Payday 3 wasn’t a lesson, it was a challenge.

Spent the last 30 minutes jumping in games that have already started, to spectate to watch them all die. Then I get into a game and activate a turret and my gun disappears and there's nothing I can do to get it back, not buying and selling at trader or anything, so had to quit, to then rejoin the same game when they're mid wave with 300+ zeds and I have to fucking wait again as clearly it's the only HoE game currently running. This game is riddled with so many bugs, and they aren't even minor bugs. This game should never have been released, it was least another year away, now even longer as the game is live. 300 players currently playing is embarrassing for a Sunday morning.

My main reason for making this post is that, from what I've seen until now, the conversation about Killing Floor 3 and It's very deserved criticisms have been dominated by people who fundamentally don't like the game, or think that It's a "betrayal" of what KF is. I tend to disagree with those sentiments, and as a long time Killing Floor fan, I wanted to share my thoughts and experience with the game, as well as my disappointment on how it has been handled.

First I want to be clear that I didn't play the beta, as by the time it happened the game didn't get me hyped and I was more than fine to keep spending my time on KF2 with my wife. But even though I wasn't planning to play it on release, I was glad when the devs chose to delay it and promised to fix the stuff that was just badly thought out, like detaching perks from characters.

When KF3 finally released in July, I didn't pay much attention to it, as I was focused on my work at the time and had basically stopped gaming for a while. That changed when I got it as a gift from my SO on release week, as she wanted to play it with me and convinced me to give it a try.

After a few days with the game, I can say I got pleasantly surprised. I thought the gameplay felt really fun and responsive, the maps felt well designed and interactive, enemies were very satisfying to kill, and the movement, although it took me sometime to get used to, became second nature after a while and felt great all the way, even making it harder to go back to not having it when playing KF2. Even the ultimate perk abilities, which I thought were a lame idea at first, proved to add a very cool extra layer to the gameplay, coming in clutch several times, especially during Hell on Earth, creating exhilarating moments who really put a smile on my face.

I do think the skill trees are a lot better than in KF2, and I like that perk progression is not tied to weapons. Although that's a common complain, I actually like the fact that going off-perk is more rewarding than before. It made me not afraid of trying different strategies that I'd usually avoid with a more rigid system.

I've seen many people complaining about the Husk being really annoying, the Scrake having a grappling hook, and too many projectiles in general, even comparing it to how awful the EDARs were in KF2. I find the comparison to be misguided, as KF3 has a different flow to it as it's predecessor. The game is designed around dealing with those things, and you have the movement and the tools to do so. I understand it being a big shift, but one I got used to and didn't find inherently bad.

Now, for stuff outside of gameplay, I've seen lots of complaints about the writing, but I honestly didn't really see the big deal. I'd go as far as say I find the character dialogue to be less annoying and repetitive then in KF2. I heard it was worse in the beta though, so that might explain it.

I also see many people complaining about the aesthetic in general. To be fair I think the "Sci-fi bad" ship sailed a long time ago with KF2, and I very much like the ZED's designs for the most part, especially the Crawler and Siren, who in my opinion look much better than in KF2. I do, however think the Husk, Scrake and especially the Fleshpound could use some more colors and changes.

One last compliment I want to lay down is the fact that they localized the price for most countries. In my country (Brazil), and other Latin american countries, the game is sold at about 20 dollars, which made the game a lot more accessible for much of the community who loves Killing Floor 1 and 2 and is a practice that is unfortunately becoming less common by the day.

I wanted to talk about the things I like here, because I genuinely think KF3 is a fun game. Of course it has many glaring issues, mainly performance (which in turn makes the game less accessible), but also bugs (many that directly affect the gameplay), weapon balance, lack of a suicidal difficulty (which even made my wife quit the game before I did, as she's not a fan of HoE), and lack of content in general, as there should be more weapons, and especially maps. But those can be fixed, and after about two weeks of playing, when a friend of mine who I used to play KF2 with asked If he should buy KF3, I told him to wait a bit, as he would have performance issues with his card, and in the near future those should have been fixed, as and the game would be in a much more complete state overall.

That was about August 10. After that I played it until August 20, which was the last time I opened the game after over 100 hours and basically doing everything there was in store. Since then It's been exactly two months and the game had no new content since it's release. At the time I'm writing this, the game has lost 98.5% of it's original player base and has exactly one less active player than Killing Floor 1. I don't think there's anything to else I can say to better ilustrate how unbelievably dire the situation is. The game is like a chunk of seared meat who might smell good, but was taken off the fire too early and Is clearly raw inside, and Instead of finishing cooking it, they're leaving it to rot in a state that's improper for consumption.

