Payday 2 may have been released in 2013, but it remains one of the most played games on Steam for good reason. With Payday 3 scheduled for release sometime this year, I thought it would be a nice time to take a look at what this co-op heist game with the slick graphics has had us robbing banks and taking names for a long time.
Let’s start with the variety of ways Payday 2 allows you to handle its tasks. Many heists can be performed quietly through stealth runs or as loud as action-packed attacks. Payday 2 added a lot of depth to the stealth elements, such as members of your crew not wearing stealth masks to blend in with civilians, and making “quietness” a viable tactic. This means that the player’s choices make missions feel unique across multiple playthroughs.
Going in loud, random item locations and Overwatch have less of an effect on you since you’ll be running around with guns all the time anyway, but it’s not monotonous by any means, since unique and powerful enemies like the Bulldozer and Shield can pop up at any time. Their interference could be anything from a minor bump in your speed to a mission ending disaster depending on your situation, so always be on your guard.
The quiet/loud separation is far from the only thing that affects your choice of playstyle, since many important items like access tokens or tools often have random locations, as do parts of the map like doors and security measures. This makes quiet something you have to plan for every time, checking the area without your mask to see where you’re going and what obstacles you have.
You have access to many customization options, too; You can spend your robbery earnings on a variety of new goodies to work with, including an arsenal of guns, melee weapons, and shields. Additionally, completing heists progresses through feature sets and skill trees. Your perks and skills can completely change the way your character operates. This can come in the form of improving your ability to sneak and detect threats with the Ghost skill tree, improve your survivability and close-range combat ability with the Enforcer skill tree, or increase the efficiency and uses of limited-use equipment using Mastermind and Technical skill trees.
Payday 2’s solid foundation and variety of gameplay has kept it relevant long after many games of the same era had fallen dormant. It’s outlived the likes of Aliens: Colonial Marines and Killing Floor 2, and bringing that kind of legacy to modern technological standards will help make it relevant for much longer. A lot of great things could come from introducing Payday to the current generation, and if Payday 3 keeps the pace and diversity of its predecessor, there’s a good chance it will be as repeatable as Payday 2.
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