For me and my friends, Helldivers 2 represents classic "Battlefield" 1 energy through and through. I know that may be a weird comparison, but hear me out. Back in the day we would all hop on our PlayStations and get super immersed in the large-scale battlegrounds and fully destructible environments that battlefield is known for. Come 2024, Helldivers 2 reignited our fuel for democracy with one of the most insanely fun, brilliant and chaotic gameplay loops on the market. I mean it when I say this game is positively BONKERS at every second, with large-scale explosions, hilarious friendly fire, massive groups of enemies and a truly cinematic feeling that most games fail to achieve. Something about this game feels almost movielike in its scope, as many experiences throughout my playtime felt so epic and massive. It helps that strategy and communication are guided by the many customization options and tools to support you and your team to victory. The way abilities are handled here feels distinct and unique compared to other mainstream shooters in the genre (especially when I try to revive my buddy but I'm stupid and stand around for 15 seconds trying to input the right code, hilarious lol). Not to mention the real progression system that allows for unlocks as you continue to level up more and more. Season passes aren't thrown on you and microtransactions only exist for currency in the game that's incredibly easy to get, more studios need to follow suit I swear. It seems like a simple enough thing to achieve, but with gaming in 2024 we seem to stray further and further from tying feelings of persistence and excitement into progression, smh.

However, I do think there's still room for improvement in a few areas. The graphical bugs, while hilarious, are still pretty widespread. I've run into a ton honestly, but expect they'll be ironed out as the game grows. The biggest issue though is the balance between the terminids and automatons. While the automatons are balanced well enough, the terminids on harder difficulties are ridiculous. It feels almost unfair and unnecessarily difficult sometimes, with certain species being either too fast or too damaging. Not the biggest issue, but it's still somewhat annoying.

Overall, for $40.00 you're getting one of the most consistently fun and exciting multiplayer shooters, an amazing, exhilarating experience with your buddies and a super brilliant "always online" war that continues to fight on. Make the change, liberate the planets; For Democracy.

I have a huge, huge admiration for Mason Lindroth and his art. His surrealistic style through various mediums continues to inspire me as an artist to experiment and get weird, something Hylics 2 understands perfectly. After a year-long gap between sessions, I ultimately moved on to other things at the time, however, yesterday something drove me back into this world. It was late, I was tired, burnt out and needed something to haze up my mind. This is where I landed. For me, this game exudes vibes, unlike any other game I've played. Whether it be the unique and mind-bending visual style mixing gorgeous claymation with 3d animated worlds, or the music(fucking amazing OST btw), occupying the same hazy and warm sentiments. The dialogue with each NPC is intertwined perfectly throughout their unique design, making the "story" make sense in the most nonsensical ways. Not to mention the bosses are some of the coolest designed enemies I've ever faced, I couldn't take the smile off my face for each one. All of these aspects come together to form a game that acts as a weird safe space for me, a world where I can wander and absorb all the uniqueness to be found. I'm really grateful for that.

However, I don't know if I'd call it perfect. Aside from the amazing boss/enemy designs, I think the combat is a bit too weighty. Towards the final third, I was outright avoiding it due to the intensity and difficulty of each encounter, it's a bit much tbh. It's also relatively easy to get lost and stumped on what to do next, leading to a good amount of backtracking. The movement is also a bit janky and tested my patience at times, especially with some of the precise jumps. Either way, this game is exactly my shit. From the moment I saw it on Steam I knew it would reflect my love for games as a mode for creativity, and of course, it succeeded.

It's kind of bonkers to me how this game isn't massively popular considering it's one of the absolute best immersive sims out there right now. It's certainly the clearest example of the genre to me, with all the signature mechanics that make it fun. The monumental amount of ambition and finesse the devs achieved here is truly breathtaking, making for one of the freshest and most unique gaming worlds I've ever had the pleasure of playing through. The Steam page touts the game as "Prey 2017 meets Portal," and quite honestly I'd have a hard time coming up with a better selling point for the game myself. The level/environmental design here (like portal) is immensely detailed and puzzling, giving the player complete and utter freedom on how to approach it. Each level essentially acts as a giant sandbox of possibilities, complete with a full arsenal of upgradable tools to create some of the most insane chaos imaginable, it's glorious. Not to mention the traversal and movement are perfect for navigating the levels in a way that feels right to you. I seriously love how every approach to this game is the correct approach, letting the player craft the game through their own meaningful lens, SO cool. I however won't discuss the story or specific gameplay mechanics, as it's something best experienced blind, british quirks and all. If you love puzzle games with emphasized freedom, exploration and amazingly janky combat/controls, play. this. game. And if you don't, play it anyway, it rules.