TL;DR
Overall, it's alright. In terms of gameplay, it's probably what you've seen and expect. The game is very pay to win, and you'll need to grind a few heists before you can buy the best equipment to go stealth or otherwise pick the best approach.
I came to this game completely new to the series, so with this review, I'll try to help those like me.
Cons
- No compaign: The "career" is a couple of heists (exactly the same as those that you'll play online) with a few bonus cash rewards. Absolutely no story stringing them together, cutscenes, or anything of the sort.
- Team AI sucks: you can tell the devs want you to buy the game for your friends, because team AI is useless. They can't complete any objectives or carry any loot without mods, and they're pretty much only useful as bullet sponges. However, since they insist on following you, you'll often be followed down the empty street to the getaway van to drop off a bag, only to return to a bank crawling with police. It would make much more sense if you could command a few to stay behind. It sucks even more though to realize that this choice is intentional, as I said. Bad sign when devs make the game worse on purpose so you get the game for friends.
- 82 DLCs: Yeah. Nowadays, you can get some bundles (like the Legacy Bundle) pretty cheap (I got the base game for less than a dollar, thanks Fanatical!), but even so, it's not honest as a developer to lock 50 heists behind a paywall (each priced $1-5, although you can always check current prices) when the base game comes with less than half of that.
- Pay to win: I guess not too bad since there's no PVP, but still.
- Some bugs: nothing gamebreaking, but lacks polish.
Pros
- Complete freedom: it is worth scouting the location first to find entry points and stealth tactics. The game doesn't guide you too much, so it's completely up to you how to pull it off. It even gives you a map of the area pre-mission which you can draw on with your team. Also, although the stealth is kind of janky, if you get seen, the cops aren't immediately alerted. You can intimidate the person and turn them into a hostage.
- Decent loadout options: although more than half of weapons/equipment are locked behind DLC, the DLC equipment is mostly cosmetic and heists can still be pulled off with the base equipment. This is why it pays off to study the map: it may be better to go in with a saw and drill on one map, or a sentry gun or extra armor on another.