Killing Floor 3 Review for PlayStation 5

The zeds came at me fast, grotesque and twitching, and within seconds I was knee-deep in blood, fire, and chaos. That’s pretty much the pitch of “Killing Floor 3” in a nutshell, an unapologetically gory co-op wave shooter that wastes no time getting to the carnage. I never played the first two entries in the series, so I came into this one cold, not really knowing what to expect. What I found was a polished, fast-paced action/horror FPS that absolutely nails the fundamentals, even if it plays things a little too safe. Set in the year 2091, “Killing Floor 3” drops you into a dystopian future where a corporate juggernaut called Horzine has unleashed a legion of bioengineered monsters known as zeds. You play as a member of Nightfall, a resistance group trying to stop the outbreak and take the fight back to the company responsible. The setup is pure sci-fi horror pulp, and the game doesn’t pretend to be anything more; this is all about gameplay, spectacle, and stylish bloodshed.

At its core, the game sticks to a tried-and-true loop: join up with a squad of up to six players, hold your ground through increasingly chaotic waves of enemies, earn in-match currency (“dosh”), and upgrade your gear between rounds. There’s a solo mode too, but “Killing Floor 3” is clearly designed for cooperative play. Coordination matters, especially when your team is composed of different specialist classes with unique weapons and abilities. There are six of those classes, or “specialists,” each bringing their own flavor to the fight. I gravitated toward the Ninja, who uses a grappling hook and dual swords to zip around and slice zeds apart with satisfying precision. Others include more conventional archetypes like a heavy gunner and a demolitions expert. Each class comes with a skill tree that gradually unlocks new abilities as you play, and weapons can be modded between missions to further shape your role. The customization isn’t especially deep, but it’s enough to carve out a playstyle and give you reasons to keep experimenting.

The zeds themselves are the stars here. These aren’t just meat bags for target practice; they’ve been redesigned from previous games with better AI and more variety. Some charge you head-on, others flank, and a few come with nasty surprises like ranged attacks or shielding abilities. Thanks to the returning M.E.A.T. system, every slash, bullet, and explosion triggers absurdly detailed gore effects. Limbs fly, flesh tears, and the blood stays where it lands, soaking every arena in evidence of the chaos you’ve survived. Combat feels fluid and responsive, and while some of the weapon audio feels underwhelming, especially with guns that lack punch, most encounters feel satisfyingly tense. The game also introduces a “Zed Time” mechanic that slows down the action temporarily, giving you a brief cinematic edge to clear the field or land a few stylish headshots. It never got old seeing a roomful of enemies explode in slow motion under synchronized fire.

Matches begin at a hub area called the Stronghold, where you choose your specialist and select from one of eight available maps. The levels are visually distinct and filled with environmental traps you can activate mid-fight, like spinning fans or automated turrets, which add a tactical layer to some of the encounters. Still, with only eight maps and six classes at launch, variety does start to wear thin faster than I’d hoped. And while the game encourages replayability through weapon mods, skill unlocks, and optional narrative assignments that flesh out the world a bit, it still feels like it’s missing a layer of depth or surprise. That’s really where “Killing Floor 3” starts to falter. It’s undeniably fun, especially in short bursts, but it doesn’t do much to separate itself from the rest of the genre. The fundamentals are strong, but it rarely pushes past them. I kept waiting for something that would raise my eyebrows, some twist on the formula, a standout mission, or a truly game-changing system, but it never came. And with the limited content currently available, it ends up feeling more like a well-made Early Access build than a fully fleshed-out sequel.

To its credit, it runs well, and I didn’t hit any major technical issues during my sessions. Matchmaking was smooth, and performance on my machine held steady even during the most chaotic swarms. Still, that doesn’t fully excuse the safe design or the sense that the developers are holding their best cards for future updates. If Tripwire builds on what they have here, then there’s a lot of potential for something bigger and better down the road. As it stands, “Killing Floor 3” is a solid wave shooter that delivers exactly what it promises: brutal co-op mayhem, tight gunplay, and enough blood to make a horror movie blush. It’s easy to hop into, satisfying in short sessions, and a good time with friends. But in a world filled with other excellent co-op shooters, that may not be quite enough.

7/10

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Nick Navarro

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Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87

Tags: Killing Floor 3 Tripwire interactive