Sights & Sounds
- It's not often that I've played a game with this combination of excellent optimization and strong art direction that work in unison to make a game that punches well above its weight, visually speaking. I'm only toting a 2080, but I was surprised with how far I was able to push the settings on Native resolution with so little loss in framerate
- Graphics, as I mentioned, are only half of the visual appeal. It would hardly matter if what's being rendered looks like crap, but Helldivers 2 has strong art direction that could carry it a long way on its own. There's nothing quite like calling in an airstrike on a hoarde of approaching Terminids a la Starship Troopers, and dodging vollies of red lasers and launching rockets at Automaton dropshops feels very much like like it was pulled directly from the Terminator franchise. Everything you do looks and feels like a frantic scene from an action flick
- All of this is coated with a farcical veneer parodying hypermilitarized end-game neo-fascism like the government depicted in Starship Troopers. The Super Earth propaganda machine is grinding away at basically all times, with commercials for state-sponsored (and freedom-promoting!) products and constant reminders to turn in dissenters to the Council of Truth
- The visual elements are well-supported by the strong audio design. The soundtrack sounds as epic and full of grandeur as you'd expect from a game with clear cinematic references. Expect to hear lots fully orchestrated pieces with an emphasis on the brass, a bit like the Halo franchise
- Finally, the voice acting is quite good. There aren't any characters that really get enough lines to qualify as standout performances, but what's there is done competently
Story & Vibes
- There's really not a ton of narrative; rather, Helldivers 2 presents the player with some backstory and a series of ever-changing scenarios in the galactic forever war
- In a nutshell, humanity has come together under Super Earth's unified world government ostensibly to fight off the bevy of alien threats that supposedly pose an existential threat to humanity. In this unending conflict, you play the role of a Helldiver, one of an elite army of advance warriors deployed in small teams to complete dangerous objectives and evacuate quickly. Expect casualties
- This is a live service game, so your overarching objective will change from time to time at the direction of the game's mysterious DM: some dude named Joel. These directives will change every week or so, guiding players to various parts of the galaxy with the promise of upgrade currency if the community collectively finishes the objectives. I've found myself enjoying this shared progress quite a bit, and it's nice to take a moment to watch the "liberation meter" tick upwards as other squads finish missions
- This emphasis on cooperation (no PvP!) really serves to enhance the vibes, in my opinion. Sure, you're always in danger of running into some angry chud intent on ruining everyone's day, but for the most part, I've typically had good luck in matchmaking when my usual team was missing a member or two
Playability & Replayability
- Unlike its top-down prequel, Helldivers 2 is a third-person shooter. The camera distance is a bit further from the character model than games like RE4; it's more similar to what you see in games like MGS5. Given that you're constantly fighting hordes of enemies, I appreciated the more zoomed-out camera that offers a wider angle of the action
- The gunplay has a nice feel to it owing to the variety of weapons available to you. In addition to your primary weapon (shotgun, assault rifle, SMG) and sidearm (pistol, revolver, MP), you'll also have access to a host of specialized support weapons that can be called down in-mission. These can include things like flamethrowers, railguns, laser cannons, RPGs, HMGs, grenade launchers, and literal lightning guns that make a build feel truly distinct
- In addition to your summonable support weapons, you also have access to other so-called "strategems" that can greatly enhance your offensive and support capabilities. These may include orbital weapons (giant space lasers, bombardments, mine layers, Tesla coils), "Eagle" airstrikes (napalm, strafing runs, targeted bombs), and turret emplacements (cannons, mortars, machine guns)
- There's a ton of weapons available and even more planned to roll out in the coming months. Although I appreciate the variety, I wish balance were a little more flat. It's clear from the devs' patch notes and social media communications that they're trying to foster build variety, but experimenting with different equipment really does seem to suggest that there is a very small pool of "optimal" gear. I'm hoping that future updates will make it worth considering more options than the 8 or 9 stratagems and 2 or 3 primary weapons that I see 90% of other players using
- Actual on-planet objectives are mostly fun, but could perhaps use a little more variety. A lot of times, it just feels like what you're doing is finding an improbably still-functioning computer, entering the Konami code, and then repeating that process a few times before calling in extraction. I do like the intermittent side objectives as well, but a larger pool of these would be appreciated. Launching ICBMs and loading artillery is fun and all, but it begins to feel a bit less novel after you've done it a few dozen times
- While I wouldn't necessarily call Helldivers 2 "hard" in the traditional sense, it is unforgiving. Even the strongest enemies can be hard-countered by a timely orbital rail cannon strike. But you'll need to communicate and, most importantly, move quickly if you want to finish all the main and side objectives while collecting as many samples (used for upgrading your ship) as possible. Additionally, friendly fire is absolutely brutal, as is environmental damage. These are as frustrating as they are hilarious. It's really annoying to be splatted into a shipping container that's 30 meters away by the rocket thrusters of the ICBM you just launched, but it's also objectively funny. There's nothing quite like your friend cry-laughing as he calls you back into the action
- I'm probably going to keep playing this game for a long time. It's just one of those fun social titles that's conducive to chatting with friends and shooting bad guys
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I told myself I'd wait until I hit 50 hours before posting a review, and I'm glad I did. It's shown that the devs are responsive to player input and handling the unexpected popularity of the game well. For a live service title, support is a huge consideration, and Arrowhead have been performing admirably
- As mentioned earlier, this game runs exceptionally well. From what I understand, Helldivers 2 was made using an unpopular and esoteric engine, but Arrowhead have really made the most of it. After so many high-profile games have been launching as nearly unplayable messes, it's nice to boot up a game and have it run almost flawlessly
- Although there were a lot of highly-publicized server issues near the game's launch, I'm happy to report that I haven't had an issue getting into the game in nearly a month
Final Verdict
- 8.5/10. Some balance and mission variety complaints aside, it's so easy to recommend this game. It runs incredibly well, it looks amazing, and most importantly, it's just so much fucking fun to play
[Note for Backloggd: Marking this as "complete" for Journal purposes even though I'm going to keep playing it for likely several months. Oh, and if you're interested in the game but don't have anyone to play with, feel free to add me on Steam. Just leave a comment here to give me a heads-up!]