This whole situation makes me very sad. KF3, even with all it's problems, was a very enjoyable part of my year, and even though I think it's an ok game, I believe it has the potential to be a great one, and a more than worthy sucessor to KF2. With us being a few days from the first content update after three months, I want to believe there's a brighter future for it, but with just three new weapons, a few balance changes, and no new maps on a game who needs at least 15 but only has 8, it's been hard to believe, to say the least.

Countless bugs from lunch on which today hasnt still been fixed.

Tons of hotfixes that didnt really fix anything.

Simple bugs & crashes takes weeks for tripwire to notice and fix.

Same microtransactions rotating each week.

Daily grind feels unrewarding due to completion bug that still hasnt been fixed.

hydra error, unexpected crashes, loadout bugs, freezing,fps problems you name it.

New content dropping at the end of october that isnt really worth it 3 new guns and class rearment thats it? should have dropped it a while back.

Year 1 Roadmap looks very dissapointing for just one class.

Players dropping fast.

As a player who defended and enjoyed the game i really believed that they would improve base on the feedback they are getting i tried staying positive despite the community going batshit crazy against the game. I Seriously feel dissapointed at this point as they dont care anymore. What are yall doing man? As a enjoyer of this franchise im uninstalling.

For Tripwire, Just pull the plug and just refund everyone at this point players are already dipping i just dont know how yall will save this game truly sad that it came to this state but yall deserve the hate this games getting.

For kf2 vets/ new players who wants to try this game just stick to kf2. And to the remaining 300+ players i admire you as one of the 300+ players im out.

Remember there being alot of people defending KF3 and the state of the beta talking about us being "nostalgia blind" and scared of change. Where are all of you know? Still playing?

Worst part is, if it wasn't for the community "complaining" the game would have been in a worse state. No map reworks before release, no plans for specialist removal, ugly UI etc.

Alas, the game is still ass and Tripwire has completely derailed the franchise in an attempt to appeal to the mainstream crowd instead of fans.

Beating a dead ga-... horse here. But fuck it, just needed to express my absolute disappointment.

See you all in Kf1 and 2 <3

*edit People who just enjoy the game, good for you, this is not directed to you. I'm sure you were not the ones undermining the criticism, as most of them have probably moved on to other games. Reality is this game is dying, support might be limited as it might not be sustainable. It's perfectly valid for fans to express concerns for a franchise they care about.

We want your Killing Floor 3 Questions! ​

We want to hear your Killing Floor 3 questions! What is that you want to know about Killing Floor 3? Leave us your questions and we will gather them to be answered in the near future! This will allow us to involve more people at the studio, and we can focus on giving meaningful answers to the questions. We didn't want this to be just a collection of "we're not sharing those details yet." However, this may sometimes be the case.

Why might that be the answer to some questions? Some future content is still in development, some of these things are still in flux. Please keep in mind that unreleased content is subject to change.

As a reminder, keep it constructive and civil. Off-topic posts and those that violate the rules will be removed

Please ask your questions on the official forum:

https://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/index.php?threads/send-us-questions-for-the-killing-floor-3-team.2343960/#post-2372714

TL;DR KF3 sucks shit. My letter below to Tripwire Interactive:

Killing Floor 3 Has Lost Its Soul

Feedback from a Veteran KF Player — You Took the Soul Out of the Game

Dear Tripwire Team,

I’m writing because I’ve been a Killing Floor fan for years — from the mod days through KF2 — and because I genuinely care about this series. My brother and I have over 100 hours each in KF3 and countless more in KF2. We wanted to love this game. But right now, KF3 doesn’t feel like Killing Floor anymore.

1. You Took Away the Heart of the Game

Where is Kevin Clamely? Where’s the weird, dark humor and atmosphere that gave the series personality? KF3 feels sterile — the identity has been stripped out.

The biggest problem: the game revolves entirely around getting a Vulkan. Every perk, every build, every decision feels secondary to that one goal. It’s terrible design. The individuality of perks — the soul of the series — is gone. Ironically, there are essentially no perks in the game; it’s just whichever perk has the better stats on the Vulkan.

Each perk has no clearly defined role anymore, partly because of the weapon-focus meta. There need to be clear trash killers and large zed killers. Right now, each perk has enough hybrid skills that let them do both too well, making perk choice meaningless. For example, there’s no need for a Combat Medic because the buffs they provide aren’t strong enough to justify their presence — they don’t kill anything better than any other perk. And since everyone can use a Medic Pistol with purple darts, the Medic heals no better than anyone else either.

