#reasons #Helldivers #gaming #hit #moment #Games
game reviewThe best way to spread democracy is with a weapon in hand. That is the pumped-up militaristic atmosphere of ‘Helldivers 2’, a cooperative shooter in which you shoot alien monsters and robots. The setting is tongue-in-cheek, the action is deadly serious and extremely fun.
‘Helldivers 2’ had an eventful launch, with quite a few connection issues and bugs that were quickly addressed with a volley of patches and server upgrades. Since its release on February 8, we have had to throw this review in the trash a few times, because our first impression was poor. Now that the game is running more stable, the server capacity has been increased and more and more players have found their way, the potential of this shooter has clawed to the surface. And here’s why:
1. Humor aside
In ‘Helldivers 2’ you will liberate strange planets as heroic cannon fodder – or is it extermination? The intro immediately sets the tone with a campaign video that encourages residents of ‘Super Earth’ to join the Helldivers, a team of elite soldiers “who maintain peace”. As you hear that, you see those soldiers ram a flag into the body of a struggling alien monster. And when the voice-over tells potential recruits that they will be able to discover “exotic new life”, a grenade explodes the snout of a meter-sized alien insect.
Soldiers ram a flag into an alien. © Arrowhead Game Studios
It’s all as subtle as hitting you with a wet mop, but it is excellently developed in all aspects of the game. From the bitter way the voice-over tastes democracy on its lips to the ecstatic screams of characters as they go wild with a gun: this is a game that will make you grin more than once.
© Arrowhead Game Studios
2. Virtually no learning curve
Of course, humor alone won’t make a game. The gameplay remains the most important thing, and in ‘Helldivers 2’ it is very solid. And what’s more, anyone who has ever played a shooter will love it. The training mission is very succinct but powerful, getting you going right away. It will take another five to ten hours before you really start to get good, and then the salvation of ‘our way of life’ will really gain momentum.
© Arrowhead Game Studios
3. Firepower with impact
Firearms come in all shapes and types, from machine guns to shotguns with explosive projectiles and flamethrowers. Nothing new under the sun, but all weapons feel different and – importantly – also powerful. It also makes a big difference when you shoot crouched or lying down, so everything just fits. From the recoil to the impact, you feel every shot.
© Arrowhead Game Studios
4. Help from space
One feature that sets ‘Helldivers’ apart is the help of spaceships and drones that you can call on. On the one hand, they can attack enemies directly with a whole arsenal, including a carpet bomb, tons of napalm or lasers. On the other hand, they also drop supplies, weapons, and other resources. For example, you have a small armed drone that floats around you, a jump booster or an energy shield. But things like minefields and multiple automatic turrets are also available, so you can really play in many different ways. You can select four extras per mission, including special weapons.
© Arrowhead Game Studios
You can also replace fallen players via those spaceships, and that all works via arrow combinations that make it extra exciting in the heat of battle. In some levels you also have to drop and activate a gigantic bomb, after which a real loud bang will shake the entire game world. And all for the glory of ‘managed democracy’, which the longer you play, the harder it seems to relate to democracy as National Socialism relates to socialism.
© Arrowhead Game Studios
5. Lots of variety
From white ice planets to red greenhouses with bubbling lava and everything in between, you get plenty of variety on “the planets that need to be liberated” from the creatures “that threaten our way of life.” The sandbox missions range from blowing up fuel depots to destroying ‘bug’ nests to protecting fleeing humans from Terminator-like robots. One of the most hilarious assignments is to raise the Super Earth flag in a number of camps. While this is happening, players typically stand around the mast saluting the flag to the tune of a glorious tune that seems to come from the 1940s.
© Arrowhead Game Studios
And even when the content of the mission is the same, every game has a different dynamic because of everything you find here and there and of course how your fellow players behave. This really is such a crucial thing that will keep this game fresh for a long time. The enormous number of locations also prevents players with more experience from memorizing the maps in the long run. Gamers with a higher level are not necessarily advantaged over others with about ten hours under their belt.
© Arrowhead Game Studios
6. No ballast
Like most multiplayer games, you can extensively customize your character in ‘Helldivers 2’ and outfit them with a lot of useful and useless outfits. But something we really love is that you don’t have to worry about customizing weapons themselves. Too many games, especially loot shooters, throw small upgrades at you every five bones, which you replace all too quickly. None of that with ‘Helldivers 2’, which seems designed to throw you back into the next suicide mission as quickly as possible. A relief.
© Arrowhead Game Studios
7. No waiting times
The battles can last a few or tens of minutes, and they are really made for groups of up to four players. The game also supports crossplay, although you can disable that. As mentioned, the first few weeks were a bit difficult, including matchmaking sessions that didn’t work out or servers that were simply packed. Those problems have largely been resolved, which means that participation in someone’s game is now ridiculously fast. Even when you start a game alone and ask for help, you will quickly get extra help. Impressive, without a doubt.
© Arrowhead Game Studios
8. Friendly fire
‘Helldivers 2’ adds a bit of venom, because players can also kill each other – or simply be shot down by their own automatic guns. This applies even more to the destructive air support that sometimes lands just too close to your fellow players and thus causes a lot of resentment. The worst are moments when a newbie is stupid enough to shoot you and then casually steals your equipment too. Will you take revenge or take one for the team? And do you shoot that idiot just before the extraction? This abrasive hinge also makes every game different.
© Arrowhead Game Studios
9. The start of the missions lights the fuse
A really cool aspect of the game is that you can follow the ‘liberation’ of the planets in real time. This creates a kind of common goal, and conversely you also get a lot of disappointment on social media when a planet turns out to be ‘lost’. From the bridge of the spaceships you can also see other helldivers crashing to the surface in their ‘hellpods’, or the huge air raids departing. The moons or planets that you see while your helldiver blasts out of your spaceship to the sounds of bombastic music are also very nice.
From your spaceship you can follow the battle on the planet’s surface. © Arrowhead Game Studios
Downside and future
‘Helldivers 2’ does a lot right. But one of the few areas where we miss the mark is with the menus to unlock equipment and some other gadgets. A lot of it is purely cosmetic, but you have to buy a lot of that crap before you get access to items that are useful. The items are not sorted and it is also not possible to check off unnecessary things, with the result that we spent a few too many times looking at the properties of colorful helmets without extra features. The latter could of course also be entirely due to our declining memory.
A lot of unlockable equipment, weapons and emotes are grouped together in a menu. © Arrowhead Game Studios
By the way, the game contains different types of coins, and it is very nice that you can only obtain the vast majority of useful gadgets by playing the game, not by paying anything extra. Even those who pay extra for the special edition of the game do not get equipment that really makes a difference. So that’s positive again.
The mechs are coming. © Arrowhead Game Studios
In terms of content, it is sometimes a bit annoying that you have to walk long distances. We miss a really sturdy jetpack like in the ‘Titanfall’ games that allows you to permanently jump further and higher. A set of wheels would also certainly come in handy, but images of both vehicles and mechs are circulating online. The latter are coming soon, developer Arrowhead Game Studios says.
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Conclusion: 9/10
‘Helldivers’ is highly recommended for shooter enthusiasts, with or without a team. The matchmaking runs like clockwork and the crackling action is always different and rewarding. When dozens of robots or monsters attack at once and players are summoning bomb carpets and turrets as they sprint for their lives to the extraction point, something just happens. And let’s face it: those aliens aren’t going to remove themselves from their, er, our planets. So, the helldivers need you too. For the democracy. For our way of life.
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