Everything spiraled out of control, and it’s hard to believe considering how intricately we planned it. In the days leading to the heist, my team and I left no stone unturned: we scoped out the futuristic bank, gathered the necessary gear to shatter the windows for our exit, and prepped a swarm of deadly drones to blitz the place under the guise of casual couriers. We crafted the plan meticulously, ensuring it was airtight. But as with any grand caper, things took an unexpected turn.
The culprit? Good old-fashioned greed. We’d already nabbed our primary score—data buried deep in the cerebral cortex of a technocrat CEO, kept in a high-tech stasis. We’d cracked into his mind, pocketed the vital plans, and were primed to beat a hasty retreat. But then, right on cue, a colleague—one of the 10 Chambers developers, no less—chimed in with an enticing thought: “Why not raid the other vaults for more loot?”
Why not indeed? Our daring escape from the vertiginous pinnacle of a Dubai-esque skyscraper was set. Grabbing a few more bags of cash couldn’t harm us, right? But as we settled in on the mezzanine, a wave of security droids and mercenaries flooded the scene—an onslaught of gunfire, shields, and chaos. One teammate was ambushed in the lobby’s hellish crossfire. A dev holding the right flank saw his luck run out as a grenade blindsided him. While I was at the rear, prepping our exfiltration, a shot from a marksman clipped me from across the hall. Just like that, game over. Heist finished.
This, my friends, is what makes a heist game exceptional. The potential for things to nosedive adds authentic tension. “I’ve never seen that many guys appear out of nowhere so fast,” a developer remarked, clearly surprised. “Just goes to show, anything can happen!” That’s the allure of Den of Wolves, setting it apart from others. In Payday and its successor, you jump into any heist without much of a plan. Perhaps someone would sneak to the vault, another would charge in guns blazing, while someone else spins in their own little universe.
Den of Wolves demands a different approach. Preparation is crucial. It evokes Ocean’s 11—where one of you plays the George Clooney mastermind, another the nonchalant Brad Pitt sidekick, and probably a Matt Damon type willing to gamble for a point.
“It’s more like Heat, I think,” says Simon Viklund, co-founder and narrative director of 10 Chambers, reflecting on our escapade. “Remember Heat? It starts with gathering explosives, stealing an ambulance, preparing meticulously.” That blueprint fuels Den of Wolves—a TL;DR replica of Heat. Before diving into narrative-rich heists, you tackle smaller tasks to arm up, secure an exit, and shift the odds in your favor.
Here’s a glimpse. Before embarking on the main heist (a mission up to 40 minutes long), we took part in a preparatory mission (about 10 minutes) where our squad infiltrated a fortified building to ‘borrow’ an assault drone. This drone, discreetly packaged, wiped out the vault’s defenders, paving our way inside with ease. From there, it was game on.
“It’s heavier and more intense than the Ocean’s movies,” Viklund chuckles. “But it allows for more player agency. You assess the mission and decide ‘Oh, I’ll go with my stealth loadout/sniper set-up/assault gear’ based on your prep.” That could have been my downfall. I’m a sniper at heart; hand me a battle rifle or DMR, and I’m golden. But I should have anticipated a flood of armed foes near the mission’s climax. Maybe an SMG or incendiaries would’ve served me better. Lessons for the afterlife.
What Den of Wolves adds to the Payday formula is depth—something 10 Chambers, with its seasoned architects from Payday, inherently understands. Stakes are higher, intent clearer, mishaps a constant threat. It captures the pulse-pounding peril of the job, honed from their experience with a notoriously tough co-op shooter like GTFO. Yet, Den of Wolves remains accessible—our hubris, our avarice led us to ruin.
The game’s cyberpunk vibe syncs seamlessly with the dynamic action; it’s lively, responsive, and striking. DMRs pack a wallop as they should, and the pistol—more Desert Eagle than pocket-sized gadget—kicks back fiercely, unyielding to the point of blowing droids to bits. You can feel the heft of a loot bag on your shoulders, affecting your balance like lugging $100k cash would. Shooting through an energy shield offers a cerebral, tactile thrill as enemy bullets lamely bounce away.
This early version isn’t even in official early access yet—pre-pre-alpha stage, really. Still, it’s impressive. The cyclical gameplay (plan, prep, enter, steal, flee, and repeat) promises to pulse with vitality the deeper you dig in. The arsenal grows, and with it, the feedback loop expands. It builds on what made Payday revolutionary in 2011, cranking the excitement even higher. The folks at 10 Chambers shared that Ulf Andersson (the creative mind behind Payday) had long dreamed of a sci-fi heist game. Den of Wolves, then, is the product of a vision maturing over 15 years.
And you can feel that maturity. Den of Wolves is sharp and polished, honing in on gameplay in ways that its competitors, like Payday 3, have stumbled. Identifying a void in player-driven, co-op heist shooters, 10 Chambers is poised to fill it with finesse. With smart monetization and a knack for the genre, Den of Wolves is on track to be a standout addition to the heist game world. Here’s to hoping 10 Chambers can stick the landing.
Den of Wolves is set to make its Early Access debut soon, aiming first for a PC release but as of yet, no official timeline has been announced.
