Zeds today, gone tomorrow
By Paul Hunter
Killing Floor 3 arrives in July 2025 from Tripwire Interactive, loaded with guns, gadgets, and a whole lot of Zeds to take apart. This first-person co-op shooter pits you and up to five others against wave after wave of enemies, each round leading to a boss fight that will test every bullet, blade, and nerve you’ve got.
You start by picking from six class perks, each with its own weapons, gadgets, and combat role. The new weapon mod system means you can tweak and tune gear mid-match, building exactly what you need to survive. One match you might be unloading a laser cannon into the crowd, the next you’re freezing targets solid for a brutal finish.
The action moves smoother than before, with added dashing, sliding, and climbing letting you dodge trouble and reach better vantage points. Maps are bigger, busier, and filled with interactive hazards, giving you ways to fight smarter as well as harder. The visual carnage has levelled up too, with every shot leaving a mark in spectacularly messy fashion.
Crossplay connects PC and console crews from day one. The tools are here for non-stop mayhem—but will Killing Floor 3 keep you coming back for “just one more round”? Let’s find out!
Set in 2091, Killing Floor 3 places you in a near-future fight against Horzine’s latest creations. Seventy years after the prior instalment, the outbreak has evolved into complex threats that test every tactic. You suit up as a Nightfall specialist and move through mission areas meant to contain the spread, each one split into multiple waves that build toward a boss encounter.
The game keeps most of its story on the periphery. A mission voice gives direction, but narrative beats rarely steal the action. Instead, story elements show up as objectives and environmental cues you can choose to pursue between waves. Those objectives sometimes require finding small, hidden items while chaos swirls around you, which adds a scavenger element to each stage.
Missions are layered. Alongside wave survival, the maps hide side tasks and optional goals that reward exploration. You can either poke around during breaks or return to the hub to buy weapons and gear at a trader pod. Maps also include activatable devices like turrets, turbines, and traps that can shift a round in your favour when used well.
Boss battles end most stages and often unfold across multiple phases, with distinct behaviours to read and react to. The Zeds themselves show upgraded movement and tactics, so encounters feel less predictable. The story here sets the threat and stakes while leaving the spotlight on how you approach each mission, so the narrative supports the action without slowing it down.
Killing Floor 3 centres on fast-action combat and clear roles. You pick a perk, like Firebug, Engineer or Ninja, with its own gadget, gear and special moves, then refine that kit as you level up. Each perk gives tools that change how you handle waves, from area denial to direct damage.
Weapon variety covers flamethrowers, shotguns and blades, and the mod system gives you dozens of options to tune recoil, ammo type and attachments. I customised an Engineer shotgun into a high-penetration build with a scope, silencer, lighter mag and slug rounds, and that setup cut through crowds in a way I didn’t expect. Mods and crafting parts let you tailor each match to the situation.
Early rounds reward using your multi-tool to open turrets, ziplines, doors and armour lockers. Turrets reset after a cooldown so you can reuse them with another tool use. Maps hide environmental traps and activatable devices—turbines, fuel tanks and bubbling oil—that can be flipped to thin the herd or stall a push. Timing those traps with grenades or crowd control feels very satisfying.
Once you master the game's tricks, shredding Zeds becomes easier and faster. Look for glowing critical zones to score big hits. Executing Fleshpounds and Scrakes causes explosive chain kills and nets a large amount of dosh. Equip the knife to move faster, and switch to your sidearm against small zeds to save cash. If you run dry, reach the next trader pod during a wave to resupply.
Progression gives meaningful choices: perk levels raise your operational budget so you can start a match with stronger or modified weapons. You can upgrade skills and weapon mods in the Stronghold, the base you can visit between matches. The trade-off is a late grind to max out perks, and basic fodder hasn’t expanded much beyond previous entries, which may feel repetitive over long sessions. Still, the combat loop, customisation depth and tactical use of the environment make each round feel tactical and rewarding.
Visually, Killing Floor 3 leans on Unreal Engine 5 with Lumen lighting turned on for much of the sparkle. You won’t find ray tracing options, but the scene lighting gives maps weight and helps make the monsters feel immediate when they rush you.
The M.E.A.T. System returns and it’s louder than ever. Dismemberment has more break points, blood pools stay visible, and guts get a sticky permanence that makes each shot feel consequential. I watched a Chimera (one of the new boss Zeds) up close and the level of detail in its face made me pause mid-firefight, which is not something that happens often.
Performance is a mixed bag. On the PS5 Pro, the game runs at 1440p with HDR and a 60fps target. During intense fights, I noticed occasional stutters, and even on PS5 Pro there were frame dips without any clear cause.
Sound design deserves praise. The soundtrack’s industrial-metal charge from Rocky Gray and zYnthetic gives fights a real push. Effects match hits and dismembers well, and the voice acting is solid. Expect some repeated lines during long sessions, though.
In short, the presentation hits many of the right notes for a visceral shooter, but technical rough edges keep it from reaching a consistently smooth show.
Final Score: 8.5/10 - Great
Developer: Tripwire Interactive
Publisher: Tripwire Interactive
Genre: First-Person Shooter, Action, Horror
Modes: Single-player, Multiplayer
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
Killing Floor 3 arrives in July 2025 from Tripwire Interactive, loaded with guns, gadgets, and a whole lot of Zeds to take apart. This first-person co-op shooter pits you and up to five others against wave after wave of enemies, each round leading to a boss fight that will test every bullet, blade, and nerve you’ve got.
