Though admittedly in the world of Helldivers, a lifetime doesn’t last very long.
This is where Stratagems come into play.
The latter of these stratagems can be astonishing to behold.
Enemies are obliterated, buildings reduced to rubble.
These Stratagems do not exist purely for spectacle’s sake, with each handy in different situations.
Calling them in is a skill in and of itself too.
Throw an airstrike too far and it’ll miss.
Throw it too close, and you’d better retreat pronto.
These orbs can also bounce and stick to targets.
Shake it Off
It’s crucial to understand how ruthless Helldivers 2’s logic is.
Anything that can kill enemies can also kill you and your teammates.
Bullets, bombs, grenades, hellpods, explosive canisters, environmental hazards.
When they goright,however, it feels fantastic.
From your personal orbital cruiser (which you get to name from a preset list of words).
Each mission will have one or several main objectives, alongside numerous side objectives.
But they become more interesting as the difficulty level rises.
One has you prep and launch an intercontinental ballistic missile, with sufficiently apocalyptic results.
As it screeched beneath a hail of righteous fire, we felt obscenely clever about ourselves.
In short, the core loop of Helldivers 2 isbrilliant.
But it has one big problem and one big unanswered question.
The problem is mostly technical.
None of this has been a dealbreaker, but it has been a nuisance.
Despite these issues, as a live service game, Helldivers 2 is undoubtedly off to a strong start.
I love how the game makes you feel like a part of a much larger conflict.
Not just in how your action collectively builds toward the “liberation” of planets.
But in how it always feels like you’re surrounded by the actions of other players.
The main one is driveable vehicles, which were part of the original Helldivers but are absent here.
There’s also clear scope to add new enemy factions, weapons, missions, stratagems, etc.
In other words, I think we’re yet to see the game’s full potential.
Most of all, I’m curious as to where Arrowhead will take Helldivers 2’s themes and narrative.
The game’s parody of fascism is spot on.
The good news is, Helldivers 2 is in a position to do exactly that.
It’s already an enormously fun cooperative shooter, and well worth buying into just for that.
Helldivers 2 was reviewed on PC, with code provided by the publisher.
