‘PAYDAY: Aces High’ Review – A Card Shy of a Royal Flush

PAYDAY finally got its first VR-native entry into the storied franchise. While it’s not the royal flush I was hoping for, it certainly wasn’t offsuit seven-deuces either.

Developer: Fast Travel Games
Publisher: Fast Travel Games
Available On: Quest, SteamVR (Frame version incl.)
Reviewed On: Quest 3
Release Date: November 5th, 2026
Price: $25

Gameplay

There’s a cohesive story in here somewhere. Somebody named Jupiter is bad. Something something gotta steal stuff from bad man. It’s been forever since I played Payday 2 (never 3), so I can’t say whether this is a continuation, or what’s actually going on.

That’s about as much as I think you should be expected to absorb though, which is just fine for a Payday game. The key isn’t the filler backstory, but really the uniqueness of each mission and its various environmental puzzles. And I’m happy to say that missions are indeed unique, and multilayered enough to make them worth coming back for more. In short, Payday: Aces High is basically what it says on the tin, and I wouldn’t blame you if you stopped reading here.

That said, drilling in a bit deeper, the game isn’t without its flaws, some that may even urk dyed-in-the-wool Payday fans, which I get into a little later below.

As it is, there are some standard puzzle bits you’ll see in each of the game’s six mission: four-digit door codes and combination lock codes, both of which require you to hunt around the level for random post-its in a back office or wall somewhere, but there’s also gear-based stuff like hacking laptops using your special watch, and calling in a drone-mounted drill that is something of a minigame to distract you as your buddies will need to defend you while your back is turned.

But there are also puzzles specific to each mission, which include everything from timing based challenges to defending various capture points. It’s the sort of thing that requires team-based planning, which is great if you have a good group of three other people by your side.

Now, this may go without saying, but co-op games are almost always more fun with friends, and also people who are earnestly trying to cooperate. That’s most definitely the case with PAYDAY: Aces High, as it serves up mostly the same well-worn shooting and heisting experience you know from its other main branch titles throughout the years, which makes it a great framework for drop-in, drop-out fun.

That said, if you can’t manage to get some friends together, or find a decent quick match—which isn’t too tough right now since the game just launched—you will have to play solo. And I don’t recommend it at all.

When playing solo, or in a silent/uncooperative group (basically solo), you really start to notice just how blindingly dumb the game’s AI is. Baddies come in waves once you’ve blown your cover by donning your mask, or by bumping into a civilian, or being detected in a restricted area. That’s mostly fine. But they’re so inept that the term ‘bullet sponges’ doesn’t do them justice—real quantity over quality stuff.

As it is, you’ll find yourself in a room full of enemies of different types, all of which are randomly shooting (and missing most of the time) without any apparent tactic or instinct to take cover. Even the most powerful mini-gun dude with armor is an un-reactive moron on the default Normal mode.

Again, you might not immediately notice this when things are fast and the bullets are flying in good online co-op match, but eventually it’s will become something you just can’t unsee. And higher difficulty only seems to give enemies better armor and shooting ability, and not much else. That is, without a doubt, the biggest flaw in Payday: Aces High right now.

It’s a bit of shame too, because it’s one of the best-looking games on Quest right now, pushing a little higher visual fidelity on PC, but not by much. And Fast Travel Games (re: not the original devs Starbreeze) have translated the Payday heisting experience into a true VR native.

Immersion

Seeing a civilian aimlessly walk in a circle, or a cop who lets you get in his face and think nothing of it really hammers home that the experience isn’t about actually doing a heist. These are lifeless drones that serve more as moveable puzzle pieces, which is fine for the genre. It’s just not terribly immersive.

It essentially boils down the experience to a series of checklists, which is usually capped off with a massive firefight against endless waves of baddies. Make the bad men fall, complete the objectives to best of your ability, get the cash, buy new gadgets, and play any mission again. Maybe even the same just to farm more cash, which me and good group did for about a half-hour before people lost interest. That’s Payday for you. It’s not an indictment of the franchise, just something you should be aware of.

The game’s comparatively minor transgressions feel artificial, but not as artificial as its objectively terrible AI. For example, glass only breaks when you shoot it. Why? You have to hold loot items in your hands and crush them until they magically disappear. Because of reasons? Many of the door codes/combos repeat across multiple locks. That’s just bad op-sec. I think all of that can be mocked, but also forgiven in the defense of making the overall experience work for players.

On the bright side, gun handling is actually pretty good, as it allows for manual reloading by popping out a mag with a button press, pulling a mag (or shotgun shells) from behind your back, loading and charging manually. Here, I appreciate sacrificing ease of use when it’s in service of realism.

The inventory system is also smart, putting your guns in defined spots on your body, and extra items in a three-slot pop-up inventory that you can call up by pressing Y/B. Gamey and not immersive, sure, but also well designed enough to give you the import bits when you need them most, and out of the way when you don’t.

Level design is also a strong suit, as large complexes easily swallow lagging team members, offering up a good mix of open and closed-quarter spaces for different types of firefights.

Comfort

For its flaws, Payday: Aces High is a very comfortable game, as it follows all of the well-worn comfort conventions that Fast Travel and other veteran VR developers have accrued over the past decade.

It can equally be played standing or seated, with seated gameplay unencumbered by the inventory system, which doesn’t interfere with arm rests, so you can sit back and play just as easily as standing.