Payday 2 + All DLC / Payday 2: Crimewave Edition – Video Game (PC, X-Box, PS, Switch)

The heist that just keeps paying out.

(450 Hours Played)

After spending more than 450 hours across both the Xbox One Crimewave Edition and the full PC version of Payday 2 with all its DLC, I can confidently say: Payday 2 remains one of the best cooperative shooters ever made. It’s wild that a game first released in 2013 still outpaces its own sequel in both player count and overall fun factor, but here we are.

I started with the Crimewave Edition on Xbox One, and while it was a good introduction to the life of digital crime, the PC version simply leaves it in the dust. The difference is night and day, they’re almost completely different games at this point. The console version feels like a demo. If you want the definitive Payday 2 experience, then you should get the PC version.

It says a lot that Payday 2 still dwarfs Payday 3 in player numbers. Overkill might have moved on, but the community hasn’t. Payday 3 launched with fewer heists, less content, and more frustration. Payday 2 is still overflowing with missions, weapons, characters, and years of balance tweaks. Honestly, Payday 2 is so good that after Payday 3 dropped, Overkill rolled out a subscription service for the second game just to keep the money flowing. That’s not a knock. It’s kind of hilarious, and proof that the old dog still runs the streets better than its shiny new sibling.

Mechanically, Payday 2 nails the feel of its combat. Every weapon has heft, from silenced pistols for quiet jobs to LMGs that chew through waves of cops when things inevitably go loud. The gun play has only improved with DLC and balance updates, giving players endless tools to experiment with.

Then there’s the music. It’s definitely something worth talking about. It ends up making each firefight feel cinematic. Honestly, even after hundreds of hours, the soundtrack still pumps me up like it’s my first job. I honestly don’t know of any other fps with a better soundtrack to it than this game.

Where the game shines brightest is in co-op. No two heists play out the same, and success depends on communication, planning, and improvisation. You can try to sneak through a mission with surgical precision. Or embrace the chaos when everything inevitably goes loud. The difficulty modes, from Normal to the infamous One Down and Death Sentence, ensure that both newcomers and hardened veterans have plenty of challenges to tackle. And when you finally pull off a flawless run with your crew, it’s a high no other shooter quite matches.

Payday 2 is messy, bloated, and still better than almost every other co-op shooter on the market. Including its own sequel. With hundreds of hours sunk between console and PC, I can say it’s one of those rare games where the grind never loses its edge. The gun play, the music, the teamwork. It all comes together in a package that’s still worth cracking open more than a decade later. Payday 2 isn’t just the best heist game. It’s the kind of game that keeps robbing your free time, years after release. And honestly? I’m still happy to hand it over.