The long-awaited Payday 2 DLC has arrived in a free update, where players can break out Pete Gold- Er, Old Hoxton. The heist has had a large amount of hype surrounding it from the Payday 2 community, and it manages to capture a lot of what we were hoping for, while also falling flat in some other areas.

The main part of Day One is protecting the Armored Truck currently housing Hoxton, while clearing out all of the obstacles in its path. The concept doesn’t initially sound like much, as it would be more entertaining to actually get to sit in the back of the truck and shoot. However, when playing on harder difficulties the streets are constantly swarming with waves of SWAT teams and special enemies. The first day keeps you constantly moving, as slowing down or trying to stop and “camp” will cause you to get swarmed by the oncoming enemies.

After the streets, you’re sent into a parking garage to search through until you find the control room. The heist pacing drops down significantly here, as it takes a while for enemies to storm their way into the garage, leaving a good minute or so for just picking locks and crossing fingers. Once the control room is found, you have to do the standard hacking and guarding the computer while it loads. However, the loading time is much shorter than how it may be in other heists, and this is definitely a good change. The slower hacking time leaves more time for running and fighting rather than locking down inside of the control room.

The second day is a full frontal assault on an FBI building, and manages to keep similar pacing and difficulty that the first day did, while also incorporating more objectives. The objectives are randomized but are usually the standard goals like drilling into a room, hacking a computer or rummaging through files. The drill times and hacking times are shorter as they were in the first day, which helps keep up the quick pacing.

However, my main complaints are that I wish that this felt more like a “breakout.” With all the hype leading up to the breakout, there is actually very little time spent breaking out. The players all start downstairs, the C4 blows down the wall without any interaction, and 30 seconds later you’re outside at the truck. The heist remains fast paced and fun, but it is hardly a “breakout,” and the heist had a lot of missed potential in terms of “stealthing.”

The two new songs for this heist, The Gauntlet and Something Wicked This Way Comes are as amazing as we’ve come to expect from the Payday 2 soundtrack. The Gauntlet is so catchy and fast-paced that it fits the first day perfectly and is one of the best songs on the soundtrack.

Hoxton also returns as a playable character, with his own awesome mask and new melee weapon… a toothbrush shiv. Pete Gold is a very welcome addition back to the Payday world. He brings a lot of talent to the role as always, and it’s really satisfying to hear his voice again. The new Fugitive and Crook Skill Tree/Perk Deck also seem pretty well rounded rather than being strong in one particular area, and it’s definitely nice to have more options when creating different builds.