PAYDAY 3

i normally don't write review let alone a negative one but this game is so close to unplayable that i want to keep trying to see if it randomly starts working. i loved payday 2 when i finally played it and when i saw payday 3 was able to pre-order i did that second. I find the game play itself good but with the sever problems its a irritable experience having to kill enemies twice and run through door was about 5 times and key items just vanishing into thin air.

I wanted to try the game out, since I've been a big fan of Payday 2, and heard the server issues were fixed.
However, I don't think I enjoyed myself all that much. :(

It's a fun game to run and shoot around in, BUT after trying it for myself, XP really is such a grind. What sucks most is that most of the fun guns, cosmetics, and such are level-gated, so adding a heavy grind to just GETTING those items really discourages play for fun.
In a sense, its like modern Call of Duty.
Account XP adds up and unlocks guns and character cosmetics, unless you grind and do challenges.
Weapon XP is separate, so attachments are further locked off from play unless you grind and do challenges with that weapon.
This alone has me not recommending it, since at the very least, weapons and attachments should be easily unlockable in the leveling system so you can focus on unlocking character cosmetics.

Second,
The servers aren't really fixed, least from what I played. The majority (if not the only) matches that would run were solo queue, with public seemingly locked behind Crossplay. Crossplay, whenever I tried to join a match, would chug my laptop to single digit frames or crash out matchmaking entirely.
Bear in mind, I was able to run the game at a near smooth 60 FPS on high settings. It's optimized fairly well, but always online and the Nebula account system genuinely weigh down the experience.
In a Co-Op focused game, I can't enjoy playing with anyone. The only time the game works is when I'm solo queue and no one else is able to join.

As a result of both above, I'll be seeking a refund.
I don't think I'm coming back until after some months, if not a year. Until they do a re-work ala Darktide, and improve their server stability and matchmaking system.

tbh I don't know why everyone is hating on this game. I haven't had any trouble when playing. My queue times are normal, I'm not bothered by the exp system and if you're annoyed by the no single player feature just put it on friends only or invite only. It's not that hard. Besides, it's fun to play loud or stealth and although it can get repetitive with the limited maps it's still good and fun to play even by yourself

Things I like:

• Better stealth
• Better graphics

Things I don't like:

• Harder loud (My armour takes forever to regenerate and always running out of ammo)
• Cannot complete some actions and achievements in solo
• Need to queue for a private game
• Noticeably limited selection of weapons, characters and missions
• Usually unable to get a full lobby
• Game will only match players into a new game, if a player leaves, you will be forced to play with some handicapped AI teammates for the rest of the game.
• Server crashes
• I want to do melee to enemies, not give them a comfy massage
• Winning rewards players with very little money, that's why the heisters become homeless now (Safe house where?)
• The new XP System sounds funny

Payday 2 is undeniably better for now, need improvement

5/10 because I don't want to give a score that is too low

games good in its ideas but with the launch, the lack of features, and some of the marketing bs I think its a let down. 9 times out of 10 i quit this game feeling let down. Im not trying to always play with a full squad. Im also not trying to do the heist 11 times because of the brain dead ai. So i quit and I play another not shit game. Seriously isnt this supposed to be fun?

I want to start out by saying I love payday,

But there's a few glaring issues that need addressing, most glaring being the fact that the game punishes any player who prefers to play alone. Matchmaking for games I'm playing solo, making it impossible to pause the game. Which to me is forgivable albeit unfortunate. What is less forgivable is the core gameplay mechanics that directly punish solo players, the most blaring of which being the dye packs on "no rest for the wicked" when playing solo you are essentially guaranteed to lose half your payout to these.

The low content flow I can handle, the game just came out and making content takes time. I'm not apathetic to this. This by itself would not be egregious, but when you pair it on top of the load times and need for multiplayer gameplay it can be a bit abrasive.

A game I thoroughly enjoyed playing, the Gearbox game "Battleborn" was also always-online and when the game fell through and the servers shut down I could no longer play this game I enjoyed so much in any regard. The idea that this could happen to one of my favorite franchises "Payday" genuinely upsets me.

I believe in Starbreeze and the Payday team, I think this has the potential to be an amazing game, the bones are there. But could I in good conscience recommend this game in its current state? Not really. Don't give up on them it can still be great, but be wary. The gameplay overall is still fun and that Payday charm is still there, the support for Payday2 after all these years leads me to have high hopes going forward.

