Common Sense Media Review
By Marc Saltzman , based on child development research. How do we rate?
age 18+
Decent but very violent shooter plagued with tech issues.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a lot
Contains scenes with illegal narcotics. Gamers prep, sell the drugs, including meth and cocaine.
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
You shoot many weapons: pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and the like. Enemies cry out in pain, fall to their deaths. Large amounts of blood seen, as well as body parts. You'll mostly kill rival gangs, police officers, but you can kill hostages (generally penalized for killing civilians).
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Language
a lot
Strong profanity includes "f--k" and "s--t."
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See AlsoHow long to beat PAYDAY 2Get started
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
very little
Some paintings, drawings of women in suggestive poses, revealing outfits, but no nudity.
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Products & Purchases
very little
Includes downloadable content (DLC) such as "Hotline Miami" and "Diamond Heist," but players don't have to pay for these add-on packs.
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Ease of Play
a lot
Simple controls, easy to learn.
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Positive Messages
none
No positive messages -- you're a criminal who constantly breaks the law.
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Positive Role Models
none
You play various characters, including a new female bank robber, but constantly commit crimes.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Payday 2: Crimewave Edition is essentially a bank heist simulator and is full of inappropriate content. Players can rob banks with others, shoot and kill rival gangs and police officers, kill hostages if need be, and deal drugs in some other missions. Along with plenty of violence, blood and gore, there's also strong profanity, drug use, and women in suggestive poses and outfits.
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Payday 2: Crimewave Edition
Parent and Kid Reviews
See all
- Parents say (26)
- Kids say (79)
age 12+
Based on 26 parent reviews
P4nd4_h4m Adult
June 16, 2020
age 13+
One of my favourite co op games
Payday 2 is a Co op fps inwich you Rob Banks and do criminal stuff but it is not like gta and there is no sex there are drugs but you only steal them and you never see anyone take them the only bad thing you actually see is blood and shooting but the graphics are not very good and the blood is not very realistic ohh and they say the f word every 2 seconds but you hear worse in school. I recommend having friends to play with you because some missions can be tedious on yourbown
Dnfnfn D. Adult
March 5, 2024
age 11+
This game is goofy, dumb, violent, but fun. Kind of like a more kid-friendly GTA.
This game has mostly violence and drugs. The game is about gangs and illegal activity. You run around as a criminal and kill cops and sell drugs. It is pretty fun and fairly informative of what not to do with your life. The game also has swearing, including f--k and s--t. If you are fine with your kid preparing coccaine, selling it, and then robbing a bank until you eventually get killed by the cops, let them play it. (Basically GTA but less violent and no sex)
Rate game
See all 26 parent reviews
What’s It About?
PAYDAY 2: CRIMEWAVE EDITION is a refreshed version of 2013's Payday 2. This souped-up game includes the original game with improved visuals, new material (including new heists, weapons, armor, masks, and more) and previously released downloadable content (such as the "Hotline Miami" and "Diamond Heist" add-on packs). Payday 2 is a cooperatively (co-op) centered first-person shooter that lets gamers don the masks of bank robbers who plan and execute epic bank heists and other criminal tasks in Washington, D.C. Though you can try to play stealthily, there are major shoot-outs with the police, FBI, SWAT teams, and rival gangs.
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
Parents say (26):
Kids say (79):
Though it won't win any "Best of" awards, and the potentially disturbing content won't make this game a parental pick, Payday 2: Crimewave Edition offers a lot of bang for the buck. It's not worth picking up if you already own the previous game, unless you really want to play it on newer consoles, and there are other issues, but it proves fairly fun when playing with online friends. There are new heists, such as "The Big Bank," "The Butcher," and "The Dentist," all of which are loaded with safe cracking, loot stealing, hostage taking, shooting, and vandalizing. There's also a new perk system and skill tree for greater character customization, a new pre-planning feature to prep strategies prior to missions, and nearly 100 weapons and almost 150 customizable masks. The co-op experience is gratifying, as is the progression/XP system and the healthy number of character slots to choose the right team for the job. The game's music soundtrack also is worth noting.
That said, there are assorted issues, such as graphical bugs -- awkward character models, "clipping" issues (where players can get half a character's body stuck in a wall or safe), and fallen enemies that seem to float in the air instead of fall to the ground. There also are some single-player A.I. problems, where your computer-controlled teammates disregard the objectives and do whatever they want. But if you can overlook these issues and you're a fan of this genre, Payday 2: Crimewave Edition is a decent bank-robbing action game at a decent price; otherwise, this might not be right for you.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the impact of violence in games such as Payday 2: Crimewave Edition. Is it OK to vicariously live a day in a gangster's life -- scratching a fantasy itch or clearly understanding it as "guilty pleasure" entertainment -- or does this kind of violence desensitize us to the real thing?
How did you manage to coordinate your tactics with others? Did you find it easy? What were the main challenges of working with a team of online players?
Game Details
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Not available online
- Publisher: 505 Games
- Release date: June 25, 2015
- Genre: First-Person Shooter
- Topics: Adventures
- ESRB rating: M for Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes
- Last updated: October 12, 2021
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Payday 2: Crimewave Edition
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