The most impressive feature was one that appeared in Depression Quest. Even there, it was a mechanic that played into the game's themes and how you played the game.
That same feature here is only used as an emotional twist that doesn't land as well due to it being so removed from how the game is played or anything substantial. There is no gameplay aspect to this game's most striking trick. The game would be exactly the same if those choices were removed. You don't get points for showing me something interesting, and then preventing me from engaging with it. This is an interactive medium.

[20 hours on record - Rank 19 - 3 suicide missions completed - mission completion rate +90%]
A genuinely really well designed and fun game. It plays like a more intentionally clumsy version of MGSV. The controls are precise and accurate, but with a bit of "fumble". You aren't super soldiers as much as very vulnerable and replaceable cannon fodder. Your limbs can break and each one can cause your soldier to suffer a number of negative ailments as a result. Most aren't fatal, but they will impact your ability to complete your objectives in various ways.

The events/random effects that different planets have in response to the different enemies that appear on those planets paves the the way for very interesting gameplay. Some missions will demand you to play differently if the planet itself or side(blue) objectives interfere in some way. Some of those side-objectives makes the main objectives or others easier by providing information and/or additional stratagems.

This game also does something that Assassin's Creed had attempted with the premium currency that can be earned in-game. Instead of being tied to a fixed daily limit or a required quest, various points on the map (seen with a yellow/gold light) have the chance to give you premium currency. It's usually in low quantities, but by their nature, it is possible to grind for them, or achieve more simply through persistent play. This currency and the points of interests tied to them serve as a great motive for players to explore the map or take alternative routes to their objectives. These locations also typically have a few enemies in the way, meaning the decision isn't trivial but a conscious choice.

The bonuses at the end of missions are also a great motive to drive players to tackle harder missions, survive longer, and complete jobs faster. The higher the difficulty, the higher the final bonus you get added at a flat percentile rate. Extreme missions (Difficulty 6) grant a 100% reward bonus while Suicide Missions (Difficulty 7) grant 150%.

My only genuine concern is the player base. A player base that might become too focused on optimal strategies to determine if people can stick with them when browsing quickplay or trying to assist on missions. I've largely been playing with friends, but the games I have played with randoms is a mixed bag. I've avoided any discussion about meta weapons and have been playing the game mostly after the railgun nerf. As of time of writing, the heavy enemies are an appropriate level of difficulty that makes them rewarding to fight both head-on and with use of my pre-planned stratagems. I've had little issue using the default rifle, machine pistol, sub machine gun, and marksman rifle. These heavier enemies do take much longer to defeat without specific stratagems, but then the discussion becomes about opportunity cost instead of "don't put bad gun in game". Each gun does serve a purpose in their small ways. Becoming too attached to personal equipment has been the reason many of my squad mates lose up to 5 lives before giving up on retrieval and continuing on with the mission.

To be clear, I do not think the game should change to better align with the ways player are playing the game, I believe players should be more willing to meet the game half-way and attempt to understand how the game asks you to engage with it.

Helldivers 2 is a remarkably fun galactic warfront simulation game. Controls and impairments that are just below razor tight like MGSV, but instead of simply trying to be like those MGS games in terms of feel, it carries the spirit as well. Open areas that provide multiple angles and means of taking on objectives, limited supplies and precarious ammo system that makes you value every bullet, and a set number of tools you can call on at your disposal as quickly as you can input their specific arrow commands. Helldivers 2 is a remarkable co-op PvE experience that more than justifies the $40 I spent to play it with friends. I hope this game gets to continue and that players begin experimenting more with the many emergent gameplay decisions I'm discovering on every new deploy. If you attempt to optimize it, you'll quickly drain the magic of what this game truly is capable of.

P.S. Please just watch Starship Troopers. The game is so in your face about having the same tone as movies like it, unironically chanting "for the glory of Super Earth" just makes you weird.