Payday 3 doesn't radically change the criminal fantasy formula, but improves on it immensely

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.

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.

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