PAYDAY: Aces High Review Summary
Last updated: 2026-11-08
- Strong VR gunplay and handling
- Fun and engaging gameplay
- Solid Payday VR adaptation
- Missing restart heist option
- Stealth too difficult
- AI teammates problematic
Emotions
Archetypes
Hardware
Windows 12-15GB VRAMpositiveWindows 16GB+ VRAMpositive
- Sample precision
- Helpful reviews
- 89%
- Unhelpful reviews
- 11%
- Protest reviews
- 0%
- 52%Helpful reviews with positive sentiment
- 48%Helpful reviews with negative sentiment
- Positive points
- 236
- Negative points
- 399
- Gameplay points
- 283
- Perf. points
- 14
- Rec. points
- 48
- Misc points
- 137
| Point | Description | Importance |
|---|---|---|
Strong VR gunplay and handling
| Gunplay controls, weapon handling, shooting feel, and recoil are repeatedly praised as satisfying and well implemented. Reviewers highlight good trigger breaks, two-handed recoil, and solid shot feedback. | 60% |
Fun and engaging gameplay
| Numerous reviewers describe the game as fun, enjoyable, and engaging, especially once players get into its flow. Overall sentiment toward the core experience is strongly positive. | 59% |
Solid Payday VR adaptation
| Reviewers consider this a proper Payday VR game that captures the series' skeleton and formula well. Many note it is better than Payday 2 VR and an improvement over Payday 3. | 40% |
Well-crafted VR interactions
| Manual interactions such as drills, safes, reloading, bag carrying, watch hacking, and hand repositioning make good use of VR. These immersive mechanics are widely considered enjoyable and well implemented. | 35% |
Fun heists with good variety
| Heists are described as fun, replayable, and varied in layout and design, with distinct locations and interesting challenges. Successful stealth runs and scoring add further replay value. | 33% |
Good weapon and loadout variety
| The game offers a decent variety of weapons, masks, gadgets, and skills that support many builds and playstyles. Customization includes red dot sights and lasers, with each weapon having multiple variants. | 23% |
Better with friends and multiplayer
| Playing with friends makes the experience significantly better, and chaotic multiplayer matches feel similar to Payday. Crossplay, in-game friend codes, and working servers are appreciated. | 23% |
Welcoming entry for newcomers
| The game is considered welcoming for new players and a good entry point in the Payday series. The tutorial and first heist serve as practical onboarding that works well. | 20% |
Helpful quality-of-life features
| Small quality-of-life details such as automatic suppressor attach/detach, the restart heist button, and the combined lobby are appreciated. These features address common complaints and improve usability. | 20% |
Promising future and foundation
| Reviewers see a bright future and crazy good potential if the developers continue working on the game. The solid foundation and prequel concept fit well as the beginning of the series. | 18% |
Balanced loot and objectives
| Doing objectives feels satisfying, and loot amounts are balanced without being too little or too much. Defending the escape point adds satisfying tension to heists. | 17% |
Satisfying progression and skills
| The reputation and cash progression system is interesting, and skill trees provide helpful skills to grind for. Stacking team skills with friends feels rewarding and allows player freedom. | 16% |
Good performance and stability
| Reviewers report the game runs smoothly with great performance, including on laptops and Quest 2 via Steam Link. There are almost zero bugs and servers are holding up well. | 16% |
Satisfying combat and enemy pressure
| Combat gives a real sense of urgency, and enemy variety includes drones, snipers, Bulldozers, and grenadiers. Enemies pressure players effectively, especially the dozer, making loud heists intense. | 15% |
Great music and sound design
| The soundtrack, adaptive music, and sound design are highlighted as strong points. Reviewers note adaptive music is more dynamic than in Payday 2 and lyrics fit the tracks nicely. | 14% |
Responsive and passionate developers
| Developers are described as responsive to criticism and passionate about working on the game. Reviewers appreciate quality-of-life additions like restart heist and crew abandon features. | 13% |
Good value and fair pricing
| The content is considered fair for the price on release, and free heists planned for the game add value. Reviewers consider it well worth its asking price. | 13% |
Engaging story and characters
| The game has an actual story that tethers the heists together and is enjoyable without being overly complicated. The Aces characters, especially Clubs, are well loved. | 13% |