I hope to be able to come back in the near future and leave a more positive review.

note: I find it hard to check not recommended, its too broad and I don't hate the game. My full opinion is summed up in my words here.

In it's current state - I can't recommend it.

The in-heist mechanics and graphics are on par with other games, and the gun play feels better than most PvE co-op games, but any redeeming qualities this game has are vastly overshadowed by it's poor excuse for a progression system, and always online requirement.

Rather than letting players progress through the game playing how they enjoy and having fun, if you want to level up to unlock things, you'll be forced into completing very targeted challenges, a lot of them, and it's the only way to level up at all.
At 60 hours of game time, probably 25 of that is trying to get matchmaking to work, and the rest is mindlessly grinding the same heists over and over again with different weapons and equipment for the sole purpose of completing challenges, rather than having fun with gear you enjoy using.

Payday 3: A Step Backwards from Payday 2

Introduction:
Payday 2 was a beloved heist-themed first-person shooter that captured the hearts of gamers with its addictive gameplay, extensive content, and a robust skill tree system. Fans eagerly anticipated the release of Payday 3, hoping for a worthy successor. However, upon its arrival, Payday 3 left many disappointed. This review will discuss how Payday 3 falls short in comparison to its predecessor, failing to live up to the high expectations set by Payday 2.

Lackluster Content:
One of the most glaring issues with Payday 3 is its lackluster content compared to Payday 2. Payday 2 boasted a wide array of heists, each with unique objectives, environments, and challenges. In contrast, Payday 3 feels sparse in this department. The game's limited selection of heists fails to capture the variety and excitement that made its predecessor so engaging. Players find themselves replaying the same missions far too often, leading to monotony and boredom.

Skill Tree Disappointment:
The skill tree system was a highlight of Payday 2, allowing players to customize their characters and playstyles. Unfortunately, Payday 3's skill tree is a significant letdown. It lacks the depth and complexity that made Payday 2's system so compelling. Skill choices in Payday 3 feel shallow, with fewer options for specialization. The absence of meaningful character progression is a major missed opportunity to enhance the game's replayability.

Failure to Innovate:
One of the most baffling aspects of Payday 3 is its failure to build upon the successful formula of Payday 2. Instead of taking the opportunity to refine and expand upon the existing gameplay mechanics, it seems as if the developers tried to reinvent the wheel. This decision resulted in an inferior product that lacks the charm and sophistication of its predecessor.

The Missed Potential:
It's clear that Payday 3 had the potential to be a fantastic continuation of the franchise. With the foundation laid by Payday 2, the developers could have simply refined the existing elements, added new heists, and expanded the skill tree. Instead, they chose a different path, one that ultimately led to disappointment for fans who were expecting more.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, Payday 3 falls short of expectations when compared to its predecessor, Payday 2. The lackluster content, underwhelming skill tree system, and failure to build upon the established formula make it a disappointing installment in the series. Fans of Payday 2 will find themselves longing for the depth and excitement that the previous game offered. Payday 3 had the potential to be golden, but it missed the mark by attempting to fix something that wasn't broken.

Not enough heists, smgs are pointless, armor system mandates the heaviest armor if you are not in stealth. Leveling system has not connection to heist completion but instead relies on completing challenges within the heist. There is a core of a decent game, but it is hidden underneath so much trash.

As someone who disliked PD2, I still gave it a chance and bought it a week after launch with almost all negative reviews. I enjoy it. The gunplay and movement is swift. The levels have different variations and tweaks that change, making them a bit more replayable. The Specials can be easy to deal with if adequately prepared, but hard to overcome if you're caught off guard. I've replayed the first couple heists a good amount now (I've spent 24 hours doing the first two, getting good at them before I take myself into a public lobby). I know it isnt everything everyones expecting, but its also about two weeks post launch, there is more to come. I've been reading everyone say its not like PD2, well the game is about a decade old so I fully understand that and actually welcome this change. While progression isnt the best implementation, it hasnt barred me from enjoying the game.

Still the same gang, still grinding to make money and infamy... Just a few differences.

Still needs to implement voice (or at least chat for consoles). Need more "skills" and clarification on how to "gain skill points"....

But heists are still amazing. And gun play and stealth are fantastic and feel great.

