Recent reviews by krandate

I tried. I really tried to like this game. I got this game as a gift from friend and still feel cheated. I played a LOT of Payday 2 before the development of that game descended into microtransaction hell and quit playing that one because I was disgusted with the developers. I swore I wouldn't buy this game and...I didn't...so I gave it a shot and really wanted to feel redeemed towards the devs and the franchise.
The initial launch issues made the game simply unplayable. They've since corrected the server issues, blaming others, rather than owning their screw ups as they did. This was followed by the repeated delays of the first patch that offered minor corrections and left multiple glitches, exploits, bugs and issues. The game is finally playable. Unfortunately, it's just not good. The bizarre decision to lock leveling behind the challenge system means you'll get access to new goodies just by playing...at first. Then you'll have to start sitting in a bathroom, abusing mechanics to make any real progress and unlock more weapons, skills and items. Most of which...feel just like the same ones you've been using. One sniper, one DMR, two shotguns (one pump action and one break action), a handful of SMGs and assault rifles...none of it really feels like progress. Combine this with the C-stack system that exists seemingly only to artificially slow down how quickly you can get top tier weapon mods and cosmetics...the grind is real. And with a very limited number of missions that have extremely limited randomization between runs...the grind is painful. The game could have been fun, but too much time and attention was paid during development to holding things back for future DLC and not nearly enough was given to building on what made Payday 2 fun. All of the bad, very little of the good, pick this one up after Overkill goes out of business and someone else buys the rights and fixes it for them.

Please read the full review. I've edited my review as of June 4, 2016.
Sadly, I can no longer recommend this game. I have over 1,000 hours in this game and have made many great friends on this game many of whom I continue to play other games with. I own every DLC except for the pre-order exclusive Loot Bag, almost all of which I bought on the day they came out. This includes buying the Completely Overkill pack for $20 purely because I wanted to support the company that was making this game and enable them to continue to work to develop more content and further improve the game. The mechanics of the game, focus on making gameplay fun over anything else and a massive number of other features drew me back to Payday 2 time and again.
A lot changed on 10/15/2015. Crimefest 2015 started and the first thing they did was to add microtransactions. The community has made it very clear they do not want this model and this was done in a very underhanded way that has possibly permanently scarred many players trust in the developer. If they keep microtransactions in I will not only no longer purchase DLC, I will likely not return to Payday 2 because the state of the game and the community will continue to degrade from there. At this time, I cannot recommend anyone buy this game. Right now, that would be like buying a sinking ship.
Edit: A lot changed back on 6/2/2016. After a long wait, Payday 2 is worth playing again. I could comment on the revamped skill trees, the focus on community interaction or other elements but the one that matters most is they incrementally removed the paywall for additional content. Microtransactions are pulled, but the ability to use steam marketplace to sell/buy skins is still here. This is fine with me, it is how other games can continue to make money even when the game itself is free. I would even suggest allowing weapon mods, masks, materials, colors, etc to be sellable (except those that are achievement based). A number of my friends and I have returned to Payday 2 and we've missed it. I now intend to buy the DLC that was released during my absence even if I'm not interested in the content (Goat Simulator...REALLY Overkill?). I'll buy it because I'm willing to vote with my money for companies to respond to their community and do business the way Overkill is. I hope reading this has helped you make up your mind about what really is a great game.

Amazing game, recommend anyone plays it all the way through twice, once on normal once on ironman. Then install Long War and kiss your free time goodbye.