TIt’s been exactly a month since Helldivers 2 has been out and between this game and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth arriving nearly 2-weeks apart, I’ve been torn on which one to focus on. Given the timing of the review, its very obvious I favored the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth but between that game and being overseas lately, I’ve put this review off for far too long but its good timing still: as of this writing exactly 1 month after Helldivers 2 has released, the game is currently sitting as the most purchased game in Steam globally with regional difference only having the newly released Dragon’s Dogma 2 as a contender.
With that being said, in this review I’ll be talking about Helldivers 2 and what makes a standout game despite not having a AAA billing or marketing effort and should you join in now despite a major parts of our galactic region already being liberated for DEMOCRACY! Read on to find out more.
Plot
The game doesn’t really have a deep premise or lore to back it up but whatever bits and pieces is there, more than makes up for the lack of a well-woven story for Helldivers 2’s greatest asset is its humor. Oozing with hyperpatriotism and jingoism, with the warcry of “For Democracy!” being a complete oxymoron to the kind of “democracy” Helldivers dispense on Terminids and Automatons.
The game’s opening tutorial pretty much spells it out and that’s pretty much all the lore dump you’re going to get besides the opening CG movie and the game plays up the humor. Many have likened Helldivers 2 to the 90s cult classic Starship Troopers which is very evident in-game especially against the Terminids.
Besides that, there’s really no story-driven motivation for the game as it is primarily a live-service game that will probably see its universe lore expand as more and more players spready democracy around Super Earth.
Gameplay
Helldivers 2 is a 3rd-person shooter and while you can play solo, the fun is in the multiplayer aspect of the game where you and 3 other friends (or randoms) spread some democracy by killing everything in sight to finish your objectives. There’s some detailed nuances here and there and many of the game’s hallmarks is in its over-the-top presentation and consequence choices.
First and foremost, the game insists on friendly-fire. And not just the gunfire kind. While it is easy to dodge out of the way of the crossfire, Helldivers 2’s stratagem concept mixes things up providing various in-game assets like weapons, ammo and health resupply, turrets, etc. But these power-ups don’t just pop-out of thin air, no no no. They get dropped like how players do: shot down from space. And the game makes it so with impact. That signature thud when a stratagem drops from the sky is as impactful as it sound and is basically lethal to both you and the enemies.
Supporting fire stratagems are also the same, calling in unique covering or supporting fire from the orbiting warship to further wreak havoc on the enemies… and your team if you don’t find cover or get enough distance from the covered area.
It’s a great way to balance out the monotonous randomness that some games have come to embrace and has made this PVE experience a much more strategic experience rather than the mindless bulletstorm it may appear to be. This gets further enhanced once more advanced weaponry gets added to your arsenal providing more creative ways to clear missions.
Speaking of missions, gameplay objectives will vary by mission with some areas spanning multiple missions to clear the area. Helldivers has expansive map locales with alien fauna and flora peppered with destruction. Completing missions grants XP and rewards to level up your character and expand your arsenal and warship.
This gameplay loop is the core experience of Helldivers 2 and its various quirks and nuances add up to create a unique gameplay experience. Depending on how you trudge through the game, your experience grind can be arduos or quick like all multiplayer games do. Some players tend to be really friendly and supportive while others either immediately kick you for being a lowbie or blasts you on chat before leaving.
This is by far the only toxic experience you’ll probbaly experience in Helldivers 2 unless a player really goes of out their way to creatively kill you with friendly fire.
Graphics and Presentation
One of the other reasons I had to put this game off was for our performance testing and so far I’ve not yet reached a level that actually taxed my system on the PC version. The PS5 version I’ve yet to also experience any slowdowns even on particle-laiden terrain with enemy guts being sprayed on the screen left and right. This could change once we reach more complex maps and difficulties but as of this moment, the game is quite stable despite having a swarm on your back, provided you have decent rig. Make sure to stay connected once we released our CPU and GPU performance and scaling analysis once more content for Helldivers 2 drops.
The game’s overall audio and visual presentation aren’t too high-end and some may call it outdated but the game favors overall adoption than going for visual spice or whatnot. As mentioned, the game’s sound design is excellent and the voice acting really does the game extremely well to really drive up the patriotism the game’s character’s exude for the sake of their goals.
 Final Thoughts and Conclusion
It cannot be stressed how much of a success Helldivers 2 has had during its launch and up to now players are still pouring in. Thanks to cross-platform support, this also means that the game has a larger playerbase than most games out now with PC and PlayStation gamers spreading democracy hand-in-hand. The initial server issues appear to have been fixed and I’ve yet to experience issues finding or connecting to a game or joining friends. Perhaps the issue I’m more curious in now is with the rapid increase in players and how fast the game is being completed with liberated areas of the game quickly dwindling, more content could be heading our way.
All of that said, Helldivers 2 is a paid game and if you’re playing any other online shooter with friends and this game is an easy recommendation whether you play on PC or PlayStation, you can all be together for democracy!