Payday: The Heist is fifteen years old this year, and it's still possibly one of the greatest horde shooters of all time. That includes some fierce modern competition: Helldivers, Killing Floor, and even its own sequels. None can quite beat the first Payday.
The gunplay is smooth and the heists are perfect. Every weapon handles well (they better, since there are so few), and the four upgrade trees provide clear goals and make every weapon (and its upgrades) feel like a reward. Cops die when you hit them in the head and are not bullet sponges, but neither are you: You are incredibly vulnerable, especially at higher levels, and one mistake or tactical error can cost you an entire heist (and wonderfully, make it feel like your fault, not the game's). You die in seconds, but so do the enemies. At higher difficulties, it almost becomes a strategy game. The gameplay loop is without error: Assault, cooldown, and assault again, and between these things try to do an objective, but the originality and flair of each heist never makes it boring.
It eats the lunch of the movie Heat: Every heist has a punctual story, growing in volume until it comes to a bombastic finish (usually involving a large explosion or a helicopter). The characters are obnoxious, but not annoying. Apart from personal taste, it's almost impossible to hate any single character. Bain is a perfect announcer, and all four heisters are every movie archetype (The cool leader, the aggressive-but-cautious brawler, the suave cockney bruiser, and the downright insane pyromaniac). Their voice acting is personable and their personalities are worked into the heist through dialogue and conversations, making the game feel more like an interactive movie than a mindless shoot-em-up.
The story seems unimportant, but in combination with all other things perfects the game. No Payday game has actually managed to reach the heights of Payday 1's story. It is beautifully simple: It is the movie Heat, Point Break, and the bank heist scene from The Dark Knight, with all of the aesthetics and flair and none of the fat of a complicated story. The small selection of heists and the complexity of each creates a linear 'crime spree', with each heist growing more bombastic and ludicrous over time.
This all combines to create an experience that is completely unique. No other game, even its sequels, is like it. It does not feel like you are playing a game, but living out your own heist movie. It is creative, it is funny, it is simple, and it never gets boring. Get this game if you know what's good for you.
