Payday 2 official review (PC)
Payday 2 is a first-person shooter and heist simulator game by Overkill Studios and is the sequel to the first Payday game. The game focuses on the Payday gang, which [initially] consists of Dallas, Wolf, Chains, and Houston. These four criminals do various burglaries, robberies, and various other illicit activities, all in the effort of making it rich (and probably for the sake of the challenge too). Each of these heists is structured differently, with specific objectives for the gang to complete before jumping in the getaway van. The setting of Payday 2 takes place in Washington D.C., so it's hard to say who the real criminals are anyway. So, to begin, let's look at the game's graphics.
Payday 2 puts a lot of emphasis on realism, so the graphics are pretty realistic. The character models are lifelike and have a variety of idle and action animations, so whether your AI crew (offline/single player) is standing back smoking cigarettes whilst you wander around in quiet mode, or shooting up the feds during a bank heist, you'll find the graphics to be immersive enough. The environments hold up to casual scrutiny, though certain up-close details are bare. This is probably why the frame rate is so good, however, and it certainly doesn't detract from the overall aesthetic.
The controls are fairly standard for FPS games, with either keyboard and mouse for PC/laptops and a controller/gamepad for consoles. The actions that the players can take are interacting with various items, whether lockpicking doors or safes, accessing camera feeds, placing shaped charges and other explosives, setting up turrets, dropping medkits, ordering civilians to drop to the ground to zip-tie them, setting up the drills on safes, etc. The shooting mechanics are pretty standard, though you can additionally visualize critical hits and hit markers on enemies, and certain unique enemies [often] need to be shot in specific places for maximum effect. Beyond the specific heist objectives and interactions, there is an RPG element to the game as well. For example, when characters level up, they can put points into special abilities that increase their stealth or combat abilities. Players can also spend money on weapons, weapon attachments, masks/accessories, as well as buy missions and special favors. Additionally, the devs offer a VR mode for this game, which is quite thrilling and works quite seamlessly between VR and non-VR players, who can play simultaneously in multiplayer. You can play in multiplayer and alone, though both have advantages and disadvantages. In multiplayer, there is a more fun team dynamic, in which people have to cooperate to achieve their goals, though there is always the chance of a noob or, to quote Heat, a "last-minute replacement", who can mess things up for you if they aren't good at the game. However, the player/crew AI has only been recently updated to be helpful in offline mode, though they can take a lot of punishment from enemies before going down, which can be useful on difficult loud missions. However, over a certain difficulty level in loud mode, real players are essential. Any stealth mission can be achieved on maximum difficulty solo, however.
As for the story itself, beyond heisting, Payday 2 centers around the various allies and enemies the Payday gang make throughout their heisting career and the subsequent consequences of their illegal trade. There is a lot of intrigue in the criminal underworld, with storylines dealing with everything from gang rivalries, crooked politicians, Mexican Cartels, and even seasonal heists during Halloween and Christmas. Though the game focuses on heists, there are unique circumstances that the gang has to adapt to, such as betrayals and double-crossers, jailbreaks, police interference, rivalries with private security groups and other gangs, and others. However, the gang - and its consistently growing numbers (you can even recruit and play as one of the original crew from the first Payday, Hoxton) - are the glue that holds the narrative together, including their consistent handlers, Bain and Locke.
Speaking of realism, let's talk about the gameplay. Payday 2 is advertised as a heist simulator, and it certainly lives up to its name. The intricacy of the level design and game mechanics is quite complicated, with several hurdles the player(s) has/have to overcome to complete their main objective(s). First of all, there's often a choice in how one approaches the mission, with some allowing players to "go loud" or operate in stealth, whilst others are strictly one or the other. In stealth and/or casing mode, players have to avoid cameras, avoid alarms, avoid alerting civilians and guards, etc. There are ways around each of these hurdles, however. One can disable cameras with a jamming device, placing a feedback loop, or breaking them (the latter option is dangerous, however, as guards and civilians will notice this). All of the various triggers are interconnected. If you look suspicious, guards and civilians can react, the former by calling the police, and the latter by getting a guard or pressing a panic button. Other ways to avoid getting caught are killing or tying up guards and civilians. For the former, you can force them to surrender or kill them, though you will have to answer the guard's radio/pager afterward, upon which you have three-to-four attempts to convince the guards that nothing is wrong. For the latter, you can even order them to move around (assuming they're still alive). If they're dead, however, you can put them in a body bag and hide them so no other guards or civilians see them.