The Good:
Great Gunplay that makes every gun feel fun and impactful.
Genuine Difficulty that is aided by the games slower pace (compared to payday 2, this game still goes a mile a minute sometimes)
Fun heists that aren't absurdly complicated or drawn out
Fun albeit limited build variety
New stealth system is fun

The Bad:
Horrid progression system that limits all player xp gain to annoying, tedious, and boring challenges (that you cant even track in game) that will get old super fast.
No way to play offline, meaning even in solo matches you'll experience Payday's legendary desync and other server issues.
Really REALLY bad economy involving the new C-Stacks currency (how much it costs to get them and how many you need to get the items locked behind them) as well as preset guns costing $10-$20 million.
This one really boring heist mechanic that shows up in half the heists where you need to stand in a bunch of circles for like 10 seconds each.
Genuinely laughable UI that feels more like you're browsing you computers files than going through a menu.

Overall the game is a lot of fun and thankfully overkill seems to be listening and is planning on changing things i listed which is nice, but unfortunately in overkill's overwhelming wisdom they decided to launch the game with missing features that even payday the heist had.

Heists!!!
If you played Payday and/or Payday 2 I don't have to recommend this to you but this game is a first person shooter centered around heists. Banks, Diamond Stores, Art Galleries, you get the idea. Issues with servers at launch are no more.

TLDR; Games fun, but there is a lot of connectivity problems and other issues that need fixing.

Payday 3 is a game I enjoy very much, but at the same time I also hate.
Lets discuss the good things first:
-The core gameplay loop is fun, much like Payday 2.
-Progression feels more restricted, but in a weird way, I kinda like that later on you really have to work for levels.
-The stealth is so much more fun than in Payday 2, and stealth was my favorite part of PD2.
-The combat is challenging, but fun.
-There seems to be less special enemy spam in favor of tougher enemies.

Point being, the game itself is fine! If I could end this review here, I would.

Now onto the bad.
There is currently no way to play the game offline. This leads to a high demand for servers, long matchmaking times, laggy matches, and worst of all, NO VOIP. How am I supposed to use crossplay, a KEY FEATURE OF THIS GAME, and communicate with my team during the heist if I don't already know them. Now granted I say worst of all is that this is CURRENTLY the most aggravating thing in this game. Had I written this review on launch, my chief complaint would be that the servers didn't work for a whole week after launch. If the Developers want to make this game *GREAT* they need to heavily scale down this always online BS. Doesn't work for co-op shooter games like Payday too well.

A good improvement from Payday 2. I played during the closed beta, and it still is improving, payday 2 didn't have that much content when it came out either. AI seems to be improved atleast, Honestly though the matchmaking needs to be improved, thats the only issue I have.

Servers are fixed.
If you are on the fence about the game just wait a bit more to make up your mind, but I haven't seen steam comments reaching for reasons to hate the game more then here.
Don't jump on the bandwagon and just try it out if it looks interesting.

I wanted to wait until after the server issues had been fixed before writing this to give the game a fair chance and I'm glad I chose to wait!

I've played for around 60 hours so far and will say that the core game and it's mechanics are extremely fun! The gun play feels really good in game as do all of the weapons individually, the heists have also all been fun for the most part. Whether playing stealth or loud the objectives and tasks you have to complete also change so this helps the game to feel different.

If you're a stealth player then you will enjoy what Payday 3 has to offer - The stealth has been much improved from the previous game. You have much more versatility in stealth where you can interact with objects, doors, guards etc without even having to mask up. The changes implemented into the game around stealth have made a big improvement and I personally believe will make it much easier for people who might have previously struggled with stealth, and also makes it much more fun to play and try to complete heists without having to go loud.

I'm not going to ignore the elephant in the room and to be clear the game isn't perfect by any means, there's still a lot of issues and things that should have been implemented and carried forward from the previous game that aren't currently there. Just to name a few main issues I have:
- The AI is absolutely garbage, they don't revive each other and are about as much use as chocolate fire guards on the Overkill difficulty. So trying to play solo loud isn't always fun.
- Not always being able to change your loud out when in the heist menu, likewise not being able to mark a lobby as either Stealth or Loud for others to see.
- Not having an offline mode currently, meaning people who maybe don't have the best internet will struggle to play. Just generally means the ease of access to play isn't great.
- The progression system currently is god awful - You have set challenges you have to complete to level up rather than gaining exp from completing a heist. This can range from getting a certain amount of kills with a weapon, completing heists a certain amount of times both loud and stealth, deploying equipment a certain amount of times etc. This makes the game much more grindy as you can't just play with the guns you like or play the game how you want as you need to keep the challenges in mind otherwise you could continue to complete heists and not level up (The Dev's have stated they've heard the community feedback on this and there will be changes being made to the progression system)
- When completing stealth if you fail during a mission the randomised things for that mission stay the same, so for example the code for a door will always be the same, wires you need to cut will be in the same order, keycards will be in the same place etc. Some people might like this as if they fail it means they can quickly get back to the same point as you might've already gained all of the information around what the code is, where the keycards are etc so can just speedrun the level back to the point you failed at. I personally don't like this as it makes the stealth feel less tense and gives you a sense of "Well I can just take big risks because if I get caught I'll just restart with all the information and get back to where I was" so if you mess up a stealth it kinda feels like you can just cheese your way back to where you failed at quickly instead of having to restart into a complete random heist where the rooms/keycards/door codes change or move. As said, some people might like this, I personally don't because I think it takes the challenge out of stealthing, so if I do fail I like to leave the server and start up the heist again in a new lobby so the heist will be randomised again.

