For years, I’ve seen Tripwire Interactive’s Killing Floor games pop up on my feeds and was always blown away by the intense action. Unfortunately, I’ve also been led to believe over time that the game series was strictly co-op/multiplayer, which was a bummer for a lone wolf gamer like myself. Then recently, I found out the games indeed have always had a single player option, so you know what that means… No time like the present to dive in head-first into zed-slaying action in the latest instalment to the franchise, Killing Floor 3. I want to thank Tripwire Interactive and Xbox for sending over a copy for this noob to try!
For those not familiar, the Killing Floor games take place in a post-apocalyptic world where bio-engineered monsters and zombies have taken over, leaving it up to the player (and five others, depending on whether you’re playing with others) to fight back against the waves of ZEDS.
Now, onto the game itself. WOW, that was an adventure. When it comes to the controls, they are your standard FPS controls; you’ll have to do A LOT of tweaking to get them to work for you, as aiming is a big part of survival.
The look of the game is pretty (for being gory), adding to the bleak feeling of the world you’re finding yourself in. The sound design is pretty good. I would suggest wearing headphones to get fully immersed in the game, as they can come in handy for sneaky enemies.
When it comes to gameplay, you’re playing in waves that get progressively harder before finally facing off against a boss. After each wave, you go and find a store where you spend money on refilling your ammo, health, etc., before the next wave starts. You get to choose which class you’re character is; each has its own set of skills and weapons.
After playing, I will say, compared to other games I’ve played in the past, where normally you’re supposed to play with other players, they tend to make the difficulty a tad easier unless you have bot teammates, which in Killing Floors 3, if you’re solo, you’re on your own and the game comes across as punishing you for playing solo. Let’s be real, that’s a dick move, and that’s why games like Generation Zero, and Back 4 Blood did poorly (among other things)
There’s a crafting system to make parts for your weapons (sights, mags, special ammo, barrels, and grips) but you only get the parts for crafting when you kill enough ZEDS to get them, and since you can’t really fully complete a level on solo, you’re going to have to grind several hours to get anything for your weapons.
Overall, Killing Floor 3 is alright for a fast-paced FPS where you shoot mutants and zombies; unfortunately, the fun wavers quickly with needless overcomplicated crafting mechanics and a punishing difficulty system for solo players. On my scale of 1-10, Killing Floor 3 is a 6.
Killing Floor 3 is out now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
