The goal is simple: a player walks in, grabs something and goes out unnoticed or fighting off resistance.

“Payday” is a video game series that follows the schemes of a heist organization set on taking money from corrupt agencies and governments. Four players play the gunmen responsible for completing the main objectives. The four players can pick between the four characters and take over banks, jewelry stores and museums. As the player goes along, they can go in silently, which requires more puzzle and logical thinking, or you can mask up and go in guns blazing.

“Payday 2” favored players who were looking to play a “Call of Duty” type of game, full of weapons and comically large spoons, without consideration for the other half of the game and the puzzles it entails. The scheme requires hours of gameplay, with loud approaches so the player can buy things like lock picks and drills. “Payday 3” promised to change that, and it certainly did. Starting the game fresh from level one and being able to fairly strategize an approach was relieving.

“Payday 3” was initially hard to get into, as the servers were often down upon release, as expected for a new video game. When I finally got into a game, it did not let down on its promise; solving puzzles and figuring out how to steal the maximum amount of things was incredibly immersive.

The wide selection of game modes offers a variety of map changes, as choosing a higher difficulty can offer more diverse challenges, like more intricate puzzles, more intelligent AI and indestructible cameras. 

As for the single-player functionalities, it is slightly sad to see offline play removed, and it was hard to find a valid reason answering why they did that. On the other hand, the AI teammates that can replace player slots are helpful, as you can give them things to hold and they don’t require much help in a gunfight. It would be beneficial to provide a command, as most bags can only be carried one at a time, almost doubling the level’s length.

Many players have complained due to some features being removed, such as offline play and the melee system. While there are some much-needed tweaks, fans of the franchise fail to realize “Payday 2” was equally faulty when it came out.