Payday 2
2013 · Overkill Software
Has it aged?Why ↓
Payday 2 is a first-person co-op shooter where up to four masked criminals rob banks and jewellery shops across Washington DC. You scout security, bag the loot and haul it to a getaway van; the real pleasure is keeping that robbery moving while police assaults turn your careful plan into frantic teamwork.
PAYDAY 2 is an action-packed, four-player co-op shooter that once again lets gamers don the masks of the original PAYDAY crew - Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf and Chains - as they descend on Washington DC for an epic crime spree.
The publisher’s description, from its Steam store page.
What it looks like
the trailer, then the store's own shots
The verdict
Play it with friends who can lose a heist and still want another attempt. Dividing the work between bagging loot, tending drills and holding off police makes even a familiar bank worth revisiting. The drill-and-defend structure is repetitive, but the loud combat remains the strongest reason to play: abandon the fantasy of flawless professional thieves and enjoy being four criminals desperately trying to get the bags out.
Play it if
You like dividing jobs over voice chat, covering a friend's retreat and arguing about whether there's time for one more bag. You would rather salvage a robbery with heavy armour and gunfire than restart every time someone spots you.
Skip it if
Anyone who cannot stomach repeated robberies, prolonged waves of police or failed stealth attempts. If your crime fantasy depends on staying undetected without rehearsing the job, this will wear you down.
Common questions
- Do I have to complete Payday 2's robberies without raising the alarm?
- No: stealth earns bonuses, but going loud is a substantial way to play, with heavy armour, large weapons and police shootouts. Treat a clean robbery as a challenge to master, not the only acceptable outcome.
- What happens when a teammate is taken into custody?
- After a downed player misses their chance to be rescued, they are taken into custody. Hostages can then be traded to bring them back, so tying up civilians has a practical purpose.
- What are the multi-day heists?
- They are linked missions, with payment after the whole sequence rather than each individual stage. One job runs from stealing gallery paintings to a rigged sale and then raiding a politician's apartment.
- Does the Legacy Collection include every expansion?
- No. The 2019 change from Ultimate Edition to Legacy Collection defined it as the expansions developed through the end of 2018; it does not include every expansion from the development revival that began in 2019.
What everyone else said
we link, we don't reprintHas it aged?
How does it hold up today? Based on recent reviews, how opinions have changed since launch, player activity and updates.
% positive each month, last 4 years.
Reviews via Steam ↗Peak: 81k in Jun 2017.
Player counts via SteamCharts ↗A little less liked than at launch, but still well liked.
Updated within the last year, so still looked after.