Success can sometimes also be a problem. “Helldivers 2” is the first surprise hit of 2024. When released simultaneously on PlayStation 5 and PC, the game broke internal records.
However, this success was so overnight that developer Arrowhead Studios was caught off guard. The result: The service game is still suffering from massive technical problems almost two weeks after its release. And this despite emergency patches and expanded server capacity.
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And yet “Helldivers 2” is selling wildly and the P3 editorial team also played for hours and hours. The fight with Terminids and robots is extremely motivating and could become a long-running co-op favorite.
The scenario: Great opportunity and not enough made of it!
One thing should be said at this point: “Helldivers 2” is not a story game and requires an online connection at all times. The science fiction shooter takes you into the future, in which the over-earth is attacked by Termininids (the so-called “bugs”) and robots. As a citizen of the earth loyal to the system, you naturally volunteer to take up arms in order to defend humanity and, above all, freedom and democracy. “Helldivers 2” creates a wonderfully exaggerated scenario that is very reminiscent of “Starship Troopers” in its orientation.
It’s a shame that after the really strong intro, far too little is made of it. Of course it’s funny when our character shouts “How do you like freedom” at the Terminids, but this isn’t really sustainable. That’s really bitter, because with a little more story depth and a few additional cutscenes and information, “Helldivers 2” could have been a bit better.
Not for single players
It’s no surprise that “Helldivers 2” quickly throws you into the interstellar war after the tutorial. As soon as we are released from basic training, we become the commander of our own space cruiser and find new areas of operation on the war table.
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There is no real introduction to what is happening. Instead, we unlock higher and higher levels of difficulty over time and decide how challenging “Helldivers 2” should be and how high the reward should be. And this is exactly where the problem lies for solo players: If you want to destroy Terminids and robots single-handedly, then Arrowhead’s shooting orgy quickly becomes monotonous and exhausting.
No matter how cleverly you use your equipment, from the medium level of difficulty onwards you will only be able to deal with the hordes of enemies in reverse gear and even with occasional pauses due to the cooldown times on the tactical equipment. In short: On its own, “Helldivers 2” is okay for an hour or two at the beginning, but nothing more.
More than just clumsy shooting
While “Helldivers 2” seems like a pretty clumsy “Starship Troopers” clone in the first hour, the game turns out to be more of a three-dimensional bullet hell with each new level of difficulty.
As elite soldiers, we travel to the planets of robots and bugs and have to complete mission objectives there. This can involve killing certain opponents or activating radio masts or other devices.
Annoying: The game doesn’t explain enough. When we were supposed to blow up a fuel depot for the first time, we had no idea that we had the so-called hell bomb in our arsenal and that we would have to detonate it.
The cards are pleasantly varied: Different lighting moods and changes of day and night as well as partially destructible areas and buildings create the impression of a wide variety of locations. At the same time, you can often see recurring components such as bases or spaceship wrecks.
As the level of difficulty increases, depth also comes into play: tactical equipment such as orbital strikes, additional weapons and other extras need to be used wisely. Especially in a co-op with four participants, there are moments in which you literally raze an enemy camp to the ground. These fireworks are wonderfully satisfying, as “Helldivers 2” is also an extremely pretty and atmospheric game.
But apart from the spectacle, there are a few things that need to be taken into account: “Friendly fire”, for example, always causes trouble and casualties in uncoordinated attacks. Even a set-up machine gun turret quickly becomes a danger if it is not placed cleverly.
“Helldivers 2” offers different equipment that changes the armor, but also the mobility and endurance of our character. There is no agile evasive role or anything like that. In dangerous situations you dive out of the way, but then stay lying down and have to get yourself up again. That takes time.
The same applies to changing magazines: On the one hand, this process costs valuable seconds, which are especially scarce when hordes of bugs are approaching. On the other hand, you not only throw away the magazine, but also the bullets remaining in it. So if you reflexively reload after every shot, you will quickly find yourself without ammunition.
In this way, “Helldivers 2” is surprisingly varied for a service shooter and always impresses with dramatic situations. The extraction from the target areas in particular proves to be a pure thrill that doesn’t have to hide behind games like “Left 4 Dead”.
Always new toys
“Helldivers 2” is a merciless game. You only have limited supply forces – i.e. bonus lives. If you run out of these, the mission is considered a failure and you return to your spaceship empty-handed.
Even if you occasionally discover other players’ weapons or equipment during the missions, the progression is strictly linear. So we had to give up the railgun we discovered early on.
“Helldivers 2” is not a loot shooter either. So it doesn’t throw objects at you. Instead, you receive experience points for completing missions to level up your character profile. You also get R coins.
With the latter you unlock tactical equipment piece by piece. You invest the medals in war bounds and thus in weapons, armor and other extras. Activation takes time. This also means that you try out new cannons more persistently and perhaps give them more than just one chance.
Properties such as armor penetration are also important, especially in higher levels of difficulty. Grenades also play an important role – and not just for destroying larger formations. During the missions you have to pulverize robot factories or Terminid buildings and to do this you have to hurl grenades into the buildings.
At this point we can dispel the fears that “Helldivers 2” could degenerate into pay-to-win. Of course there is the payment currency credits in the game, but the objects offered have no effect on the gameplay. And since it has already been announced that there will be no Versus options, we can delete this point of criticism.
All in all, the progression is slow but steady. And yes, you have to play a lot to activate new weapons and it’s not uncommon for game progress to take a little longer.