FPS co-op games are more popular than ever. They have dominated the online gaming market for years and don’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. While most have players take on waves of nightmarish zombies or fight against enemy soldiers, the mostly forgotten Payday 2 changes things up by throwing players into a life of crime.
Payday 2 may be seven years old, but it still provides gamers with an extremely fun and unique experience. The game allows players to live out their wildest dreams as a professional thief, as they complete a variety of different heists ranging from simple jewelry store robberies to elaborate military raids.
Each heist requires four players, with each one specializing in a certain discipline. One might be a tech specialist who handles most of the equipment, while another is an enforcer who keeps the police at bay. The goal of each mission is to steal a specific object while picking up as much loot as possible along the way. Players can choose to complete missions stealthily, or go in guns blazing.
There aren’t a whole lot of co-op games that revolve around heists and bank robberies. Payday 2’s original premise is one of the reasons the game is so appealing.
Most of the missions require good communication and teamwork, so planning each heist is particularly important. This causes players to build up a rapport with their teammates, which can be fun in itself. Stealing millions of dollars and breaking into secure bank vaults with a group of close friends can be an extremely enjoyable experience.
Payday 2 also has pretty deep customization mechanics. While the game doesn’t allow players to create their own characters, it does let them create their masks and modify a wide variety of weapons. Different mask styles, color schemes, gun mods and more will unlock as the game progresses.
After each mission, a player will pick between three cards containing unlockable features. These aren't revealed until a card is picked and then, players can only see what's on the other side of their chosen card. There are thousands of things to unlock, so players will likely gain new items every time they complete a mission.
Although Payday 2 provides a great co-op experience, it does have a few issues. The game has tons of DLC and paid unlockables, giving it a bit of a pay-to-win vibe. Some of the guns and missions can only be unlocked by purchasing DLC. It would be fine it there was only a handful paywalls, but Overkill, Payday 2’s developer, added way too many.
The good news is, the game and all its DLCs go on sale quite often. It’s common for the complete bundle pack to be 80-90 percent off during the bigger Steam sales. This helps out a bit, but doesn’t totally make up for greedy business practices.
Overall, Payday 2 is a wonderful FPS co-op title that steers away from most other games in the genre. Its complex heist missions and action-packed gameplay make it a true gem, despite being released in 2013. While paywalls can hinder the game’s experience a bit, it is still well worth the time for gamers who enjoy co-op FPS titles. Overkill has hinted of a sequel so hopefully, fans will get a Payday 3 sometime in the not-so-distant future.