Highlights

  • Killing Floor 3 set in 2091 offers potential for new Zed experiments.
  • A lack of unique Zed designs in Killing Floor 2 leaves room for improvement.
  • Killing Floor 3 needs to recapture the horror of the original game.

Killing Floor 3 is the latest in Tripwire Interactive's line of zombie horde shooters, and the series has come a long way from its origins nearly 20 years ago. It's not yet known when the third entry will be released, but it's been highly anticipated by players of the second Killing Floor 2, a game that has been going strong for over seven years now. Set to utilize impressive visuals in Unreal Engine 5, Killing Floor 3 is expected to bring a new level of quality to the core experience of mowing down the franchise's signature Zeds, mutant clones that function as zombies which have largely stayed the same so far.

While the upcoming third entry uses the same technology as several upcoming AAA games, Killing Floor actually began as a mod for Unreal Tournament 2004 before it was redeveloped as a standalone title. The more modern official releases of KF have often been compared to both Call of Duty's Zombies and Left 4 Dead in terms of formula, but the reality is that the original Killing Floor mod, many of its enemy designs included, came before both of those. In a series that has remained so close to what was established back then, while also diverging from its original vision in key ways, Killing Floor 3 has the chance to bring out the best in the enemies that make up its main focus.

killing floor 2 weapons aa12 and thermite bore
Related
Weapons That Need to Return in Killing Floor 3

The Killing Floor series is full of iconic weapons for mowing down hoards of specimens and monstrosities, and the third entry should bring some back.

The Original Killing Floor Set the Tone for Zeds in the Sequel

Killing Floor 2 Hardly Introduced Any New Zed Types

The addictive, wave-based gameplay loop that came to define the first Killing Floor was something that the sequel was able to maintain, but the follow-up also kept most of its enemies. New variants of Clots, Gorefasts, and Fleshpounds served to mix the spread up for the most part, but Killing Floor 2's classes seemed to be more of a priority than the essentially updated versions of the same creatures as before.

This isn't necessarily a downside to players who enjoy the known Zeds, but it's also undeniable that they lacked the same unique quality they naturally had in their first appearances.

Robotic EDARs Don't Evoke the Same Feeling

Apart from the variations of existing Zeds and new bosses which bear similarities to Left 4 Dead's Special Infected, the only truly new enemy that Killing Floor introduced is the EDAR, a type of security robot unlike any past creature that has appeared. These emotionless machines are certainly intimidating and challenging to face, along with complementing the more technological theming of the second entry, but they ultimately aren't in line with what makes Killing Floor's grotesque, disturbing opponents so memorable in the first place.

Killing Floor 3 Needs More Than Just Remixes of Existing Zeds

A Futuristic Setting Opens Up Potential for New Horzine Experiments

There has always been a sci-fi, somewhat Resident Evil-esque twist to Killing Floor's biotech-themed setting and maps, but the third game being set in the year 2091 has created a whole new set of possibilities. Decades would be ample time for the nefarious Horzine to develop new Zeds that go beyond predictable powers like grafted chainsaws and turning invisible, as seen with the new Fleshpound's arms, and hopefully these fresh designs will be able to reflect an atmosphere as cohesive as that of the first game's.

Recapturing the Horror of the First Killing Floor

The improvements to gameplay and mechanical depth that took place in the transition into Killing Floor 2 make it hard to go back to the original, but the feeling of the series as an alternative to CoD's Zombies is appreciated even after almost 15 years. The darker, murky color palette and more tortured, creepy appearances of the Zeds in the first game specifically came together to create a tone that was lost in the more sanitized, medically accurate gore of the sequel. Killing Floor 3 seems to be going even further down this route in terms of style, but it's still capable of finding its own kind of horror if it can let its Zeds properly evolve this time.