WELCOME TO DA CULT!

After more than a year since PAYDAY 3 was launched, I finally feel proud to associate this Steam group to the unfortunate game it was. After a disgusting amount of patches, updates and fixes, PAYDAY 3 has finally landed in the state that it *should* have launched in.

Now, this will turn into a rant, so be prepared.

As of writing this, a lot has happened within the past 2 years since PAYDAY 3 was revealed. Multiple DLCs / collab content for PAYDAY 2 were [understandably] removed which caused many issues within the game itself. And looking at the game, it's now a decaying corpse and merely a shadow of its former self.

I myself have tried to return to PAYDAY 2 multiple times, I really did. But every time I did, I've met with countless issues and stupid decisions that Overkill approved. Whether it be missing content (expired DLCs), questionable gameplay changes (Marshals on all heists? why?) and/or the game's busted engine and servers literally committing suicide for no apparent reasons. I've tried my best to get back into former PD2 mindset but looking at the things I've listed above, can you really blame me for not being able to view the game the same way as before?

I miss those days when I was still rocking to Viklund's songs (i still do, sometimes). I miss those days when every heist felt new and refreshing instead of a tedious grind and obligation. I miss those days when I didn't care which weapons were good or bad. I miss those days back when I didn't care about the concept of dodge, and had fun in my own ways.
To me, what really killed PAYDAY 2 [for me] wasn't just the game itself decaying, it's that it suffered what I'm naming it as a "Minecraft syndrome" where the game was initially fun and creative but then all of it falls apart as soon as you start dissecting the game and begin to optimize it to gain the fullest advantage. And it clearly doesn't help with the introduction of new perk decks and the likes which only serves to break the game and the meta further. That, and the new weapons that were constantly being added. I really cannot look the game in the same light after that. Instead of seeing it as a fun unique sandbox heisting game, I can only see it now as an optimized beast where dodge rules and the majority of weapons get neglected in favour of a few [clearly] over-performing weapons.

And now fast forward 3 years after me retiring from PAYDAY 2 (after 500+ hours), we arrive with PAYDAY 3, which I saw it as a fix to all the technical issues that PAYDAY 2 suffered from, and also as a soft-reboot of some sorts to the gameplay. Anddddd, we all know how it turned out, so I'll be omitting the details here.
But now it's more than year since it's launched and it's finally a game that I hoped it would be. Better and stable server connections (I haven't been disconnected from a single lobby before, surprise?), better UI, modern QoL features, smooth movement, satisfying and amazing animations, killer soundtrack (by Gustavo but is able to emulate Simon's formula very well), and above all, revamped gameplay that feels like a mix between PDTH and PD2.

The game feels like PAYDAY. And playing it now, I'm feeling the same way as I did when I initially started playing PD2, just messing about, not giving a ♥♥♥♥ about the meta, just treating the game as a very well crafted sandbox. And it's been a blast.

So to anyone here that's still unaware of the state of PD3 and has been hesitant to play it, no need to worry anymore. Operation Medic Bag was a success.

Goodbye Thanks for all the memories, I'm gonna miss you so much.