The first time my squad fought a Bile Titan was a disaster. We dropped into a hot zone full of Terminids, Helldivers 2’s alien bugs, and lost all of our extra lives before we even found the thing. We were running for the hills when we ran right into it instead: an absolutely massive, hulking bug that dripped (and spit) acid, easily towering over anything we’d seen so far. It took everything we had – bullets, airstrikes, orbital cannons, grenades, and more than a little luck – but we somehow managed to fell the beast and get the entire squad back onto our evac ship just as our position was about to be overrun. “I can’t believe we survived that,” one of my friends said. “Me neither,” I said. “Wanna go again?” Reader, we played for several more hours.
That’s the Helldivers 2 experience in a nutshell. It’s hilarious, smartly designed, and intense whether you’re playing solo, with a squad of other random Helldivers, or serving up a nice hot cup of Liber-tea across the galaxy with your buddies – though like most games of its type, Helldivers 2 is much, much better with friends. With varied missions, a huge catalog of weapons, emotes, armor, and abilities to unlock, and long-term campaigns against the bugs and Automatons (think Terminators) to fight in the name of Managed Democracy, Helldivers 2 has enough laughs, close shaves, and pure, unabashed fun to keep you busy for a long, long time. I’ve put more than 40 hours in since release, and I’m still enjoying traveling to exciting new places, meeting exotic life forms, and killing them for the glory of Super Earth.
Helldivers 2 doesn’t waste time getting you into the action. After a gut-busting opening piece of mandatory propaganda (refusal to pay attention is treason) which explains that Super Earth is under attack from the robotic Automatons and the “legally-distinct-but-still-totally-the-bugs-from-Starship-Troopers” Terminids (which are also definitely not Warhammer 40K’s Tyranids!), you’re dropped into Helldiver basic training. Your instructor tells you that he isn’t easily impressed… before letting you know how impressed he is by the fact that you’re not backing down.
After mercilessly gassing you up during one of the funniest tutorials I’ve ever played and telling you how invincible you are – while conveniently avoiding the fact that the average Helldiver has a lifespan of about, oh, I don’t know, 30 seconds – you earn your cape and are given command of your own Super Destroyer space ship (I named mine the Elected Representative of Family Values) and sent to the front lines with your buddies. Once you’re out in the Galactic War, you’re free to head to either the Automaton or Terminid front to bring Liberty and Managed Democracy to their occupied planets. Each world has multiple missions with multiple objectives, which range from destroying Termanid eggs to activating your local, nuclear-armed ICBM. Just a regular, glorious day at the office for your average Helldiver.
What’s nice is that every mission feels different, even if you’ve completed these same objectives before. That’s largely because maps are distinct and unique, even on the same planet, because of the way the terrain changes – one map might have a lot of water and hills, while another might be heavily forested or covered in snow. On top of that, each mission usually has a couple of optional objectives to complete, like blowing up outposts, loading a piece of artillery that you can use later, or terminating a treasonous broadcast. Combine that with bugs bursting up from underground to attack you without notice and robot dropships delivering reinforcements to the front lines at what always seems to be the worst possible time, and no two missions ever play out the same way.
You don’t start with a big selection of gear for your Helldiver (a couple of primary weapon options, a sidearm, and a grenade) but shooting is satisfyingly weighty, especially with the DualSense controller’s haptics. Plus, Helldivers 2 forces you to coordinate to succeed as a group – or play smart if you’re alone. You’re racing against the clock; if your mission timer hits zero, you won’t be able to call in more Stratagems – special abilities like orbital strikes, airstrikes from bombers, or additional weapons like the extremely powerful railgun and equipment like a mortar turret – and your squad has a limited number of Reinforcements (AKA extra lives), so you have to pick your priorities, manage your resources, and choose where to spend your time. It’s always challenging.
What makes Helldivers 2 cool, though, are the little touches that make sure you’re always thinking about how to manage those resources while hordes of bugs and robots throw themselves at your squad. Reloading, for instance, discards any remaining rounds you have in a clip; bullets don’t just teleport back into your inventory. Being accurate while aiming means you’ll need to go prone, crouch, or stand still. If your leg takes damage, you won’t be able to sprint, and if your arm is injured, you’ll be less accurate when firing your weapon. If you want to call down reinforcements, special weapons, or a resupply, you’ve got to rapid-fire a series of directional inputs on the d-pad, which can be a little challenging when you’re running from a horde of bugs hellbent on tearing your Helldiver limb from limb.
