Killing Floor 3 is easily one of the most exciting FPS games I’ve seen revealed in a while, especially when I consider my own history with the series. From goofing around in-game with friends to getting through some seriously chaotic boss battles, I’ve had my fair share of Killing Floor fun. In an exclusive interview during Gamescom, we got to sit down with the creative director, Bryan Wynia, to discuss the future of Killing Floor 3 and what Tripwire Interactive has planned for the third entry.
When asked about the team’s priority when considering what fans want out of Killing Floor 3, Wynia responded by saying that he “thought about the things that I would like to see” as a fan himself. The developers looked at what players were interacting with the most, from the most popular Killing Floor maps to weapons. Wynia said that the devs are striving to give us a “classic survival” experience that we “love and know.”
He referred to the third installment as a “direct sequel,” in the sense that it carries the “darker, grittier tone” that the first game has, while still giving us “opportunities to try different things.” The director used Batman as an analogy, saying that Tripwire personally compares the games to the comic book character. “For Killing Floor 3, we’re trying to treat it a little more Christopher Nolan,” Wynia explained, saying that the devs are “pulling in those horror roots.”
Wynia described how Tripwire is “addressing players wanting a darker Killing Floor” by “going back to those horror roots.” The classic Killing Floor experience is one that’s dark, but still grounded in reality, a feature that Wynia stressed as important in the interview. The game “will have guns that don’t exist in the real world,” but “they’re not sci-fi guns, they’re guns that could exist in seven years, grounded in reality.”
The director used the second game as an example, saying that it has guns that don’t exist but they still “feel impactful.” For Killing Floor 3, Tripwire wants a similar vibe where players have a lot of choices, like with their weapons, but still feel an unbreakable immersion that requires some grounding in reality.
While you wait to learn more about Killing Floor 3, you can have a look through some of our other favorite horror games if you need something else that’s just as terrifying to play. Alternatively, browse through our list of great multiplayer games for more things to play with your friends until you can gore a path through hordes of bloodthirsty zombies.
Gamescom 2023 reporting provided by Ed Smith.