The ragdoll physics, the friendly fire and the comedy timing. At first you joke about fighting for democracy but by the end of your first session you will join the cause unironically. For example one mission requires you to escort scientists. However if they die you get less rewards. When one did get blown up and I shouted "Pelo our money." instead of "Pelo, we lost a scientist." This game is fresh of breath air and is a benchmark on a coop shooter. I'm happily put countless hours into this game.

’s smartest choices, though, is not to just throw thousands of identical, easy-to-kill bugs at you. Enemies more often number in the dozens, but developer Arrowhead Game Studios’ masterstroke is to make each bug dangerous in its own way. Some have armor covering almost all of their body, some can turn invisible, and all of them want to tear you apart. Every attack also has a chance to injure your limbs, slowing you down or reducing your accuracy if you aren’t able to heal. Missions also have time limits, and traversing each map takes careful planning and quite a bit of running.

Go prone! Every time you're hit, you'll be told to go prone and double-tap circle to dive down. This is covered in basic training, but if you're being told to do it, do it! This will sometimes be the best way to get those soft spots on bugs or ensure you can escape from a horde.

Though Helldivers 2 was unplayable on Steam Deck when it launched, an update soon released that made the game perform much, much better on Valve's PC gaming handheld. Now, you can achieve framerates in the mid-40s or so as long as you're using low-to-medium settings.

Helldivers 2 takes place a century after the events of the first game, with Super Earth having emerged victorious against its adversaries – the deadly, bug-like Terminids, the grotesque Cyborgs and the inscrutable Illuminates.

When going into combat, a wide range of weapons will be available, and you’re able to customize your loadouts to suit your playstyle. So, whether you prefer to keep your distance and cause serious damage, or whether you’d prefer to get up close and personal with the oncoming alien hoards, there are enough weapons to suit everyone's preferences, and you and your team can plan accordingly to strike from every angle.

This was likely done to Helldivers 2 Gameplay ensure good performance and quality visuals without having to worry about how the game would run on aging hardware.

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Helldivers are the true heroes of Super Earth. As an elite soldier, you have the full might of Super Earth’s arsenal at your disposal. Use your lethal array of stratagems and weaponry to defend its colonizers and liberate planets from enemy forces.

They really leaned into the parody of enlistment and military media, from the music and the dialogue. Weirdly enough, it does make me feel patriotic. Sound effects from the weapons and the enemies are great to say the least, and even elevates the experience.

Per a PlayStation blog post Arrowhead Game Studios released with the trailer, players will be able to team up with up to three friends to "explore unique planets and complete objectives together, and upgrade your equipment through the deep progression system of Helldivers 2."

Live service games have become increasingly common in the last several years, and are categorized by consistent post-launch updates, evolving gameplay scenarios, and some form of long-form monetization like microtransaction currencies you can buy with real money to then spend on exclusive items.

As a multiplayer experience, I think Helldivers 2 hits all the right notes. The gameplay basics are fun and the open-ended environments give you a fair amount of flexibility in how to tackle each objective. It seems like quite a tactical game too, though the need for advanced strategies wasn't too pressing at the lower difficulties I had the time to unlock. It doesn't seem terrifically complicated, nor does it come packaged with the kind of comprehensive content package that modern players often expect, but I think those omissions are more than forgivable at its asking price. The special abilities the game provides, combined with friendly fire (which is enabled at all times) is a recipe for a lot of squad-based fun with friends. There are echoes of other PvE shooters here - namely of the extraction shooter variety, though Mass Effect 3's multiplayer also came to mind - but this game seems more oriented around having fun than creating a tightly crafted competitive experience.

Even if you’re in a full squad, the smallest bugs pose a real threat, whether it’s killing you themselves or overwhelming you until their bigger, scarier cousins catch up. Thankfully, bugs aren’t immune to specific limb-related injuries either; you can also shoot their legs, tails, claws, and other parts off in a gory spray that can render them alive but harmless — though still extremely gross. This little gameplay and gore nuance, combined with the ammo limitations, mean accuracy is paramount, and every little encounter feels like life or death. All of this makes for an infectiously fun gameplay loop.