A drop pod falls from a destroyer. Following a plunge into orbit and a crash into the ground, a soldier emerges with a single mission: complete the objective by any means necessary. Five-hundred kilogram bombs, bomber squadron airstrikes, anti-tank weaponry—all of these are part of the mission. A mission to protect civilization. A mission to protect liberty. A mission to protect democracy. A mission to save all of humanity as it is known. This. Is. “Helldivers II”.
“Helldivers II” is a co-op third-person shooter gaming phenomenon produced by an independent studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Following its release on February 8th, 2024, it has amassed well over five million copies sold. It is a sequel to the original
“Helldivers”, a less popular prequel surpassed by its sequel.
The gameplay of “Helldivers II” follows the same basic loop: land on a planet, head to an objective while fighting along the way, complete the objective, and extract from the location to complete the mission. Players work in squads of four to complete the objectives, which can range from launching nuclear bombs by activating intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to destroying key supply bases of enemies. The entire premise of the game is that there are two intergalactic wars being fought on two fronts: one between robotic Automatons and another between alien bug Terminids. As players complete missions through the objectives, the total percentage of “liberation” on key battle sites—planets throughout the galaxy—increases by 0.001-0.002%. This feature has been an area of popularity for players as they try to actively work together throughout the global player base to liberate planets against a clock, a battle that can result in defeat if a planet is not liberated in time.
Where “Helldivers II” stands out is its spectacular gunplay and innovative abilities. While completing a mission, players rely on a primary and secondary weapon fired as well as abilities known as stratagems. The primary and secondary weapons feel excellent to utilize and are relatively well balanced even between large level gaps. The stratagems are a unique ability design that makes the gunplay really shine. Players can choose various loadouts between offensive, support, and defensive stratagems, all of which have cool downs after usage and some of which have limitations on number of activations. Offensive stratagems consist of various airstrikes, from quick striking fighter strafes to heavy artillery strikes. Defensive stratagems consist of turret emplacements, from rocket turrets to heavy machine gun stations. Support stratagems consist of extra weaponry, typically carriable machine guns, laser cannons, or rocket launchers. With these abilities, missions are typically explosive filled, bullet frenzies that provide a dopamine rush only someone who has experienced a high difficulty mission can relate.
Enemy design also takes center stage in the excellence of “Helldivers II”. The Automatons, humanoid robots, consist of steel monstrosities armed with red laser-cannons and glowing eyes. In the dark worlds that the Automatons reside, their soldiers’ red glow can be slightly visible in the distance, causing fear within even the bravest Helldivers. The Terminids, alien bugs, are huge, monstrous creatures. Their heavily armored, tank-like bugs have unique appearances, but they are consistently powerful and dangerous across. Both factions have different enemy types, but the general trend follows a basic grunt-type of soldier, a medium infantry soldier, two tank-like types, and a super-heavy tank type. As difficulty increases, these high health and heavily armored enemies come in greater numbers as well as swarms of grunts appearing, allowing for tons of machine gunning, explosion making, and laser shooting fun.
The experience “Helldivers II” allows is one unlike any other game at this time, hence its almost immediate popularity. Despite being made by a small studio, it has still received many updates within the single month of its release which have corrected some initial problems as well as added new features, such as mechanized vehicles for players to enjoy. The future is bright for “Helldivers II”, but the current state of the game is still one that many games, even those made by huge developers, envy to reach. The joy of landing in hostile territory and taking it back one step at a time. The joy of utilizing epic abilities to turn the battle. The joy of fighting—and winning—for the lives of all the people in the galaxy. The joy of fighting for freedom and liberty—these are the joys of being a Helldiver. Join the fight for freedom. Join the fight for liberty. Join the Helldivers.