“You either die a villain, or live long enough to see yourself become the hero… rinse and repeat?”
With the third installment of the popular Payday franchise recently announced, a new age is upon us. Starbreeze and Overkill are hoping for a new(ish) beginning to the series’ somewhat messy history.
What lies in store for us is a mystery… for now. But we can speculate on the future of this bizarre narrative Payday 2 ended on three years ago. From where I’m standing, it isn’t promising, which hurts to say. As you can probably tell from the archive of the Snap scriptures, Payday is certainly a favorite of mine. As torturous as it to deal with this game’s… shenanigans, there still isn’t anything else like it.
Mindfully mindless, or mindlessly mindful?
But what I like about the game is apparently much different than what the community – and even more worryingly, Overkill – likes about the game. Mayhem: Aegis is a favorite mod of mine – it is my own – and I worry that the next Payday won’t have as much easy-to-access physicality, if at all.
Mayhem: Aegis was an attempt to restore the "low number of enemies but they have deadly tactics” approach, without changing player elements such as their weapons or skills.
This desire originates from what the developers originally intended, as detailed below....
In the beginning...
Behind all the goats, spoons, and YouTuber inserts, lies the desecrated results of what happens when a bunch of Swedish developers – inspired by a 1995 heist movie, a strategic first-person shooter, and a co-op zombie game with plenty of replay value – decide to mishmash the aforesaid ideas into a robbery simulator. The game sold with this mindset of being in a “tacticool” action movie – hell, it even came with its own cheesy web series.
The results were obviously brilliant, as the reviews had shown. They perfected a sense of pacing that very much contrasts the ludicrousness we have now.
You had to take cover, or else a single unit could be your demise. Miscellaneous enemy types such as FBI agents, Hostage Rescue units would be seen sneaking about, something that always spiced up gameplay.
A dynamic spawn system would strengthen unit types as the game progressed. This all gave Payday an expressive, action-packed, edge-of-your-seat experience. The enemies themselves were just as hesitant to advance as you were, unlike how they are now: charging into rooms knowing full well they will get instantly killed.
But… as the popularity dwindled, so coincidentally did these little details go out the window.
Returning back to our section, “Mindfully mindless, or mindlessly mindful?” – if Overkill decides to bring over what brought upon the downfall of Payday 2’s cleverness – that being less quirks for AI to make up for an overpowered inventory, among other things – it will be highly unfortunate. If there’s no ability to change any of this, what is the point... for me?
Forgive them for they know not what they are doing here...
Crimenet has become this ridiculous Mary Sue. It completely ruins the illusion that you're part of a top-secret underground criminal network.
At the height of their legacy, the most intense things the Payday gang did were still grounded in the realm of reality. Now, the pendulum never swings back to the Payday gang. At some point, they had received this magical ability to make the world's governments totally forget about the illegal possession of things such as nuclear bombs.
This degradation from street criminals to invincible killing machines with "all da connections" to get away with anything and everything – all the while citizens are totally nonchalant about society at large falling into criminal hands – reminds me of Grand Theft Auto: Online's current state.
Look, bigger is not better. Better is not bigger.
I can assure you, the game would’ve survived without some dross regarding time travel, Mayans, aliens… ugh.
And to think, Payday 3’s going to have to start off with this. The president (a reincarnation of Bain) will have ties to the Payday gang. Crimenet's influence will most likely take place on a global scale. The story might as well end with Crimenet controlling the world. You heard it here first, folks.
Payday 3 will have to continue in the realm of a shoddy science fiction, which isn't good news – not for me at least. I’m not holding my breath. I can appreciate an ominous, overarching story – especially if there’s some philosophy to be told – but there’s a limit, and this is simply mindless dribble. Modern Hollywood kitsch.
And just who are our heisters going to be exactly exactly? From the picture, which was shared by Starbreeze, it seems either Dallas, Hoxton, or Chains will be joining us...
...here's hoping it stays that way.
I'm dead serious on this: ever since Overkill found out how to add characters... the people we've had to endure are nothing short of terrible. Words cannot describe them.
Their personalities, their voices, their looks... everything is just awful. Who in the hell is Bonnie? Who hired the local trailer park trash? You don’t look good in a suit. You can’t polish a turd.
Ethan and Hila… don’t even get me started. What were they thinking?
The... "gang" that we have as of right now has absolutely no dynamic. They don’t communicate. They don’t even act like they’re part of an underground criminal network. Once again, it just breaks the illusion.
He who sups with Starbreeze should have a long spoon...
I would play devil’s advocate and shrug this off as an April Fool’s joke, but unfortunately, the golden spoon looks like it’s here to stay. I’m not exactly bothered by this, but I am bothered that Overkill is still continuing on with this… “wacky” mindset that they have…
But to play devil’s advocate once again… this game has long been contaminated with preposterous additions. Here’s hoping it acts as a quarantine while they keep the serious stuff in Payday 3, yes?
In conclusion…
Payday 3 is just beyond the horizon. What’s in store for us? Will the dawn of the third installment be accentuated by a greater, revitalized mindset by Overkill? Will it signal a transition to a new stage of life not only for the company itself, but for the punished Almir Listo? Is the series set to change the course for the whole gaming industry? Will we be able to afford every last bit of DLC, every single new level, every single new character, the new vehicles and everything else that will come afterwards?
I have no clue, but the day is getting near. I can feel it in the air. The zeitgeist of a new age is coming. As I stare at the new promotional art, starring four unknown figures gazing upon New York, as the city is flooded by a sunrise at large, rising east. Darkness envelopes the northern parts, representing despair amongst the "gods". The bridge lit only halfway through representing connections lost to evil. A shimmer only in the right eye of Dallas’ mask, representing the light of the future. Darkened is the left eye due southwest, in the direction of D.C, symbolizing ground zero of all their evils.
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