However, assuming all that fails, and the police are called, the game switches into "loud mode", and the objectives change to accommodate the new dynamic. The game discourages killing civilians, but there is less mercy shown for the cops (except in special events), though, for the most part, the enemies are federal agents (especially the FBI, which is corrupt in real life so don't feel too bad about it). These enemies range from standard to armored units, as well as specialty enemies, including riot shield officers, taser cops, "bulldozers" (heavily armored units, similar to juggernauts in Call of Duty), snipers, "cloakers" (dangerous, acrobatic and stealthy spec-ops units), and medics (I actually thought those would be a fun addition long before they came out). There are also non-standard enemies like gang members as well. As one can see, there are myriad decisions and obstacles one faces during each heist, and there are even challenges that one can attempt to accomplish during said heist (achievements) which yield cosmetic and gun rewards. If a heist is successful, the game will award you with money and experience, both of which I will discuss in detail later, as well as a random bonus item at the end.
The controls are fairly standard for FPS games, with either keyboard and mouse for PC/laptops and a controller/gamepad for consoles. The actions that the players can take are interacting with various items, whether lockpicking doors or safes, accessing camera feeds, placing shaped charges and other explosives, setting up turrets, dropping medkits, ordering civilians to drop to the ground to zip-tie them, setting up the drills on safes, etc. The shooting mechanics are pretty standard, though you can additionally visualize critical hits and hit markers on enemies, and certain unique enemies [often] need to be shot in specific places for maximum effect. Beyond the specific heist objectives and interactions, there is an RPG element to the game as well. For example, when characters level up, they can put points into special abilities that increase their stealth or combat abilities. Players can also spend money on weapons, weapon attachments, masks/accessories, as well as buy missions and special favors. Additionally, the devs offer a VR mode for this game, which is quite thrilling and works quite seamlessly between VR and non-VR players, who can play simultaneously in multiplayer. You can play in multiplayer and alone, though both have advantages and disadvantages. In multiplayer, there is a more fun team dynamic, in which people have to cooperate to achieve their goals, though there is always the chance of a noob or, to quote Heat, a "last-minute replacement", who can mess things up for you if they aren't good at the game. However, the player/crew AI has only been recently updated to be helpful in offline mode, though they can take a lot of punishment from enemies before going down, which can be useful on difficult loud missions. However, over a certain difficulty level in loud mode, real players are essential. Any stealth mission can be achieved on maximum difficulty solo, however.
As for the story itself, beyond heisting, Payday 2 centers around the various allies and enemies the Payday gang make throughout their heisting career and the subsequent consequences of their illegal trade. There is a lot of intrigue in the criminal underworld, with storylines dealing with everything from gang rivalries, crooked politicians, Mexican Cartels, and even seasonal heists during Halloween and Christmas. Though the game focuses on heists, there are unique circumstances that the gang has to adapt to, such as betrayals and double-crossers, jailbreaks, police interference, rivalries with private security groups and other gangs, and others. However, the gang - and its consistently growing numbers (you can even recruit and play as one of the original crew from the first Payday, Hoxton) - are the glue that holds the narrative together, including their consistent handlers, Bain and Locke.
For the aforementioned reasons, there is a lot of replayability to be found in Payday 2, and I still enjoy playing it to this day. From someone who has been a player since the beta, it is incredible that the Overkill team keeps releasing DLC and other content every month or so, along with bug fixes and optimizations. The level of attention that has been given to the community is nothing short of incredible, and - though a lot of the extra content is paid - there is a lot of heart put into the content, and they try to make it new and original as well. Another cool thing they've done is collaborations with different fictional characters, who players initially meet as contacts and/or who become playable characters/avatars themselves, such as John Wick from the John Wick series, Jimmy from Hardcore Henry, Jacket from Hotline: Miami, and even Scarface from the eponymous cult classic film. I hope they continue this feature in the next game in the series.
The bottom line: If you enjoy FPS games in which there is a lot of action, tense and smart stealth gameplay during heists, and everything in between, you'll love Payday 2. The soundtrack by Simon Viklund is also incredible to listen to whilst playing. There are thousands of dollars worth of DLC and content to keep you entertained, and that's not even counting that the third installment, Payday 3, is just around the corner. Do yourself a favor and pick up this game before the third one is released, lest you miss out.
Verdict: 10/10
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