Yesterday’s PlayStation Showcase was a bit of a mixed bag overall. With PlayStation’s future line-up being a tad unclear, it was more important than ever for PlayStation’s Summer Showcase to hit big, and make its mark on the industry. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to those lofty expectations. While there was still a handful of exciting announcements, like the confirmation thatMetal Gear Solid 3is getting a remake, thefirst look atMarvel’s Spider-Man 2’s gameplay, and aMarathonrevival from Bungie, PlayStation’s Showcase felt a little lackluster. Still, its first reveal,Fairgames, was an interesting way to kick things off.
While it may not have been the most exciting way to start offa PlayStation Showcase,Fairgamesdid set the tone for a lot of the event, showing that online multiplayer games were going to be a big focus of the showcase. A brand-new IP from the studio Haven,Fairgamessees teams of robbers face off against each other in an attempt to all loot the same vault. Naturally,Fairgameswas immediately compared to another heist-centric franchise,Payday, but it might have beaten it to the punch.
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Fairgames Could Steal Payday 3’s Thunder
Back on January 1 of this year, Starbreeze Studios dropped a30-second teaser trailer for its long-awaitedPayday 3that showed practically nothing about the game itself, aside from the silhouettes of four characters. At the end of the trailer, a titlecard boldly claims that “This is the year ofPayday 3.” It’s been almost five months since then, andPayday 3is still nowhere to be seen.
WithPayday 2having come out all the way back in 2013, it’s been 10 years since the last entry in the co-op heisting series, and many fans are desperate for another excellent entry. However, with a decade having passed, many fans are hoping thatPayday 3steps things up significantly. It’s no longer enough forPayday 3to just copy its predecessor’s homework and call it a day, the sequel needs to make some major additions toPayday’s beloved gameplay loop, including new classes and skills, new mission types, new enemy types, and much more. But while some fans are clamoring forPayday 3, other fans are content with the clones that have come out since.
In lieu of an actualPaydaytitle, the last 10 years have brought with them a number ofPaydayclones. Just recently, the star-studded but critically-pannedCrime Boss: Rockay Cityheavily borrowedPayday’s core gameplay loop for itself, and while its quality didn’t even come close toPayday 2, it did scratch that itch for some fans. Additionally,Paydayisn’t the only heist gaming series aroundanymore, withGrand Theft Auto 5muscling its way in gradually over the last decade, and becoming, arguably, the best heist game ever made. Put simply,Payday 3is going to need to do quite a bit to stand out in the current market, a market that’s only getting more crowded by the day.
Fairgamesseems to be the latest co-op heist game inspired byPayday, and it may have a slight edge over it. WhilePayday 3will presumably be another4-player co-op gamewhere players are set against AI,Fairgamespits its players against fellow heisters, all fighting for the same loot. So whileFairgamescan’t avoid itsPaydaycomparisons, its competitive nature should give it a much-needed edge over the competition, and that edge could end up knocking the wind out ofPayday 3’s sails.
Fairgamesis in development for PC and PS5.
