On the surface, Payday 3 isn’t a sequel that radically changes the series’ established formula. Instead, it improves on what was already good about Payday 2, and makes the series’ heisting action feel far more believable. Starbreeze has always said it wanted to make the ultimate criminal fantasy game and, from what I played at a recent hands-on event, it definitely feels like Payday 3 takes a big step in the right direction.
The two missions I played during my hands-on included a traditional bank heist and a raid on an art gallery, the latter of which was tailored more towards players who prefer the stealthy approach. You can watch 4K gameplay from both of these missions, along with stealthy and loud playthroughs of the bank mission in my preview video below.
7 Ways Payday 3 Gameplay Will Turn Up The HEAT! NEW PAYDAY 3 4K GAMEPLAY STEALTH & LOUD APPROACHES Watch on YouTube
The first difference you’ll notice is the change of location. Gone are the bank vaults of Washington DC, as the action is now all set in New York. As you might expect, this change of place brings with it a brand new collection of buildings to ransack.
Visually, Payday 3 far richer than its predecessor. The surrounding environments are way more detailed, and you can catch a glimpse of New York’s gorgeous skyline in the opening to the art gallery heist in my video. One of the main reasons why the game looks so much better than before is the move from the Diesel 2.0 game engine used in Payday 2 to Unreal Engine 4. This move, Starbreeze told us, also brings the possibility of an upgrade to Unreal Engine 5 for Payday 3 in the future.