Reactions are highly divided. Many players praise the campaign and satisfying gunplay, and some enjoy DMZ's extraction missions, but multiplayer is often undermined by aggressive matchmaking and perceived input imbalance. DMZ itself is a compelling extraction mode for some and a frustrating PvP-heavy grind for others. Frequent complaints about PC access, crashes, optimization, cheating, and value for money make the overall experience feel unreliable for a substantial number of reviewers.

Overall sentiment is now cautiously positive: many players say the game has made a notable comeback, praising gunplay and movement, more flexible stealth, and free heists. However, limited heists and progression, weak solo AI, and always-online and performance issues remain recurring complaints. Comparisons with PAYDAY 2 and mixed views on difficulty, build depth, and monetization mean recommendations often come with caveats, particularly for longtime fans.

Overall, players are impressed by the expansion’s scale, variety, and value, especially its ocean exploration, underwater environments, and new management systems. However, the launch has been marred by progress-blocking bugs, crashes, and performance issues, alongside awkward ship controls and repetitive crew chatter. The huge map and ambitious features are exciting but sometimes feel shallow or underfilled, and while rapid patches have helped some players, many recommend waiting until the remaining issues are fixed.

Sentiment is overwhelmingly enthusiastic: players celebrate realistic vehicle and crash physics, open-ended sandbox freedom, and extensive mod support, often describing the game as highly replayable and worth the price. The main caveat is uneven performance and update-related bugs, alongside complaints about confusing UI changes and weak AI. Opinions are divided on vehicle handling, career progression, and how well the game runs on different hardware.