By Killing Floor 3 has had a rough year. Hardcore fans of the franchise were not very welcoming of the game at its launch in 2025.
Now, after a full year of updates and improvements, Killing Floor 3 feels much smoother than ever before. Is it time to check out this game again? Or is it even worth playing right now?
As someone who hasn’t played any of the Killing Floor games before, I’m going to give you a unique perspective on this new title.
Fans are very vocal about their disappointment with Killing Floor 3 by comparing it to previous titles. But I have no idea what they’re talking about.
I played the game with a fresh perspective, and here’s how it went.
What Is Killing Floor 3?
Killing Floor 3 is a wave-based first-person shooter with a simple yet addictive gameplay loop.
Killing Floor 3 takes place in 2091, where some bioengineered monsters called Zeds are taking over the world. Your mission is to eradicate as many of these monsters as you can.
Basically, all you have to do is drop into a location and clear waves of creatures using your choice of weapons. In between these waves, you get to refill your ammo and change weapon loadouts. And at the end of the waves, you get to deal with a boss-type enemy.
Completing the missions will give you various types of resources and credits, which you can use to craft new weapon loadouts and upgrade your abilities.
It’s a repetitive but fun gameplay loop that is especially ideal for quick gaming sessions.
Engaging Gunplay
Gunplay has to be top-notch to make any wave-based shooter feel fun. Thankfully, Killing Floor 3 has nailed that aspect of the game.
Every shot feels impactful and punchy no matter which weapon you use.
With multiple classes to choose from, there are a few different weapon types you can experiment with. But nothing beats the feel of the bullets smashing through the heads of the zeds.
With the new update, the game now features dual-wielding weapons. This makes you feel even more badass when taking down enemies.
Weapons & Upgrades
Depending on the class you choose, you can either go full melee with swords, flamethrowers, or even shoot from a distance with a sniper.
The Commando class is mainly for AR weapons. Firebug specializes in fire-based weapons. Engineer is all about shotguns. Ninja is for melee-based weapons. And Sharpshooter specializes in sniper weapons.
Each of these classes has multiple weapons to choose from, and they can be fully customized and upgraded according to your preference.
You can create multiple loadouts for each weapon, and they can be deployed during a mission from a supply pod as well.
Solo Experience
I mainly tried the game for its solo experience as I don’t have any friends who play the game right now. And I have mixed feelings about it.
While Killing Floor 3 has a solo campaign mode, it feels a bit flat with missions that just send you in a direction in the same wave-shooter missions.
You basically go into a 5-wave mission (on normal difficulty) to gather some information and then get back to base. The campaign mode feels a lot like a hunt for lore in different locations rather than following a story.
These solo missions feel a bit tough for newcomers like me, even on the lowest difficulty. I barely survived the waves and died many times to the final boss in the first mission.
In the beginning, you don’t have any weapon or skill upgrades, so I feel like the game shouldn’t be this difficult in the early missions. Once you get into the rhythm, it’s manageable.
Although, it’s clear that Killing Floor 3 is designed to be enjoyed with other players, especially with friends. Clearing these enemy waves alone was not a fun experience for me.
Declining Player Count Is A Problem
Unfortunately, finding other players to do missions together is going to be a problem since Killing Floor 3 is still struggling with its player count.
Right now, there are fewer than 1,000 people playing the game. After several attempts in matchmaking, I couldn’t find another player to team up with. I’m not sure if it’s because I was in early levels.
Killing Floor 2 has more players right now than the latest title. And that says a lot about the current player base.
New Updates
Developers are trying their best to bring more players to Killing Floor 3. There have been several great updates that added fantastic features, like dual-wield weapons, that made the game so much more fun. And it doesn’t stop there.
More updates and events are planned throughout this year and next year. Including Halloween events, new weapons, new maps, and weekly modes and missions to complete.
I do hope the devs would do something about the constant shade compilation of the game. You have to sit through shade compilation even when launching new missions or when you change a setting, and that was quite annoying.
Is Killing Floor 3 Worth Playing?
As a fan of FPS with gore and punchy gunplay, I thoroughly enjoyed Killing Floor 3. The guns felt impactful, and it was quite satisfying to see monster heads get blown into pieces with every bullet.
Killing Floor 3 is great for running a quick and short gaming session, especially for busy dads out there. You can jump right in and play a mission and jump right out within twenty minutes.
Killing Floor 3 is designed to be played together with friends and other players. If you can find a couple of friends to play with, this game will be so much fun. The solo experience, however, was not that enjoyable. It gets a bit repetitive very quickly.
Try to grab the game during a sale for yourself and for your friends. It’ll be worth it.
