PAYDAY: Aces High is a new VR-focused entry in the popular heist franchise, putting players in the shoes of four criminals collectively known as The Aces. After being framed and sent to prison by wealthy businessman Warren Jupiter, the group escapes and sets out to dismantle his empire by robbing banks, museums, and other high-security locations. Developed and published by Fast Travel Games, the game takes the familiar cooperative heist formula and rebuilds it around virtual reality, with an emphasis on physical interactions, weapon handling, and teamwork. The narrative itself is fairly straightforward, serving primarily as a reason to bring the crew together for another series of increasingly ambitious robberies. There isn’t much depth to the revenge plot, but the four protagonists have distinct identities, and the voice acting helps bring the relatively simple story to life without getting in the way of the actual heisting.
The basic structure will be familiar to anyone who has played previous PAYDAY games. Players assemble a crew of up to four criminals, select a mission, prepare their equipment, and attempt to get away with as much valuable loot as possible. There are six heists available at launch, each featuring additional objectives and different opportunities to approach the job. Stealth is an option, allowing players to sneak through restricted areas, manipulate security systems, and avoid drawing attention, while a more aggressive approach involves smashing through defenses and dealing with waves of law enforcement. There is also room for something in between, with plans frequently changing once an alarm goes off. Unfortunately, the balance between these approaches isn’t quite right. Stealth feels unnecessarily unforgiving, with guards and civilians detecting players very quickly and leaving little opportunity to react. As a result, supposedly quiet operations frequently turn into prolonged firefights, making the experience feel more like a wave shooter than a carefully orchestrated heist simulator.
That doesn’t mean the missions themselves lack variety or replay value. Each heist features multiple objectives, while randomized elements such as guard patrols, loot locations, and entry points help make subsequent attempts feel less predictable. There is genuine satisfaction in learning the layout of a location, experimenting with different approaches, and gradually improving the execution of a robbery. The safehouse also provides a welcome place to prepare, offering access to weapons, equipment, character customization, and a shooting range. The four Aces represent different criminal archetypes, but their identities are largely cosmetic rather than restrictive classes. Instead, players can develop their own builds by unlocking skills, gadgets, weapons, and other equipment, creating loadouts that suit their preferred approach. This flexibility is particularly welcome, although the initial selection of six missions and relatively limited weapon variety leave considerable room for expansion. The progression system provides a reason to return, but additional heists, more distinctive weapons, and further customization options would help sustain that interest over time.
Where PAYDAY: Aces High really distinguishes itself is in its adaptation of familiar gameplay mechanics to virtual reality. Rather than simply placing the traditional game inside a headset, Fast Travel Games has built numerous interactions around physical movement and controller input. Reloading weapons involves removing magazines and inserting replacements, while equipment can be operated directly through motion-based interactions. Cracking a safe requires physically manipulating its dial, and certain drilling and hacking sequences introduce small challenges that involve matching frequencies or interacting with virtual devices. The interface also makes clever use of the player’s body, with a wristwatch displaying ammunition information and the forearm providing access to mission objectives. These details make the experience considerably more engaging than simply pointing at objects and pressing buttons. Even relatively mundane activities become more interesting when players have to perform them themselves, and the physical interactions are among the game’s strongest features.
The shooting is another major highlight, with satisfying recoil and plenty of weapons to experiment with. Assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, and other firearms have their own handling characteristics, while manual reloading adds an extra layer of involvement to firefights. The reloading system is particularly enjoyable, striking a decent balance between assistance and physical involvement. However, the weapon handling isn’t without its shortcomings. Carrying loot while trying to manage a firearm can become cumbersome, as reloading requires players to drop whatever they are carrying rather than allowing them to handle a weapon one-handed. Discarding partially used magazines also wastes the remaining ammunition, an unnecessarily restrictive decision in a game where resources matter. The lack of dedicated gunstock calibration and virtual stock options further limits the shooting experience for players using additional VR accessories. These issues can interrupt the flow of an otherwise enjoyable firefight. The fundamentals are certainly there, but the weapon handling could benefit from greater flexibility and a few additional refinements.
Cooperation is naturally central to the experience, and having three other players alongside you makes a considerable difference. Coordinating a getaway, covering teammates while they work on a vault, and reviving a fallen criminal under fire are the kinds of moments that make the game particularly entertaining. Full crossplay between Meta Quest and Steam VR also makes it easier to assemble a crew regardless of the headset being used. Players can fill empty positions with AI-controlled teammates, which are generally capable of providing assistance, and disconnected players are automatically replaced. Nevertheless, computer-controlled partners cannot fully replicate the unpredictability and coordination of playing with actual people. Enemy AI is another weak point, with opponents sometimes behaving simplistically, standing exposed or appearing unexpectedly in ways that undermine immersion. Heavily armored enemies add welcome intensity to later encounters, but the overall intelligence and variety of the opposition could be improved. The inability to restart a heist directly is also a surprisingly frustrating omission, forcing groups to leave their current session and establish another lobby when they want to try a mission again. That’s particularly inconvenient for players attempting to perfect a stealth approach through repeated attempts.
Visually, PAYDAY: Aces High makes a decent impression, with detailed environments and a presentation that works well for a game designed around standalone VR hardware. The Quest version maintains good performance while offering an appealing representation of its various locations, while the PC VR version benefits from additional visual headroom and smoother presentation. The environments provide enough detail to make the different heist locations feel convincing, and the various physical interactions help reinforce the sense of actually occupying these spaces. There are some immersion-breaking shortcomings, however, including the limited physical representation of player characters and occasional lighting inconsistencies that can make weapons appear to change color depending on the environment. Character animations could also use some additional personality, particularly when compared with the otherwise expressive nature of the VR interactions. Audio complements the action, with voice acting supporting the narrative and communication between players playing an important role in cooperative missions. The overall presentation is effective, even if neither the visuals nor the audio are entirely without room for improvement.
PAYDAY: Aces High is an enjoyable addition to the franchise and, more importantly, a convincing demonstration of how its familiar heist formula can work in a game designed specifically for VR. The physical interactions, satisfying gunplay, flexible character progression, and cooperative chaos provide plenty of memorable moments, particularly when playing with friends. However, the relatively small selection of launch missions, inconsistent stealth mechanics, simplistic enemy behavior, and missing quality-of-life features prevent it from reaching its full potential. Some shortcomings are more frustrating than others, especially the lack of a straightforward heist restart option and the limitations surrounding weapon handling while carrying loot. Still, the underlying foundation is strong, and Fast Travel Games has already outlined plans for additional content, including a free seventh heist and further weapons, gadgets, and skills. With continued support and some meaningful improvements, this could become a particularly appealing destination for VR shooter fans. For now, it’s a fun and immersive cooperative experience that gets many of the fundamentals right, even if the execution occasionally needs a little more polish.
Score: 7.5/10