For the past month one game (at least one that isn’t called Final Fantasy XIV) has been dominating my time. Helldivers 2 is a game that I was following before launch, but had no idea how successful it would eventually become. I know it’s early to say that in the middle of March, with so many titles yet to come out, but this could very much not just be an early game of the year contender, but could go down as one of the best cooperative games of all time.

The story of Helldivers 2 is pretty thin. There isn’t a campaign to follow instead the overall narrative is told in a live service model, but more on that later. It turns a simple planetery liberation into a fight for your life. As you liberate systems, new orders will show up, mostly there to push you to go to different parts of the galaxy; it fits into the massive communtiy metagame that is running in the background, that makes everyone feel like they are doing their part to spread democracy and peace to the galaxy.

Helldivers 2 pits you against two formidable opponents. The bugs of the Terminids, which are an obvious spin of Starship Troopers‘ monsters, as well as a Skynet-inspired Automatons. Whilst these foes share some key similarities in the way they have the same archetypes, Helldivers 2 does a fantastic job making both feel completely different, almost like an entirely new game. Where the Terminids go deeper, The Automatons take on that unstoppable force, guerilla warfare as you dive in and out of enemy bases, and destroying factories to get rid of their prescence.

The gameplay loop follows a very simple strucutre; you select your operation from the galactic map that can have up to three different missions. Once selected you and up to three other helldivers will drop down onto the map, complete objectives, and wipe out anything in your way within the forty minute time limit.

Often times the maps are huge, with only your main objectives marked. However, scattered throughout are some valuable sidequests: S.E.A.F Artilliary cannons can be reactivated to provide additional firepower. Intereacting with satilites will reveal everything on the map, allowing you to properly sweep up valuable resources used for upgrades and other sidequests that can have a tangible impact on the mission you are currently playing. Although, it would be nice if these impacted other missions on the operation as well. It would add a layer of risk and reward, and encourage map wide completion.

Core mechanics are also very solid. Shooting feels surprisingly weighty as you move through the enviroment, with deeper puddles of water slowing you down and pushing through thick shrubbery providing believable resistance. One of the best features is the Metal Gear Solid V inspired dive feature that allows you to quickly dive out of the way of enemies and stay prone to take a few shots at enemies, especially since it can take a solid second for your character to get back up. Even weapons have a nice weight to them, especially machine guns and mounted turrets. It gives Helldivers 2 a strong grounded feel to the game.

However, the biggest trick that Helldivers 2 has going for it are the Strategems. These are powerful deployables that range from airstrikes, orbital lasers, to support utility such as turrets and extra pick up “support weapons” that further enhance your arsenal. There’s a lot to dig into here and it always feels epic… even if things go horribly wrong, which they will do. Activating them is an enitrely other game as well. Strategems are the leading cause of friendly fire with wide reaching impacts. Getting knocked down whilst holding the strategem beacon will drop it on the ground. As you complete missions and level up, you will unlock more and more. These powerful abilties have limited uses and sometimes even lenghty cooldowns, so coordinating with your team is critical. 

Whilst the lower difficulties are a hell of a lot of fun, it’s the the higher difficutlies that really showcase the brilliant design. It turns from more of a standard horde shooter into a tactical team-based game. You’ll always feel like you’re getting pushed backwards as you try and take out heavier and heavier units. You’ll even need to go so far as to deploy stealth to get from objective to objective, without alerting patroling enemies and bringing even more fire to you. One of my first successful runs on the game’s Helldive difficulty had us all sneaking through huge waves of patrols, the clock ticking on the final countdown until extraction, and getting to the extraction just in time. It’s an incredibly rewarding and satisfying experience.

Getting a group together has led to the most amount of fun I’ve had in a cooeprative shooter in years. Not only in the sense of teamwork and communication being strong, but Helldivers 2 also rewards players that are able to effectively clear out hordes of enemy bugs. It’s not overly punishing, but rather the game actively encourages some shennanigans. That’s because friendly fire is always on, and as the tutorial states, is unavoidable. Whether that be intentionally pushing a teammate into the blast radius of an ICMB launching because it’d be funny, or dropping a 380mm barrage at your feet because a charger knocked you down before you had chance to throw it. No matter what is happening with friends in this game, it’s always a good time. Even if the GM is throwing impossible odds at you, failing is still fun.

