whilst it got some visual tweaks for more modern systems in later life, it didn’t cover up the wrinkles.
Payday 3 on the other hand looks like it was tailor-made to run on the swankiest of tech, and it looks gorgeous as a result. Textures are better, animations are smoother, and it’s a joy to behold from heist to heist. The only negative is that we feel like the gunplay feels less crunchy – and we like a bit of crunch to our shootouts. A minor gripe on a stellar performance.
Platform Parity
If you played Payday 2, you know that game was a mess. There were all kinds of ports, updates, and versions of that game. The original releases of Payday 2 became obsolete and ceased updating, the modern releases were fine once they got tarted up, and the Switch version…we don’t talk about the horrors of the Switch version.
Payday 3 though fixes all of that by making sure every version of Payday 3 actually works. Starbreeze has even come forward and said that everyone gets everything and it’s all honky dory. How long will this last? Nobody really knows. But for now, at least you can play Payday 3 on any platform and actually get to play a supported version of Payday 3. Swell.
Change Of Scenery
Payday 2 took place in the wonderful Washington DC, and we have fond memories of casing joints and stealing bits and bobs. It would suck to rehash old ideas though, and Payday 3 agrees with that notion. As a result, Payday 3 is set in bustling New York City, and that’s kind of cool.
New locations to explore, new NPCs to take hostage, and new heists to undertake. It’s all good stuff. Sure it’s still a big US city, but it’s not the same big US city.
Use Everything To Progress
Progression has been overhauled in Payday 3 and we wouldn’t necessarily say for the better. In Payday 2 you did heists, and you got cool stuff. Do harder heists, and get cooler stuff. It was simple. It made sense. You can do what you want, and as long as you succeed, rewards come your way.
Payday 3 doesn’t like the idea and instead opts to go with a Challenge system. To level up you are going to have to complete challenges with every weapon and piece of equipment – whether you like it or not. Whilst this does encourage experimentation, which is a good thing, it also forces you to use weapons you don’t want to use, which is a bit naff.
Hostages Are More Versatile
Payday 2’s Hostages were limited in what they brought to the experience. Sure, they have a use, and that use is of vital importance on harder difficulty levels. But they only did that one thing, they only made it easier to revive upon being clapped.
Payday 3 fixes this elegantly by giving Hostages multiple uses during a Heist in addition to retaining their Payday 2 ability. The most immediately obvious is the ability to trade them for more time between waves. This lets you catch your breath and potentially crack a safe before the cavalry comes charging in.
You can also use them as human shields, which is less effective than you might think, but it is cool to do nonetheless. The police in Payday 3 are expert marksmen so they will full-auto you in the head from across the room regardless of how many Hostages you put in the way.
That’s all we have on Payday 3 for now. Be sure to check out our other lists and guides for more Payday content.
