izigame.me

tl;dr
New assets and style.
Lots of extra mechanics/interactables
New boss with flamethrower and grenade mechanics
Surprisingly optimized
Plenty of preplanning options
Solid heist, great addition to the game.
Guys, the Weaponlib file! Go delete it!
No seriously, got rid of it and I have next to no crashes now.

Gameplay

Good lord, the amount of polish in this heist is insane compared to Black Cat. It's like a completely different person/team worked on this. There's just so many small details and tweaks that make this feel like they put a lot of time into it.
Loud
Loud is pretty fun. There's a good variety with the layout; from tight corridors to open rooftops, balconies with snipers to clustered garages. It really makes it feel like all the weapon types have some use here. There's not a lot of vertical action, but that would be a bit hard to pull off here anyway. While the objectives are basically three "defend X" objectives with a boss fight, it's all handled in a fun way that keeps the heist interesting.
And good lord the new boss. Wang does not mess around. Overkill made him the beefiest mother-fucker, who not only resists headshot damage, but is completely immune to damage from behind. This means facing him head on, and his custom flamethrower will melt through armor. Not to mention he'll drop a molotov at his feet if anyone gets close, forcing players to strategize how to take him on.
Or you can run a melee build and kill him in two hits.
https://youtu.be/j-u_Tpcxz1A
They even account for Wong's tanky-ness by adding a cage with multiple ammo shelves, which give you a way to have extra ammo. So there's no real fear on running low on ammo, if you can get the cage open in time. He's a real bitch to kill, but it's super satisfying to put him down. I like fighting Wong more than all the other bosses, as all of them were bland bullet sponges.
Had a fun time, 10/10.

Stealth
I haven't seen this much detail in a stealth route in a while. While the stealth route closely mimics the loud route, there's a boat load of small additions that can only be seen or used in stealth.
The lobby metal detectors can be disabled to freely walk through them without setting off the alarm.
A coffee machine in the lobby can be used to distract the guard at the office door.
Bags and bodies thrown off the building will raise the alarm when they go splat.
Vents on the roof can be used to dispose of body bags, instead of throwing bags off the building.
Guards notice moved bookshelves like in Framing Frame.
Ladders on the roof can be lowered to make moving between floors easier.
Fuck, even the keypad for the cage is new and uses Chinese characters for the combination. Not the same 1-0 pad that we've had since Golden Grin. Just these small details really tie everything together.
There's nothing super flashy about the stealth route, but the amount of special touches that the devs added back into this heist really make it feel like a proper stealth heist.

Intel file on Kang:
He takes only 50% damage from explosives.
His mask/helmet will break depending on his remaining health, not from headshots.
This means headshots do no extra damage, as his mask never fully breaks.
He is 100% immune to ECM feedback.
He is immune to being on fire, poisoned, knocked down, concussed, or tased.
He is 100% invulnerable to bullets from behind.
The molotov he drops will damage all enemies that walk into the flames, including his own guards.
Does not count as a special enemy for statistics.

Objectives

Bold is the major differences between routes.
Loud
Access the lobby computer.
Hack and defend any security box.
Call the elevator from the basement.
Disable the elevator.
Find the tools in the van.
Enter the shaft and zip up.
Restart the elevator, and use it to rip open the penthouse doors.
Find the security room. Drill it open.
Position, fuel, and jack the car.
Drill, pick, or c4 the safe with the car keys.
Ram that door down.
Boss fight with Wang.
Defend the signal lights.
Secure 4 bags of gold and escape.
Stealth
Disable three security boxes in order.
Call the elevator from the basement.
Disable the elevator.
Find the tools in the van.
Enter the shaft and zip up.
Use the lift to cross over onto the balcony.
Find the security room. Find the cage code, or drill it open.
Decrypt the hardrive.
Set off the fire alarm.
Kill Wang.
Secure 4 bags of gold and escape.


Preplanning

10 favors maximum. Notes in italic.
Dead Drop
2 favors each. Max 2 per type.
Doctor Bag
Ammo Bag
Grenades
Body Bags
Surveillance
Spycam
Can be placed in the penthouse, lobby, and garage. 2 favors each, max 3 placed.
The penthouse cameras only covers the elevator hall and the car room. The lobby cameras cover a majority of the area. The garage camera covers the entire garage.
Hacking
Overclocking (stealth only)
Reduce the time it takes for the laptop to decrypt the hard drive. 3 favors.
Decreases the time by ~18s. Not really worth it.
Insider Help
Unlocked Door
Choose a door in the penthouse to unlock. 1 favor each, maximum 4.
This is a very minimal time save. If you have 1 extra favor left, pick a door.
Decal Hint
Marks the van with the equipment. 2 favors.
Honestly it takes barely any time to open a van. It's a minimal time save for 2 favors.
Marked Bookshelf
Marks the correct bookshelf. 2 favors.
Speeds things up in both loud and stealth. This highlights the correct shelf once you get close to it.
Backup
Spotter
Highlights guards and special enemies in either the office, balcony, or terrace. 3 favors, maximum 1.
The only spotter preplanning option that works inside the penthouse.
Additional Equipment
Thermite
Obtain thermite that melts open the boardroom door. 6 favors.
This fully skips the car altogether, but saves no time compared to the car keys. This only saves you from having to interact with the car.
Car Keys
The keys to the car are left out. 4 favors.
This skips having to open the safe with the car keys. A very good time save.
Bag Zipline
Loot zipline in penthouse. 2 favors, max 1.
Gives you an easy way to quickly unload bags. Bedroom one requires the window to be cut/smashed open

Loot

Bag Loot
Two titan cabinets, with 4 gold each. Keycard required.
Tea set in the meeting room.
Gnome in basement.
Lose Loot
Three tablets in one of the basement vans.
Random devices.
2 ATMs in the lobby.