Helldivers 2 is a possible representation of what may come soon. A new (super) earth that’s a result of exploring the depths of space without knowing if we’re trespassing someone’s or something’s border… Eventually, each new supremacy comes with enemies that want nothing more than to tear this new species down to conserve their dominion within the universe. Helldivers 2 is a constant battle for democracy to justify the right to live. In other words, the perfect setting for an awesome action-packed game. Let’s talk…
Helldivers is a franchise that originally launched as a top-down shooter somewhat 9 years ago. It was a game that focused on action-packed chaos that sparked the interest of a lot of players. Veteran players will have already looked out for this interesting sequel but they will probably also be baffled the first time they have watched some gameplay because the developers tried to stay as close as possible to the original but with splash of innovation that will probably divide the community in two. The developers twisted the top-down action shooter into a 3rd person shooter and this will open up the possibilities on how the developers could approach the game.
“Helldivers is a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously…”
Helldivers is an organization full of supertroopers that has but one duty and that is to protect all of Super Earth’s inhabitants from outer space threats, like Terminids and Automatons. The Terminids are insectoids with reproduction as their foremost focus. While Automatons are all about destruction without any information about how their whereabouts. Super Earth is all about freedom, democracy, and progression, and anyone who threatens the destruction of this newly founded world must be obliterated. But Democracy and Freedom are the top sellers of this Earth 2.0. To convince everyone to join Helldivers, you’ll be flabbergasted with lots of promotional videos with a lot of satirical influence. Helldivers is a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously and the moment you first boot up the game, there’s propaganda everywhere.
The game plays out like you’re trained from the ground up to become a super trooper with lots of talent. With only a couple of minutes of training, you’ll be high-praised by your fellow commanders and you’ll be granted a basic ship that can be upgraded into a vessel of destruction that will help you fight for democracy. After the tutorial, you’re sent into space with your vessel. This vessel is pretty much basic and has the tools to ready up your helldiver for the upcoming battles. You’ll be able to get an overview of the galactic map with different destinations, all with their fauna and flora. Each destination has a community mission with information about the environmental hazards and what type of enemies that occupy this planet. Each mission represents a goal for the whole community and you’ll be able to see the progress, the amount of active Helldivers doing the mission, the number of deaths, damage numbers, … You can choose freely which mission you want to do and what difficulty rating.
“Each successful completion will contribute to the percentage and will generate in-game rewards for participating Helldivers.”
So each mission is all about serving the common goal with the active community. Each mission will heighten or lower the liberation percentage of every planet. You can do your part by performing multiple main and side missions on the planet. You choose a mission with a main focus but when you’re landing on the planet, you’ll be able to explore the planet and continue to contribute to the liberation percentage by completing missions: destroying bases or ammo depots, destroying nests, launching a nuclear bomb, re-allocate the signal dishes, … Each successful completion will contribute to the percentage and will generate in-game rewards for participating Helldivers.
Of course, you’re also able to choose the right equipment and stratagems before embarking on these important missions. There are lots of guns with different shooting settings and (dis)advantages. You have your standard Assault Rifles, Marksman Rifles and Shotguns, alongside different kinds of grenades. Each weapon also has a different kind of bullet, fire rate, or magazine. You also have access to stratagems that can turn the battle in your favor very easily.
“Some weapons will require a shooter and a reloader to make the shot. It’s a great interaction with each other.”
These Strategems are in-game abilities that use the tactical assault capabilities of your ship. By performing a certain pattern with your directional keys, you’ll be able to activate this tactical equipment on the spot. After activation, you’ll need a target to mark the designated spot for your strikes, pods, and even supply packs. It seems easy, but try and activate a stratagem when you’re being swarmed by the enemy. There’s a bit of a curve where you start small with a pod with a machine gun or a laser beam but these stratagems will evolve into greater things like a napalm air strike, a nuclear warhead, defensive turrets, rocket launchers, … Some weapons also have the function to help each other out. Some weapons will require a shooter and a reloader to make the shot. It’s a great interaction with each other.
Graphically speaking, the game presents itself as a little bit outdated but each time when you embark on a mission for the very first time, the planet’s fauna and flora always surprise me in the most positive way ever. The planets go from barren to snowy and from tropical weather to the dark side of the moon. The developers made great use of different color palettes, saturation, and lighting effects. The game also runs very smoothly on the PlayStation 5. There were some problems at launch like malfunctioning matchmaking, connection issues, and server capacities, … but a couple of weeks later, the game was almost out of the problem harbor.
“Don’t waste time, apply for Helldivers!”
The best way to describe Helldivers: your space-themed action movie. The game is meant to be played with friends or total strangers. Of course, playing with friends has its benefits: communication, getting the right direction, … but also the fact that you can easily apologize and laugh away deaths of team members that were caused by friendly team members. Yes, friendly fire is a thing and it won’t be easy to stay out of a friendly crew member’s sight when you’re being swarmed by hordes of enemies and you’re trying to stay alive, so you’ll use up all of your ammo and randomly place your stratagem’s mark just to survive. Not only do your crew members play their part but the crew members will randomly shout war cries during your battle and it’s always a hoot. Don’t waste time, apply for Helldivers!
One very important thing about the game is the sense of truly being a part of the Helldivers. Propaganda is all around you, community goals are being presented, and the thing I like the most: the game shows the vessels of players around you. The moment you choose a mission, you’ll be setting a course for the drop area but you see it happening in the cockpit of your ship. The moment you position your ship, you’ll see that you’re surrounded by multiple vessels. You see each drop action and stratagem activation in real-time from your cockpit. The immersive feeling of being part of something greater is one of its best selling points.
Conclusion:
Helldivers is a blast to play. It’s all about mindless shooting of hordes with a group of friends or a couple of strangers. The game doesn’t need too much explication and everything is straightforward. Choose a mission, equip the right tools, launch the pod, do your job, return successfully, earn credits and respect, spend it on your ship, and do it all again. Also, the combination of chaos and friendly fire will end up in accidental deaths of your members but it is just hilarious how some people die on the battlefield. One improvement I would like to see is the variation in missions and threats. The developers already said that they were working on future content, so I got my hopes up. Thanks for reading the review but now it’s time to go back in the game and fight for democracy!
