+ Beautiful Graphics / Game Runs Smooth
+ Great Animations
+ New Stealth Mechanics
+ Special Enemies are Actually Scary
+ Customization

- No Servers
- Skill System is Complete Downgrade
- Lack of "Builds"
- Low Amount of Heists
- Super Short Heists
- Story is EXTREMELY Shallow
- Gun Damage is Pathetic

My Review will change as hopefully patches are released quickly. I have 400ish hours on PAYDAY 2 and acquired the Death Wish Skull Mask if you are looking for a review from an actual long time PAYDAY Player. A lot of people are saying that PAYDAY 2 on release had fewer maps and fewer features. But to that I say why didn't Starbreeze take all the good from that game and build off it? Why did they feel the need to strip the game to something that is comparable to PAYDAY 2 on release (but arguably worse) instead of using the game that was so well loved and utilizing all the development time that went into it over the past decade. WHY START OVER?

1. Currently can't play the game / Searching infinitely.
I bought the GOLD Edition and received 3 days early access. The servers were decently stable for those three days. However, I am unable to play now as when I try to create a game with friends, it searches indefinitely.
Typical for a company to have server issues on release, but I have no sympathy for this as this game did not have to be 100% online in the first place.

2. Skill System.
The way to unlock further skills in the tree is very limiting. It's very similar to perk sets from PAYDAY 2 in the sense where you need XP in them to unlock the skills further along the tree. However, that means that to optimally unlock the skills, you need to place a skill point into the basic of all the trees you can in order to unlock them fully, making it extremely boring and unable to make "builds". Also, the skills seem so... generic and minuscule compared to how wild they were in PAYDAY 2 to where they don't make a huge change in gameplay.

3. Lack of Actual Builds.
PAYDAY 2 was amazing in the fact that there were many different ways to play it. Dodge builds, suppressor crit builds, Grindr LMG builds, etc. But in this game, it's so cut and dry when you play loud that applying skill points barely changes the game. I hope they rework the entire skill tree to be like closer to PAYDAY 2 than where it is now.

4. Low Amounts of Heists / Short Heists.
This part really surprised me. There are only EIGHT heists of which all are only 1 day. They seem so quick to finish even when fully stealthing to the point where it almost doesn't feel satisfying. Considering the first DLC heist is scheduled to be at the end of this year, there really isn't that much re-playablility giving the lack of differences the skill tree and weapons makes especially with only 4 difficulties on release. If you look in the challenges section, there are 300 XP rewards for completing a map 150 TIMES. Do they really expect someone to find it that re-playable to every get that? I suppose you could given how quick they are to complete.

5. The Story is Disappointing.
I understand that the game was created during the big CRYPTO Currency hype over the last couple of years, but this story is just embarrassing. Random characters are just introduced with no good reason, Shade is a boring narrator compared to Bane, the heist contractors feel so fake. There are no twists in the "story" and it boils down to "You pissed off the CEO of GenSec and other elites so we need money and crypto to get back at them!". It honestly feels like a bundle of maps created by a first-time story creator that were released onto a modding website than an actual story-development team.

6. The Gunplay
The guns are modeled very nicely and the sounds and animations are fantastic, but it honestly feels like you are shooting BB Pellets at cops. It baffles me that a headshot with a .308 rifle on the easiest difficulty isn't an insta-kill on basic SWAT units. They need to buff the damage you deal as it the enemies are way too spongey considering the player has a more fragile health and armor system. I understand that it's an arcade shooter and it shouldn't be compared to real life, but it's not a good feeling when the guns don't feel like guns. I support having the higher difficulties making it to where they require more, but the easiest difficulty should be one-shot one-kill like it was in the previous game. Especially considering there are no headshot skills or damage increases past the 10% EDGE buff.

7. Graphics.
The graphics are phenomenal and the maps look beautiful. The game runs smoothly and I give the graphic designers of Starbreeze a round of applause. I love the physics of the game so far and think that the graphics and map design are direct improvements from PAYDAY 2. I hope this standard is kept moving forward.

8. Stealthing Mechanics.
The new casing mode stealth is so much fun and gives you another way to play a stealthable heist. The interactions with guards is awesome and I love the idea of areas being either public, private, and secure. There is a lot they can do with this new mechanic implemented in the future.

9. Special Enemies.
The special enemies are actually scary and can ruin your heist if not dealt with accordingly. I like that they took the risk of adding a new enemy type and it seems fitting in the PAYDAY universe. Shields are still scary and need teamwork to deal with or good aim right at the shield window. Cloakers are super cool in the way they arrive on the map; crawling from under benches, wall running towards you, hidden in more realistic ways, I'm a big fan. Bulldozers are actually super scary and I enjoy their taunts a lot. They gave their special enemies more personalities than the last game and I love it.

10. Customization.
Looking past the gun levels needed for gun mods, the actual customization of your character and weapons are very good. I feel like a lot of effort went into this since most of their DLC will be weapon packs and tailor packs, so it makes sense that there is going to be a lot you can do. Like stated before, the guns look beautiful and there are tons of little things added like charms and stickers that make it more personable too. There are tons of suits and gloves added but honestly the amount of masks at launch is pretty low. Though I have no doubt they will add more as time comes.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope that I can change this review for the better in the near future.