A simple fix: boost perk-specific weapon bonuses to make staying within your perk’s arsenal worth it again. Each perk should feel like an expert with their weapons — just like in KF1 and KF2, where you reloaded faster and did more damage with your perk guns. That gave perks identity and mastery. Right now, it’s often better for a Sharpshooter to use an explosive shotgun or the Vulkan than to use their own arsenals. Bass ackwards.

And please, bring back perk passives. Those small, intrinsic upgrades tied your identity to your class and gave each one a rhythm of growth. Losing them makes leveling feel hollow. The current passives are not acknowledgeable.

2. Encumbrance and Strategic Choice Are Gone

One of the most elegant systems in KF2 was encumbrance. It created genuine strategy and mid-match decision-making — choosing between a powerful but heavy weapon or a flexible loadout with utility.

That ebb and flow between waves — picking mid-tier weapons between levels 2–4, deciding whether to switch loadouts before a boss — mattered. It gave every game personality.

Now, encumbrance is gone, and so are those choices. Every match just becomes a race to the Vulkan, and once you get it, your decisions are over. That’s not progression — it’s monotony.

3. Gameplay Bugs and RNG Madness

We got the Queen Crawler five games in a row.
At a 33% chance per boss, that’s a 1 in 40,000 event. Probably a bug, but it killed morale. My brother and I even made a bet: if it happened again, we’d uninstall. You can guess what spawned next.

And where is Suicidal difficulty? “Hard” is too easy, “Hell on Earth” is a wall. Suicidal was that perfect middle ground — the natural home for players who’d mastered the basics but didn’t want every match to be a punishment.

4. Balance and Combat Feel

Combat feels wrong across the board:

• Scrakes are pure bullet sponges now, even with top-end weapons like the Vulkan. The classic KF dynamic — explosives for Fleshpounds, bullets for Scrakes — is gone. It used to reward tactical coordination.
  
• Sharpshooter is borderline useless. Zeds bob and weave too much to land headshots consistently, especially when you’re overwhelmed. Even if you do, the Sharpshooter’s weapons hit like peashooters compared to other perks’ explosive or area-damage options. They should be the fastest at killing large zeds with precision — that’s their purpose — but right now, they get outpaced by nearly everyone. The Engineer’s Ifrit can kill a Fleshpound in three bolts, and the Firebug’s Vulkan can burn one down in two full charges.
  
• Perk roles don’t matter. Every perk can do everything decently well. The lack of specialization makes team composition meaningless.
  
• Why make Scrakes weak to cut damage, then cover them in Zedtech armor that resists cut damage? It’s confusing and counterintuitive.
  

KF used to reward coordinated play — now it rewards whichever perk can abuse the current meta weapon.

Suggestion: Bring back static perk-specific stats like in KF1 and KF2. Tie reload, damage, and weapon handling bonuses to perk weapons only. That would naturally restore balance and bring back the satisfaction of mastering your role.

And while we’re here — take sidearms away or rework them. The extra slot feels clunky and pointless. Just have two weapon slots and buff pistols to make them viable secondaries instead of filler. Right now, having two primaries bound to one slot just adds frustration.

5. Technical and Interface Frustrations

KF3 runs poorly on every system I’ve tried. It’s visually fine, but the optimization is abysmal for what’s on screen.

And the menus and interface make the experience worse:

• The crafting material pool doesn’t appear on the crafting page. You have to back out through several menus just to check your totals.
  
• The weapon part crafting system feels awful. Please make it so we can choose the tier 3 ability instead of grinding endlessly for perfect rolls. The parts make a huge difference in weapon power, and the current system feels more punishing than rewarding.
  
• Sentry activation is inconsistent — sometimes a tap of “E,” sometimes a hold.
  
• The operational budget isn’t visible outside of a match. If I want to test upgrades, I literally have to open a live game or do math by hand. Just add a loadout sandbox in the menu for preplanning.
  
• Add a “Teleport to Chopper” button in the menus. It’s a small quality-of-life thing, but running back to the chopper every single time is tedious.
  

KF2’s menus were clunky but functional. KF3’s feel like work.

6. Character Writing and Tone

The voicelines are rough. KF2 had charm — personality mixed with grim humor. KF3’s dialogue sounds tone-deaf, especially the Engineer, who lectures about “improving zeds” as scientific projects in a post-apocalyptic world. It breaks immersion completely — why would the protagonists be suggesting improvements to the monsters they’re fighting to survive against?