You start by picking from six class perks, each with its own weapons, gadgets, and combat role. The new weapon mod system means you can tweak and tune gear mid-match, building exactly what you need to survive. One match you might be unloading a laser cannon into the crowd, the next you’re freezing targets solid for a brutal finish.
The action moves smoother than before, with added dashing, sliding, and climbing letting you dodge trouble and reach better vantage points. Maps are bigger, busier, and filled with interactive hazards, giving you ways to fight smarter as well as harder. The visual carnage has levelled up too, with every shot leaving a mark in spectacularly messy fashion.
Crossplay connects PC and console crews from day one. The tools are here for non-stop mayhem—but will Killing Floor 3 keep you coming back for “just one more round”? Let’s find out!
Set in 2091, Killing Floor 3 places you in a near-future fight against Horzine’s latest creations. Seventy years after the prior instalment, the outbreak has evolved into complex threats that test every tactic. You suit up as a Nightfall specialist and move through mission areas meant to contain the spread, each one split into multiple waves that build toward a boss encounter.
The game keeps most of its story on the periphery. A mission voice gives direction, but narrative beats rarely steal the action. Instead, story elements show up as objectives and environmental cues you can choose to pursue between waves. Those objectives sometimes require finding small, hidden items while chaos swirls around you, which adds a scavenger element to each stage.
Missions are layered. Alongside wave survival, the maps hide side tasks and optional goals that reward exploration. You can either poke around during breaks or return to the hub to buy weapons and gear at a trader pod. Maps also include activatable devices like turrets, turbines, and traps that can shift a round in your favour when used well.
Boss battles end most stages and often unfold across multiple phases, with distinct behaviours to read and react to. The Zeds themselves show upgraded movement and tactics, so encounters feel less predictable. The story here sets the threat and stakes while leaving the spotlight on how you approach each mission, so the narrative supports the action without slowing it down.
Killing Floor 3 centres on fast-action combat and clear roles. You pick a perk, like Firebug, Engineer or Ninja, with its own gadget, gear and special moves, then refine that kit as you level up. Each perk gives tools that change how you handle waves, from area denial to direct damage.
Weapon variety covers flamethrowers, shotguns and blades, and the mod system gives you dozens of options to tune recoil, ammo type and attachments. I customised an Engineer shotgun into a high-penetration build with a scope, silencer, lighter mag and slug rounds, and that setup cut through crowds in a way I didn’t expect. Mods and crafting parts let you tailor each match to the situation.
Early rounds reward using your multi-tool to open turrets, ziplines, doors and armour lockers. Turrets reset after a cooldown so you can reuse them with another tool use. Maps hide environmental traps and activatable devices—turbines, fuel tanks and bubbling oil—that can be flipped to thin the herd or stall a push. Timing those traps with grenades or crowd control feels very satisfying.
Once you master the game's tricks, shredding Zeds becomes easier and faster. Look for glowing critical zones to score big hits. Executing Fleshpounds and Scrakes causes explosive chain kills and nets a large amount of dosh. Equip the knife to move faster, and switch to your sidearm against small zeds to save cash. If you run dry, reach the next trader pod during a wave to resupply.
Progression gives meaningful choices: perk levels raise your operational budget so you can start a match with stronger or modified weapons. You can upgrade skills and weapon mods in the Stronghold, the base you can visit between matches. The trade-off is a late grind to max out perks, and basic fodder hasn’t expanded much beyond previous entries, which may feel repetitive over long sessions. Still, the combat loop, customisation depth and tactical use of the environment make each round feel tactical and rewarding.
Visually, Killing Floor 3 leans on Unreal Engine 5 with Lumen lighting turned on for much of the sparkle. You won’t find ray tracing options, but the scene lighting gives maps weight and helps make the monsters feel immediate when they rush you.
The M.E.A.T. System returns and it’s louder than ever. Dismemberment has more break points, blood pools stay visible, and guts get a sticky permanence that makes each shot feel consequential. I watched a Chimera (one of the new boss Zeds) up close and the level of detail in its face made me pause mid-firefight, which is not something that happens often.
Performance is a mixed bag. On the PS5 Pro, the game runs at 1440p with HDR and a 60fps target. During intense fights, I noticed occasional stutters, and even on PS5 Pro there were frame dips without any clear cause.
Sound design deserves praise. The soundtrack’s industrial-metal charge from Rocky Gray and zYnthetic gives fights a real push. Effects match hits and dismembers well, and the voice acting is solid. Expect some repeated lines during long sessions, though.
In short, the presentation hits many of the right notes for a visceral shooter, but technical rough edges keep it from reaching a consistently smooth show.
The Verdict
Killing Floor 3 delivers a strong co-op experience centred on six defined perks, versatile weapon mods, and enemy AI with sharper movement. Maps reward creative use of turrets and traps, and the M.E.A.T. System adds weight to every hit. Crossplay and six-player matches stand out as major strengths, while solo runs offer a challenging alternative. Progressing perks takes dedication, and performance can dip at rare moments, but the core systems shine. With its solid foundation and future potential, it’s an easy recommendation for fans of team-based wave shooters.Final Score: 8.5/10 - Great
Killing Floor 3 details
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PCDeveloper: Tripwire Interactive
Publisher: Tripwire Interactive
Genre: First-Person Shooter, Action, Horror
Modes: Single-player, Multiplayer
A key was provided by the publisher.