One way or another, a game always has a story. While some games can blow huge chunks of gameplay time telling incredible narratives, those that don’t will have theirs told by the players themselves. At the end of the day, every game session can be told as a story.
This is kind of Helldivers 2’s biggest strength. Being one of 2024’s surprise hits, the game presents its world similar to a lot of tabletop games- here’s the setting, you’re free to act within its confines. Using a bunch of missions, a real-time war and some of the most genuinely funny video game writing in a while, Helldivers 2 has you sold on its core premise: the protection of Super Earth and her interests.
A Genuine Want To Play The Game
There’s not much you can say mechanically about the game that isn’t short of “yeah, it’s good”. As a co op shooter it somehow masterfully evades the pitfalls of its contemporaries- its loot is tiered only in name, its stats negligible and its battlepass unlimited in its time.
I really can’t praise it enough for this- so many of the best games are bogged down by a loot grind, a spreadsheet-based strategy to drive retention. You know what drives retention in Helldivers 2? A desire to just keep playing the game. The missions are bite-sized enough that you can get away with cheeky sessions to unwind at the end of the day. Add that to the Galactic War, with server-wide threats that your SSSD-delivery will totally help repel.
Even how it approaches its difficulty is simple, yet elegant- the higher up you go, the more enemies there are. No bullet-sponge enemies, just an even more frustrating horde. It makes you wonder what took so long for us to get here, the idea of a game trusting you to have enough fun with it to keep playing.
Design philosophy aside, there’s also a fair amount of depth to Helldivers 2- enemies have weakpoints, and that can mean some pretty clever play. Orbital strikes and air raids are just fine and dandy, but sometimes there’s nothing quite so thrilling as running down a slope so you can upskirt a Terminid with explosive rounds. Guns have different firing methods, realistic magazines, the works- you can even go fully prone for if you’re trying to snipe, something I haven’t seen other shooters do since Gundam Battle Operation 2.
It even extends to how you wanna play the game. Trust some stranger on the internet? There’s 2-man weapons. I don’t know how your self esteem might be if you’re the type to be ok with spending your playtime loading someone else’s gun, but maybe that’s the joy of being a Helldiver- you’re happy to do your part.
Designed With Purpose (And That Purpose Is Democracy)
That’s not to say there’s no gripes, however. Customization can be questionable, since your’e not really allowed to color your own armor. It’s a huge seller of the “we’re all one unit” mentality, definitely, but it does feel frustrating since your first time opening the armor menu you’ll see four identical helmets just with different stripes.
There’s also the difficulty itself- if you’re playing alone good luck, it’s literally impossible for one Helldiver to save Super Earth. You’re basically stuck playing on easy, which means far less rewards if you’re aiming for that shiny new helmet or gun. Playing alone is way less common now that the server issues are fixed, mind you- but if you’re the type who hates the mere idea of other people being in your game, this is probably not going to be your cup of tea.
Still, every single odd decision in Helldivers 2 feels like exactly that- a decision. Arrowhead knew the kind of game they wanted to make, and whether or not you’re into it is entirely on you. I personally adore the microfrustrations the game throws at you- the mission objectives that involve a terminal are basically glorified Among Us minigames interspersed with killer space bugs, and I do think that’s what the triple-A gaming space has been missing.
Is Helldivers 2 just a fad that will disappear from public consciousness? Probably. But for now, it’s one of the most addictively fun games you can play. Be it in short burst jaunts or longer sessions you’re going to have a good time, as long as you do your part.
Score: 9/10
Game reviewed on PS5 and PC. Review code provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Screenshots from the PC version.
