Killing Floor 3  Review

There’s a lot to love about the zombie genre, be it the horror of feeling truly alone against the rising dead or the terror of dealing with an enemy that was once someone you loved. However, few things are as fun as simply blasting hordes of monsters with a shotgun. With that in mind, I dived into Tripwire Interactive’s latest game: Killing Floor 3.

Now, as anyone who has played Killing Floor 2 will tell you, the game does actually have a plot. In the year 2091, the mega corporation Horzine has turned the monsters from the previous titles into the ultimate army. That’s right, the Zeds are now an army, a very mean army. As part of the rebel group Nightfall, it is now up to you to find and destroy the Zeds.

While there is a plot, you’d be mistaken for thinking that it will have any real impact on the gameplay. The only time it comes up is the odd missions you’ll have to complete, but in all honesty, you can safely ignore them if you want to. The real meat of the game is fighting through hordes of Zeds with all the guns you can find. 

If you’re a fan of the series, then you’ll know what to expect here: you’re running around, shooting Zeds, while trying to survive. If you’re not, then let me explain what you’ll be doing. Killing Floor 3 is a PVE (players vs enemies) game where you and a team of six other players will need to fight through five rounds of combat on a variety of maps. 

To do this, you’ll have several different classes, each with its special abilities that help you kill more. For instance, the Commando has access to machine guns and can summon a drone that temporarily damages enemies. However, while each class does have its own weapons, you’re not locked to them, so you can grab them from every class. 

In other games, you’d expect the classes to be uninteresting, simply a different icon over a generic-looking soldier. Not in Killing Floor 3, oh no, here you get everything from a gas mask-wearing cockney to a literal ninja. I will say that the characters aren’t quite as wacky as they were in previous games. For instance, D.A.R. isn’t here, although in the interest of fairness, the wackier characters could appear as DLC. 

The actual combat is smooth, with all the guns being distinctive while also being easy to use. Killing Floor 3 also features fluid movement, with your character being able to climb and jump. You’ll need this, however, as it is very easy to get cornered by your opponents, so you need to be able to get around. Saying that, some of the movement can be a bit too loose, with the slide especially feeling like it lacks any friction. 

While there is a variety of weapons, there’s an issue in that, as with the characters, there’s a lack of craziness compared to the older games. You’ll still see stuff like the healing flamethrower, but there are certainly fewer options. On the plus side, you can now add attachments to your base weapon options that can change the effect they’ll have on the Zeds, like setting them on fire or doing more damage. 

On the downside, the more attachments you add, the more you’ll have to spend to buy the weapon at the start of the match. I honestly found this mechanic a little odd, mainly because it punishes lower levels. Here’s what happens: before you start a match, you’ll have a set amount of money based on your level that you can use to upgrade your armour or buy a new gun. The problem is that it takes a while to get to the point where you can actually buy anything. You can purchase the guns between each round, as well as any other weapon, grenade, tool, and refill ammo at the same time by using the money you get for killing enemies. 

The Zeds are the same oppressive force of disgust-inducing body-horror monsters. I will say the redesigns for most of the enemies aren’t going to be to everyone’s tastes, but they do what they need to do, while still being fun to shoot. However, I wish that I could say the same for the bosses: in the prior titles, the final enemies were all characters; they spoke, and they insulted the players. However, the few that I fought in Killing Floor 3 just roared a lot. They were fun to fight, but they lacked that special spark that the older ones have.

Graphically, Killing Floor 3 is certainly an upgrade over the older ones, but it still fits with the theme of the prior games. There’s plenty of variety between the maps, like giant labs or abandoned cities. Now I’ll be honest, the maps are a bit basic and (as appears to be a theme here) there’s nothing quite as odd as the airship. It’s not a problem, but it feels a little bit soulless at times.

Also, one area I do dislike is the new hub that you start in before you pick missions: It’s basically a very big room where you can upgrade your perk points, enhance your weapons, and more. It’s fine in concept, but there’s just nothing to do in it beyond that, to the degree where it could have been a simple menu without losing anything. This is especially problematic as you don’t really come back here between missions either, which is an odd choice when you need to upgrade here. 

Killing Floor 3 is, without doubt, a fun game to play with friends. There were moments when my team and I were working together to survive hordes of Zed while low on ammo, all the while helping each other as our characters blurted out random catchphrases. Despite that, what made the prior games so random and enjoyable is lessened here. Now, this could be solved in later updates or DLC, but for the time being, you’re coming here for the gameplay and nothing else.