Killing Floor 3 is a case study in contradictions, positively iterating on the best aspects from the series' past while introducing confusing features that would make more sense in another game.
Put simply, the new changes make Killing Floor 3 a AA-feeling horde shooter with a battle pass. It's a pick-up-and-play arcade game with a loadout system. But most bafflingly of all, the game introduces a complex, grindy weapon modding system even though there's a rather limited arsenal to stuff all those extras into.
Despite these incongruities, developer Tripwire Interactive has crafted a bloodier Killing Floor game with faster-paced arcade-style zombie killing action than in previous installments. I found myself frantically zipping around the map as I was overwhelmed by armies of the dead, utilizing ziplines and side-dashes to escape their clutches -- a fun flow reflecting a refined balance of danger and death-dealing.
If you're a fan of the series, this game will feel comfortingly familiar to you, even if some of the new features create an uncomfortable friction when they rub up against the beating heart of Killing Floor.
Slicing and dicing zombies is more disgusting than ever with Killing Floor 3's new gore physics. Tripwire Interactive
Killing Floor 3 Review: A Gorier Zombie Killer Than Call of Duty for Brainless Fun
At the end of the day, the Killing Floor series is all about getting together with friends, turning your brains off and shooting massive holes through the undead.
Its round-based gameplay is reminiscent of Call of Duty's zombies mode, but Killing Floor's challenging special zombies and end-of-match bosses have always made the series more interesting to me. Even so, Killing Floor 3 stumbles the hardest when it tries to replicate the live service hooks from other more broadly played arcade zombie co-op experiences.
I've sliced, diced and exploded thousands of zombies in previous Killing Floor games, and though it was satisfying to watch that carnage unfold, none of it could hold a candle to the bloody mess you can cook up in this sequel.
In Killing Floor 2, high-caliber weapons tear zombies apart, turning them into cartoonishly separated bits and pieces on the floor. Killing Floor 3 takes the gore system a step further by letting you eviscerate still (un)living zombies.
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