Killing Floor 3 was one of the titles I was most surprised to get my hands on this year. This third installment in a series famous for its strong identity enters with a style all its own, improving upon many of the franchise’s strongest aspects in ways fans are sure to notice and appreciate. However, Killing Floor 3 also suffers from some of the franchise’s greatest weaknesses, with aggressive monetization and a sort of planned incompleteness being two standout examples. While fans of the first two will find a new home in Killing Floor 3, I found myself kind of disappointed and left with the impression the game would be worth checking out again… in about two years.
I found the first Killing Floor as a teenager, fell in love duo-ing Mr. and Mrs. Foster with my then-girlfriend, and was present for Killing Floor 2 from Early Access to some final updates. Suffice it to say, I am something of a Killing Floor fan. While I failed to keep track of Killing Floor 3‘s development cycle, I was nonetheless excited when given the chance to review it.
That excitement maintained as I played through my first few missions, taking in the awesome look of the maps, the Zeds, and the new characters.
If there is something the Killing Floor franchise does well, it’s style. Its world, characters, monsters, and gorgeous heavy metal soundtracks make Killing Floor 1 & Killing Floor 2 a masterclass of visual and auditory design, at least to this washed-up grungy freak. Killing Floor 3, thankfully, delivers on all these elements just as well. We’re taken to a new, more futuristic setting, given new characters to work alongside, and new Zeds to fight.
The game’s enemies make an especially welcome debut with their new designs. While there are no new standard enemies, all returning foes have received delightfully ghoulish updates. Following the franchise’s loose story, my interpretation is that the Zeds were moving away from human origins, evolving to replace bodily weaknesses and limitations, and becoming something more. It’s a truly terrifying presentation of familiar Killing Floor body horror, this time seeming to take David Lynch’s inspiration in their designs.
Outside the new visuals, gunplay feels refined over Killing Floor 2, with smoother animations, better hit feedback, and a general “smoothness” to gameplay. Movement mechanics improved with vaulting and sliding, and player classes became more meaningful with unique class abilities and tying actual characters to each class. It would be interesting to see if this strict class identity remains as new characters arrive in future updates.
However, once you get past the clear polish that Killing Floor 3 has over its predecessor, it starts to leave a bad taste in your mouth as you realize just how hollow the game is.
A handful of classes/characters. Two to three sets of cosmetics per character. Four weapons per class tree. Eight maps. Three bosses. It does not take long to see the full extent of the launch content. While the relatively small arsenal feels super unique, you’ll basically find one or two weapons per class you enjoy and stick with those.
This, unfortunately, is a kind of planned incompleteness present in the predecessor. Looking at the roadmap, you see these issues addressed: new bosses, weapons, cosmetics, and battle passes are promised, with the soonest labeled “2025” and the second cited “2026.”
While it is awesome the Killing Floor games receive continuous updates for years, the developers use this promise to deliver a rather bare bones experience at launch. Don’t worry, they seem to say, everything you want will be here; it’ll just take a while.
This means Killing Floor 3, like Killing Floor 2, will probably be awesome in about two years when the best content releases, like seasonal event maps, the full cosmetic and character list, and all weapons. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend the game in its current state.
Something that didn’t quite settle with me either was the game’s use of microtransactions. While admittedly better than Killing Floor 2’s random case drops and loot crafting, Killing Floor 3 features a Helldivers 2-style battle pass where players unlock some items for free and others after buying premium currency.
The reason this works in Helldivers 2 is that you can eventually purchase battle passes using free premium currency earned within them, allowing players to grind for all content. Killing Floor 3, however, does not provide enough premium currency in its battle pass for this, so you must spend additional money after purchasing the game to unlock all cosmetics.
If you go to the Killing Floor 3 Steam page, you find negative reviews citing bad performance or bugs. To be transparent, I didn’t get my review copy until August 1st, after developers released bug fixes and performance patches. That said, I experienced no bugs or performance issues during my playthrough.
The Final Word
Killing Floor 3 improves on the previous game in ways fans will appreciate, with new weapons, characters, classes, and better monetization. However, said monetization remains fairly aggressive, and the game suffers from a purposeful lack of content, relying on future updates to feel whole. Like Killing Floor 2, it may be best experienced a few years down the line.
Try Hard Guides was provided a Steam code for this PC review of Killing Floor 3. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Killing Floor 3 is available on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation.
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