To sum up, in my personal opinion the game is really fun and I would recommend it. The servers issues aren't a problem anymore at least in my personal experience. If you're someone who likes to go in loud, all guns blazing and fight the cops to secure your pay then you will enjoy this game. If you're someone who enjoys trying to be sneaky and stealthing then you will really enjoy this game and the new changes around stealth.

Despite the issues the game has faced so far I also have to give props to the developers behind Payday. They have always been great at listening to community feedback and making necessary changes and I'm sure Payday 3 will be no exception to this rule. Instead of being radio silent around issues they've been actively keeping everyone well informed with the current game when updates/changes/issues need to be discussed or addressed. There aren't many other developers where you see such transparency and willingness to engage with the community during a very turbulent time with all the issues the game had at launch. Just give them a little bit of time and I'm sure we'll end up with a game that is not only as enjoyable as Payday 2 was, but also surpasses it!

Alright, listen up you delicious crabs and those of you with hands. This game is maximum wumbers aight. I was sitting in lobby for only 6 hours on launch day. Honestly it wasn't so bad until the prilk hit my tummy. But I'm getting off topic, This do be baller at the club both metaphorically and litcherally and honestly I think overkill did pretty ok. There are so many waifus in this game to date and I'm excited for all the content. I really blew it with Shade when I let the money get dye packed but I think we can work it out. I would love to give this game A 10/10 but my dear archer RevantheRenegade says and I quote "Payday Bad". But that was all him and has nothing to do with me for sure definitely. Lastly, I ate the forbidden toast in the bathroom and the guard caught me and now they wont let me out of custody. Send help.

its a good game and graphic more beret then the first release of the game but we need more mission to play it if we just have this one people will get bored soon and they not gonna play it again so please if the developer can add more mission in the next update its gonna be perfect

Its a great game, people get mad that there is not as much stuff as Payday 2 has even though it had 10 years to add things, also the matchmaking that got fixed. To be fair it ain't the best. XP sucks and the skills also ammo suck also but its cool. Stealth is far better and Loud gives you a run for your money with Bulldozers pounding their chest and ramming you. Tasers are buffed/debuffed, getting tased never ends unless the taser is dead and they are weaker and don't tase you as much. Also the AI, like team AI suck far more but in all its a good game and I don't want to spend my time writing a review that nobody will read

- No crime.net

- Awful XP system (Can only level up by finishing challenges)

- No pre game chat for planning

- Cant play offline

- Cant choose if you want to join a stealth lobby or loud they just throw you all in and watch the chaos go

- You cant make cool builds like in payday 2 skills doesnt have the same impact as payday 2

- No perk decks

- You don't receive cards after heists for special masks or other things like in payday 2

- I don't believe there is even an infamous system

- Only 8 heists in the game

They gotta fix all this if they want people back I HATE XP system i can spend 30 hours killing enemies and doing heists and get 0 XP because i didnt do challenge :( i didnt buy the game for challenge simulator challenges should be something extra for more XP or the credits thing or even money (It took them around 5 years to make this game if not more)

Game is in such a bad state. Lack of content. Horrible progression system. Terrible or lack-there-of server matchmaking. Also a laughable lack of animations. You're telling me that in a game about stealing money, that there is no animation for picking up anything. Everyone hated that recent crime boss game, but the animation work is a thousand times better which really helps the immersion and fun.
Also, Every match goes this way: start the game with 3 player lobby cause u cant find a 4th, then one guy gets detected 10 minutes into the game and then rage quits like a b***. Then the second guy leaves cause it's just the two of us now. So then it's just me by myself. Quit the match. Repeat.
Some good things: the music for the first heist is really good, and shotguns are really fun to use in this game. Absolutely do not recommend this game.