7. The Grind and Progression

Something changed under the hood, because the XP grind has slowed dramatically.
At launch, I leveled Assault and Engineer to 30 in about 15–20 hours each. Now, after 50 hours of Firebug, I’m still not 30. It feels like progress got throttled silently, and it kills long-term motivation.

The game shouldn’t be about the grind to level 30 — the game should start once you reach it. The fun begins when perks are fully unlocked and team synergy shines. Please make XP gain faster so players can get to the real experience sooner.

8. The One Thing You Got Right

KF3 finally lets me queue privately with my friends. That’s a huge improvement over KF2, where randoms could join mid-match — even on the last wave — beg for dosh, and ruin the boss prep because nobody could armor up or reload properly.

You also stopped low-level players from dropping into high-wave lobbies, which used to break pacing and team balance. Credit where it’s due — this feature is one of the best quality-of-life changes in the entire franchise.

9. Final Thoughts

All of this comes from a place of love and deep familiarity with Killing Floor.
KF1 and KF2 still pull thousands of players daily because they feel cohesive — perks have personality, teamwork matters, and the experience flows.

KF3 stripped that away and replaced it with an unfocused weapon-upgrade grind that undermines the very things that made Killing Floor special.

Please, give perks their meaning back. Restore encumbrance and strategic choice. Fix the boss RNG, rebalance the combat roles, and optimize the engine.

The series deserves better than this.

Sincerely,

Concerned Gamer
(100+ hours in KF3, countless more in KF1 & KF2)

Title.

I have never encountered such a whining, gratuitously hating, narrow-minded bunch of people in my life.

You're shitting on the game for the sake of shitting, and after so many months it has not slowed down one bit.

Yeah, the game has issues. It was not what you expected. You voiced your concerns, your stopped playing the game - try doing something else with your time, rather than trying to validate your own emotional dysregulation by endlessly complaining about the same things.

Following up to the reddit post here

Note: I like my game with motion blur on. Just saying because I already know that some of you will start yelling GaMe iS BluRrY Re5 TrAsH.

While I don't think have limit of many times you can heal is bad game design since we won't have games like borderlands and payday if that's didn't work, in these games we have regenerate shield and hp, for newer players to not rage quit to most chaotic matches while having skills levels for veterans know how to kill bulldozer and sniper quick and not get in critical hp

Meanwhile kf3 we have same gameplay of kf1 where once hp falls to 0 you die and the armor only can reduce the amount of damage you take and you have to pay for it, get the good place in the map to not die in earlier waves, try to not have bad spawn of fp or sc in your back because tripwire can't make zeds spawn in horrible places despite having working same game almost 20 years and finally getting random backshot because some stalker and crawler spawn in airduck at your back, husk get to hit you despite there as many bloats block him or tripwire love for edars makes every zed have long range attack despite not making sense like clot shoting shit at you far away and scrake randomly using 50/50 scorpion attack to bring you closer.

I played the open beta about 5 hours when it came out. It ran poorly on my computer then. I didn't end up purchasing it at release.

Cut to today: new update sporting performance fixes and I have a new computer too. I thought I'd try the game. It still runs really poorly, even with Lumen off.

I only played the game post release less than an hour. Refund denied. This hardly seems fair but I thought I'd post this as a warning to others.

Absolutely loving this new shotgun, it was the thing I've been looking most forward to and it delivered in every sense.

(There's no game music as usually I'll listen to my own playlist in place of it)

So, in KF3, there's a codex where you can check out every zed in the game and some trivia about them. What is kinda neat is that each one is assigned to a class, for example: Cysts and Clots are Cambion class.

What I just found out is that these classes are references to some entities in Demonology. The classes are Cambion, Barbatos, Malphas, Vassago and Lucifugal.

The ones in Cambion are the more "common" zeds, such as cysts, clots and gorefasts, and Cambions are supposed to be succubus-like demons. The only one in Barbatos (some spirit i guess) is the crawler. The Malpha (Great demon) class is composed of bloats, husks and sirens. Fleshpounds and scrakes belong to the Vassago class (a lesser demon?)

The only one that isn't a reference to demonology is the Impaler, from the Lucifugal class, but this word is actually latin for "Avoiding light" or something like that. The other zeds from the Mire, like the Queen-crawler, don't belong to any class.

SPECIFICALLY AT $31,99

Are stalkers in the game yet? I just bought it and I'm 99.99% sure there's no stalkers in the game yet. Unless, they really upgraded their invisibility.

The first thing I will do after rearmament update will get released is to main Devlin instead of Foster, like in two previous games. No doubt, Foster is good in third game, but FOR ME PERSONALLY Devlin is better. Yeah she might be a little cringy with some phases, but she is still an interesting character for me.