Even though playing with friends is where Helldivers 2 is at its best, I can also recommend playing in matchamking. My experience playing with randomers has been fairly positive. Most people play the objectives and tend to have just enough sense not to blow each other up (intentionally at least) and is still a fantastic time, with enough in-game tools to keep communications strong, even when not using microphones. Where I cannot reccomend Helldivers 2 is if you plan on playing entirely in single player. Unfortuantely, the core gameplay loop and scalling just doesn’t work well for solo players. It becomes more of a chore, and what makes the game special just disappears.

 

Now to touch on the worst part of any live service: microtransactions and battle passes. I have to say, as of launch the blance is seemingly really damn good. Battle passes are in the game and for arguably the first time since Halo Infinite (though the events ones are really bad in that game). Shockingly, I don’t fully hate them. There’s good non-linear progression, and best yet, there is no FOMO; the passes will never dissapear. All the premium currency that you could ever need can be earned through gameplay, even just scattered around the battlefield. All of this is exactly how it should be, and I really do hope it remains that way.

As I have previously mentioned, there is a developer pretty well known in the community. So far the story has evolved by bringing in mechs after enemy forces attack a factory. This is absolutely fantastic way to progress the story and introduce new mechanics at a steady pace. Not only that, this isn’t reliant on a seasonal model. When new content is ready to get added, it is just being added often times without warning. It’s refreshing to see a game drop away from the seasonal model and just drop content when it’s ready to go. Granted, this may all change in the future, but from what we’ve seen so far, this has been done incredibly well.

Saying that, the launch itself has been troublesome. Arrowhead Studios understimated the game’s popularity, and have admitted so. As a result, there have been issues with the game since launch and is still having issues a month later. With queues at peak hours as the player cap just tops off. I’ve had instances where matchmaking just doesn’t work. Rewards not unlocking or some other weird quirks. It’s in a much better state now, but there are still some issues that can sour an otherwise sublime experience.

Another standout thing about Helldivers 2 is in its presentation. Whilst the game can often lack in the finer details with some lower resolution textures, it more than makes up for it with just how stylish it is. Limbs flying off the termininds and the automatons falling apart and sparking are stunning. Then we have the strategems, the calling in of airstrikes, and the 500kg bomb in particular makes you feel like an unstoppable badass. Although, there are some framerate issues that are very much unavoidable. However, on my RTX 4070 I never found this to be unplayable.

The game also doesn’t take itself too seriously, clearly taking inspiration from the fantastic (and often underappreciated) sci-fi classic Starship Troopers, with its propaganda-driven style of humour, and characters who seem to enjoy their jobs way too much. Whilst there is some repetition in the voice lines, I can’t stop enjoying the cheesy “cup of libertea” voiceline or the manical laughter your character utters whilst gunning down hordes of bugs. This is on top of the stellar soundtrack that really elevates the action to the next level.

To put it plainly, Helldivers 2 is one of the best cooperative games in recent years. An uncomprisingly fun shooter, which may even stand up with the titans like Left 4 Dead 2, Monster Hunter World and Halo Master Chief Collection. Games like these, as well as Helldivers 2, are the ones I have spent hundreds of hours in, and will most likely continue to play for years to come. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to spread some managed democracy. Freedom don’t come free!

 

Graphics: 7.5 Helldivers 2 has a rough edge to its visuals and performance. It’s good, but it could have been a bit better, especially on PC.	Gameplay: 9.0 Despite some rough spots that show up in the higher difficulty settings, as well as launch instabilitys Helldivers 2 has proved to be a fantastic cooperative shooter that everyone needs to experience.
Sound: 9.5 Hilarious voice lines and a fantastic soundtrack elevate the experience.	Fun Factor: 9.5 Every single minute of Helldivers 2 is an absolute blast. It’s goofy, over-the-top, and engaging in all the right doses. One of my favorite co-op experiences in a long time.
Final Verdict: 9.0

Helldivers 2 is available now on PC and PlayStation 5.

Reviewed on PC with an RTX 4070.