i dunno how to feel about this tbh, theres alot that I like such as the improvements to stealth/casing mode, I think combo heists are pretty sick rather than having to spec specifically into one or the other.

what I dont like is how theyve managed to make skills seem worthless, all focusing around those 3 temporary buffs, payday 2 did it so much better tbh

I also dont like how theyve simultaneously added more resources for the team to carry (armour bags), keeping ammo counts the same as well as cop numbers but doubling or tripling their normal health. It messes with the good flow that pd2 had and just serves to not make heists necessarily hard, but a drag.

I had and still have high hopes for the game its just that this aint it atm

Honestly, it's got good bones. The gunplay is pretty on point from what I've played. However, there have been so many fumbled decisions about this game. The poor progression system, the absolute clown fiesta of server issues from the launch. At the moment, I could probably recommend it if the game was $10-$15 dollars, but frankly, this game has been an excellent showing of corporate greed completely dumpstering the good will of a company.

3 steps forward, 5 steps back (at least).
Matchmaking-Error 3 is certainly one of the games. It has improved graphics, more dynamic enemies, and stealth has been refreshed. However, it has many downsides compared to its predecessor, Payday 2:
1. No offline mode
2. Removal of perks and no weapon-specific skills, leading to less replay-ability (especially in loud)
3. Weapon attachments, other than suppressors, extended mags and sights, feel useless (Please bring back numbered stats)
4. WiFi objective.
5. XP system

The game is currently so buggy, that even though ive only encountered one " repeatedly though" that literally halts completion , the overall state of the game and the forced live service just unenjoyable.

When the game is finished, and y our already a fan of the franchise, get it. For now it feels like a close beta.

Currently id give my experience a 4/10

The rating will likely raise to a 7 when it no longer runs like trash

The game is a hell of a lot of fun... until you're 20 minutes into a heist and the servers go down. The game is basically unplayable - of the 60 hours I've played, at least 20 have been spent dealing with server issues.

Save your money - it's worth $5 if you can get it on sale, but until the servers are fixed, I can't recommend the game. Tonight alone, the servers crashed out TWICE.

Absolutely disgraceful. ADD. OFFLINE. MODE. YOU. MORONS.

Don't get me wrong, this game, in my opinion has amazing potential and has very good qualities. But in its' current state. It is often more annoying than fun will all of the matchmaking error bullshit, crappy leveling system, and the bare bones challenges. I like that they have character customization, but it is also somewhat bare bones too. Very fun with friends when it works.

Once they fully fix the servers I wouldn't mind changing my rating though. There's just some problems that need to be worked out.

TLDR: Main gameplay is very fun but to actually level after 50ish the game highly encourages you to kill farm instead of engaging with the heists.

The core gunplay of the game along with the perks and heists are very fun and feel good to engage with pretty much all the time. Some weapons are better than others but pretty much everything is fun and usable on hard and very hard. Every heist feels unique and are all pretty fun to play on loud (I mostly just play loud). The game is definitely missing some pretty basic features like an unready button or a way to communicate if you want to stealth or loud before a heist starts but the gameplay really does make you want to look passed that and keep playing. that is until the game drives you into its challenge based progression system.

At first, you wont need to consciously think about the challenges and you will just have a good time playing heists but the challenge xp system makes your progression stagnate very quickly passed level 50. This causes your leveling to be much much slower than your money gain, and makes you stop caring about gaining money and only seek xp. You then end up needing to target farm challenges in order to keep your leveling going. To add to the problem, most targetable challenges are simply weapon kills or weapon kills in specific ways, so both the lack of xp and lack of need for money makes actually doing heist objectives pretty unrewarding, and you would be better off only killing enemies for 90% of the heist and then just rushing the objectives to leave the heist once you get a mountain of kills to actually level up. As I said, the main gameplay is really fun, but there is only so long I can mindlessly kill until I start to get bored and want for more.
To top it off, the challenge UI is complete garbage with no sorting or filtering, so you are better off using a 3rd party challenge tracker like PD3.gg

The devs said they made this system to avoid players grinding the same few heists to level up, but in its current state, you mainly just want heists with lots of enemy spawns to kill and not engage with the heist itself until you are ready to leave. I would much rather grind heists and focus on the heist mechanics themselves then just killing.
That's why the game would really benefit from having some xp given based off how well you do on a heist and some base xp for completing them. Engaging with the combat naturally and playing the objective, while the challenges are there to offer an optional acceleration of xp gain seems to be the best option.

