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Killing Floor 3 is finally out, and I was genuinely excited to try it. I might not be a long-time veteran of the Killing Floor franchise, but I did grab Killing Floor 2 during a Steam sale two years ago and still remember how much fun I had in just the few hours that I played it. Its blend of pure chaos, darkness, and satisfying gunplay made it clear why it is considered one of the best in the survival co-op genre. So, when Killing Floor 3 was announced, I was really looking forward to how Tripwire Interactive would enhance the experience.
The early trailers and playtests looked quite promising, and on a visual level, the game definitely seemed to deliver. However, after spending a good amount of time playing it, I was left disappointed and confused. For me, the charm that made its predecessor so unforgettable is just not there. I wanted to love it, and I’m still rooting for its success, but right now, the game just isn’t there yet.
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Killing Floor 3 first impressions: Beautiful, brutal, but rough from the start
The first launch didn’t go well for me. Shader compilation took ages, which isn’t rare for Unreal Engine 5 games, so I was fine with it. Once it finished, later launches were much faster.
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The game started with a short tutorial. Honestly, I’m not a fan of tutorials that are unnecessarily long and boring, which lines up with the fact that I didn't mind the tutorial in Killing Floor 3 at all. It was short, on point, and well-designed for newcomers. The controls feel familiar, the movement is clean, and the mechanics are simple to learn.
The tutorial impressed me, and I was excited to start the solo campaign. But right after finishing the tutorial, the game crashed. A LowLevelFatalError message popped up, and I had to send an error report. Sadly, this wasn’t a one-off issue, as crashes and stutters kept persisting throughout my experience playing the game. I lost count of how many performance hiccups I ran into, and looking at the Steam reviews, I’m clearly not the only one.
The music and sound design are just perfect
As a fan of dark and aggressive music genres like metal and industrial, Killing Floor 3 hit the perfect notes for me. The music is intense and perfectly matches the chaos of the gameplay.
For those who don’t know, three out of the four soundtracks in the game are composed by Rocky Gray, the same artist behind some of the most iconic soundtracks in Killing Floor 2.
The sound effects are also well done. Each weapon has crisp, loud, and punchy sound effects that don’t get annoying over time. The environmental sounds and the screams of Zeds add to the overall experience, and I couldn't find a single flaw in the audio. The in-game audio settings are also simple and effective, with no unnecessary options or confusing features. Everything works as expected, and you don’t need to spend a lot of time fixing volume levels or driver issues very often.
Killing Floor 3 is undoubtedly a major visual upgrade
Without a doubt, Killing Floor 3 is a massive leap forward in terms of the visuals and character designs over its predecessor. The environments are detailed, the lighting looks amazing, and the gore is as good as fans likely expected. The character designs, interface, and cinematic elements are all done well. If you’re someone who values high-quality graphics and brutal combat, this game will leave a strong first impression.
The new M.E.A.T. 2.0 gore system delivers some of the most satisfying and detailed dismemberment moments I’ve seen. The flying limbs, blood sprays, and hit reactions that deform the Zeds in realistic ways — all of it is just amazing.
Gunplay is fine, but missions fall flat
Shooting in this game feels okay, but sadly, that’s where most of the praise ends. The mission objectives are far too basic, and they add no real depth or structure. Each match throws a few waves of the same enemy types, repeats the same objectives, and ends with a boss fight that feels like a slightly modified and stronger version of the previous one.
The enemies in this game tend to spawn in awkward places, sometimes even right behind you out of nowhere, which breaks the immersion quickly. Some of the transitions and movements feel clunky. While not broken, KF3 doesn’t quite have the smoothness you might expect from a modern FPS game.
Boss fights are boring
On paper, Killing Floor 3 sticks to the classic co-op formula of surviving waves of enemies, earning money, upgrading your gear, and facing a boss at the end. However, the more you play, the boring it gets. Many players might’ve expected some unique and difficult bosses in the game, but in reality, it’s quite underwhelming.
I played the solo campaign on Normal difficulty, and the boss fights were not as fun as I had expected. Perhaps I should’ve tried playing on the Hell on Earth difficulty mode for a real challenge, but I still don’t think the boss fights should feel this dull on Normal difficulty. There should be a truly beginner-friendly mode for new players, so that the Normal difficulty could be a bit more intense. The bosses either feel too easy or just become frustrating for the wrong reasons (mostly related to the bugs and performance issues that I faced). Honestly, almost none of the bosses that I came across left a lasting impression.
Skill trees and Specialists feel promising, but limited
Character selection in Killing Floor 3 feels a bit limited. There are only a few perk classes, known as Specialists, and each of them comes with its own skill tree and progression. While the variety and skill tree feature sounds great, it's quite limited. Sure, it’s a deeper and more tactical system than in earlier KF titles, but with fewer options than you might expect, and a rigid structure that could’ve been better.
While the roadmap promises more Specialists later, having only six for now narrows down the replayability factor. There are ways to customize your character, but there’s not enough creative freedom or flexibility to make a Specialist truly yours.
It lacks some of the most basic features
The biggest disappointments for me aren’t even the bugs, but the basic things that the game lacks at launch. To start with, there’s no text chatting feature. In 2025, that too for a co-op shooter, that’s just baffling.
There’s also no mod support or custom map tools, at least not at launch. Killing Floor 2 is still thriving because of its community-driven content, and not having such basic features in the new game feels like a huge missed opportunity. Note that text chat and modding are both part of the game's 2025 roadmap, but I believe they should’ve been included at launch.
Pricing and the live-service approach
To be fair, the $40 price point for this game is reasonable. That’s not bad at all for a modern shooter. However, the presence of cosmetics and a battle pass at launch, especially when the game doesn't even have core features like text chat and modding, doesn’t sit right with me. Moreover, The Shadow Agent Season 1 Deluxe Pass costs $19.99, and there's even an option to pre-purchase future season passes for a whopping $29.99, which feels completely unnecessary.
It feels like the priorities were not right while releasing this game. Instead of focusing on the overall stability and community tools, the developers shipped the game with monetization ready to go.
Conclusion: Wanted to love it, but it’s just not ready
I truly wanted Killing Floor 3 to be a standout title in 2025. The franchise deserves it, and there’s clearly a passionate team working behind it to push the game forward. But for now, Killing Floor 3 feels more like an early access title than a fully launched game. The foundation is clearly there, from the fantastic visuals to brutal combat and great sound design, but the overall package and the gameplay itself feel incomplete.
What’s more frustrating is that ways to monetize the game are fully implemented at launch, while some of the basic features and community tools are still absent.
With all the bugs, performance issues, and lack of features, it’s hard for me to recommend this game unless you’re deeply invested in the franchise and are patient enough to wait for future updates.
Killing Floor 3 review
- Score: 6.5/10
- Reviewed on: PC
- Platforms supported: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5
- Developer & publisher: Tripwire Interactive
- Release date: July 24, 2025
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