‣ 8/10 – This message was democratically approved.

‣ Thoughts: I haven’t played a lot of this year’s games yet, but I can already say this might be game of the year, at least for me. Helldivers 2 is a perfect example of how to do a live-service title. After you pay a generous price, you get everything. Yes, there’re microtransactions, but you can simply earn enough credits for anything in the game, which is perfect.

Right now, the game is constantly updated with small changes and keeps slowly evolving. New missions, enemy types are added frequently enough to keep those who are extremely addicted hooked. At the time of this review there are only two factions to fight which after 60+ hours gets tiresome. Don’t get me wrong, I had a fantastic time playing, but one day I just hit a wall where my interest dropped instantly. A few new enemies and guns won’t keep me involved, but I respect the constant support and can’t wait to see how this game grows.

Gameplay wise this is as good as it gets. Guns feel punchy and pack a lot of damage, explosions are deadly and incredibly fun to use. Every enemy reacts to damage like they should, some are more resistant but that just encourages experimentation until you find the perfect set up. One problem though, some weapons are so good compared to others that most players will default to them leading to a rather repetitive experience. Other guns look cool but get absolutely outclassed quick. Same can be said about armor. Why pick anything else than the severely amazing set that gives you a 50% chance to outlive lethal damage? It is clear that this game requires a lot of small tweaks that can only be achieved by constant trial and error, and I hope it will reach perfect balance at some point.

Even though I am prepared to name Helldivers 2 my current game of the year, I doubt it will stay that way. This is a fantastic title with one of the most memorable, cinematic gameplay moments I had in a multiplayer title, but it is wild how many people ignore the problems once something is this good. It takes only a few hours to notice how many bugs and glitches there are. It’s nothing that game breaking like Cyberpunk, but there are still a lot of hitches along the way. It can vary from simple things like a gun reloading but not injecting bullets, getting stuck under the map, glitching into the shop or your friends using weapons that crash the game. The spectrum of glitches is wide but seems like most ignore it, because they are too busy having fun. Well, I had fun, but at times the game just worked against me, and I won’t let that slide. Anyway, good game, needs a lot of updates to stay strong.

‣ 8.5/10 – Biggest gaming comeback in history.

‣ Thoughts: We all know the story of No Man’s Sky and how it became an amazing game. I’m just here to confirm that: game good. I have tried to play this title about 10 times throughout the years and it just never grabbed my attention. But finally, after like 30 free expansions I got hooked.

It is difficult to surmise what I liked from my experience, but something about simply traveling across the galaxies and exploring all the whacky combinations of flora and fauna just scratched that random itch in my gaming brain. What truly surprised me is how well written and interesting the story was. Having all these existential questions get thrown at me really made me think. The journey felt personal and worth the hassle.

Although No Man’s Sky still feels undercooked in some of its aspects and has plenty of bugs and glitches the overall package is still fantastic. I truly think this is one of the best sandbox games I’ve tried in recent years. My only major complaint is the lack of multiplayer (it exists but on a very basic level). There is such a perfect foundation for amazing co-op missions but most of them boil down to people being in the same place, doing their own missions. I guess it matched what the story tried to tell but ruining the online aspect of your game for the sake of breaking a 4th wall is ridiculous.

If you have never tried this title because of its reputation, I strongly suggest you give it a chance. The base building feels odd, but like anything in here once you play around with it, everything comes together and feels rewarding. Units received.