At this point in time, I unfortunately would not recommend the game. I think the progression system needs to get fixed so you can progress reasonably through regular gameplay. Hold off for now unless you can get it on sale for like $20

I am holding out hope for this game with how good its core is and the fact that the devs have said they want to change the progression system but it is impossible to know how far down the line those changes will be.

Pros :
-Stealth / Mask Off Heisting is amazing, increased interactivity, more options and a combination of Masked off / on gameplay are a blast.
-Improved graphics, Improved interactions, taking human shields are all improvements on Payday 2.
-Bot Team mates sometimes drop helpful bags (Ammo, Armor, Med)
-New weak points on some specials make for some interesting interactions
Cons :
-Always online - even solo minimum mission queue times have been 1-2 minutes. First week of Launch = 0 game play due to server failure.
-Bot team mates are more useless then in Payday 2 when loud, they go down fast, cant fire at any type of range and have poor accuracy. In Stealth they still just stand around, unable to even carry bags.
-Cops are more bullet sponge then ever, most guns fail to 1 shot on head shot even on lower difficulties, and they continue to have suicide AI, rushing you when you need a second to recover armor even when your covered by teammates.
-Progression system, You only level by completing challenges, making the game feel like a F2P or Live service game, forcing you to grind each weapon, ability, and equipment to level up. Once you stealth a heist once or twice, its useless to do so again as you no longer gain Progression. You can gain 0 XP for a successful heist.
-Weapons nearly all feel weak, with mods no being clear on improvement or effectively not improving the weapon at all.

-Devs clearly wanted the players to play the way they see it an no other, punishing people that enjoy set weapons, Stealth, or not grinding every tool in the toolbox.

Wait till its 50% or more.

"Payday 3" is a game that truly understands and celebrates the art of waiting. Despite its tumultuous launch and seemingly endless queues, this game turns waiting into an exhilarating experience.

The queue system in "Payday 3" is a stroke of genius, keeping you on edge as you await your turn. The loading screens are interactive and engaging, offering mini-games and tutorials to make your wait enjoyable.

Once in-game, waiting continues to be a theme, whether you're waiting for teammates to ready up or for a safe to crack. The intentionally retro graphics pay homage to a time when waiting was part of the gaming experience.

In conclusion, "Payday 3" is a waiting time masterpiece. Its launch issues and extended queues are not flaws but deliberate choices that elevate the waiting experience. If you relish anticipation and savor the act of waiting, "Payday 3" is the game for you. It's a tribute to the patient souls who know that good things come to those who wait.

wait for more updates. If it isn't good in about 3 months, it was already bound to be shit so no one's really surprised

game is cool I guess but stealth sucks, single-player is shit, you don't know what you're doing half the time, feels not that great to play, story is completely incomprehensible what is even happening, soft-locks, and general gameplay sucks ass
Payday The Heist/2 is infinitely better even with their kinks and them being on shit software and engines from 10 years ago

game bad, wait to see if game good, game probably still bad

Graphics is good, and the mechanics are far more polished compared to the earlier games.
The game is also a lot more realistic compared to the previous. The stealth aspects are more challenging as well. Example in the art gallery where going through trip wires and motion sensors to get to the "precious" paintings is a rewarding approach.

Although the matchmaking issue has been alleviated, I do a feel the lack of content and limited range of heists available. Most players can complete the whole game within the first 20 hrs and what's left is grinding for levels through completing challenges.

The loud approach isn't as fun as the previous games. It not like the dumb coop shooter where players can spend an eternity cooking meth. The theme seems to be completing heists as quickly as possible, since armor chunks dwindles upon taking damage, and armor bags will deplete either by you or teammates. Without armor, staying in a heist is a bust. Thus, players will inevitable be led to a certain build, and there are little diversity to circumvent this approach.

I do hope the developers will improve the skill system, perhaps a little of the past glory, like ahem.. "shouting at teammates to revive them instantly" or "converting cops to become meatshields". I'm sure those broken skills were excluded for a reason, but well.. this is PAYDAY!

I see you, Payday Twitter Man. I know you know. I know your bosses are tired of the memes.
Hand over the Jacket, and this review turns around. Maybe.
Cuz after the server fixes it seems like a fun time with friends. But ATM it needs more heists.