- It's not often that I've played a game with this combination of excellent optimization and strong art direction that work in unison to make a game that punches well above its weight, visually speaking. I'm only toting a 2080, but I was surprised with how far I was able to push the settings on Native resolution with so little loss in framerate
- Graphics, as I mentioned, are only half of the visual appeal. It would hardly matter if what's being rendered looks like crap, but Helldivers 2 has strong art direction that could carry it a long way on its own. There's nothing quite like calling in an airstrike on a hoarde of approaching Terminids a la Starship Troopers, and dodging vollies of red lasers and launching rockets at Automaton dropshops feels very much like like it was pulled directly from the Terminator franchise. Everything you do looks and feels like a frantic scene from an action flick
- All of this is coated with a farcical veneer parodying hypermilitarized end-game neo-fascism like the government depicted in Starship Troopers. The Super Earth propaganda machine is grinding away at basically all times, with commercials for state-sponsored (and freedom-promoting!) products and constant reminders to turn in dissenters to the Council of Truth
- The visual elements are well-supported by the strong audio design. The soundtrack sounds as epic and full of grandeur as you'd expect from a game with clear cinematic references. Expect to hear lots fully orchestrated pieces with an emphasis on the brass, a bit like the Halo franchise
- Finally, the voice acting is quite good. There aren't any characters that really get enough lines to qualify as standout performances, but what's there is done competently
Story & Vibes
- There's really not a ton of narrative; rather, Helldivers 2 presents the player with some backstory and a series of ever-changing scenarios in the galactic forever war
- In a nutshell, humanity has come together under Super Earth's unified world government ostensibly to fight off the bevy of alien threats that supposedly pose an existential threat to humanity. In this unending conflict, you play the role of a Helldiver, one of an elite army of advance warriors deployed in small teams to complete dangerous objectives and evacuate quickly. Expect casualties
- This is a live service game, so your overarching objective will change from time to time at the direction of the game's mysterious DM: some dude named Joel. These directives will change every week or so, guiding players to various parts of the galaxy with the promise of upgrade currency if the community collectively finishes the objectives. I've found myself enjoying this shared progress quite a bit, and it's nice to take a moment to watch the "liberation meter" tick upwards as other squads finish missions
- This emphasis on cooperation (no PvP!) really serves to enhance the vibes, in my opinion. Sure, you're always in danger of running into some angry chud intent on ruining everyone's day, but for the most part, I've typically had good luck in matchmaking when my usual team was missing a member or two
Playability & Replayability
- Unlike its top-down prequel, Helldivers 2 is a third-person shooter. The camera distance is a bit further from the character model than games like RE4; it's more similar to what you see in games like MGS5. Given that you're constantly fighting hordes of enemies, I appreciated the more zoomed-out camera that offers a wider angle of the action
- The gunplay has a nice feel to it owing to the variety of weapons available to you. In addition to your primary weapon (shotgun, assault rifle, SMG) and sidearm (pistol, revolver, MP), you'll also have access to a host of specialized support weapons that can be called down in-mission. These can include things like flamethrowers, railguns, laser cannons, RPGs, HMGs, grenade launchers, and literal lightning guns that make a build feel truly distinct
- In addition to your summonable support weapons, you also have access to other so-called "strategems" that can greatly enhance your offensive and support capabilities. These may include orbital weapons (giant space lasers, bombardments, mine layers, Tesla coils), "Eagle" airstrikes (napalm, strafing runs, targeted bombs), and turret emplacements (cannons, mortars, machine guns)
- There's a ton of weapons available and even more planned to roll out in the coming months. Although I appreciate the variety, I wish balance were a little more flat. It's clear from the devs' patch notes and social media communications that they're trying to foster build variety, but experimenting with different equipment really does seem to suggest that there is a very small pool of "optimal" gear. I'm hoping that future updates will make it worth considering more options than the 8 or 9 stratagems and 2 or 3 primary weapons that I see 90% of other players using
- Actual on-planet objectives are mostly fun, but could perhaps use a little more variety. A lot of times, it just feels like what you're doing is finding an improbably still-functioning computer, entering the Konami code, and then repeating that process a few times before calling in extraction. I do like the intermittent side objectives as well, but a larger pool of these would be appreciated. Launching ICBMs and loading artillery is fun and all, but it begins to feel a bit less novel after you've done it a few dozen times
- While I wouldn't necessarily call Helldivers 2 "hard" in the traditional sense, it is unforgiving. Even the strongest enemies can be hard-countered by a timely orbital rail cannon strike. But you'll need to communicate and, most importantly, move quickly if you want to finish all the main and side objectives while collecting as many samples (used for upgrading your ship) as possible. Additionally, friendly fire is absolutely brutal, as is environmental damage. These are as frustrating as they are hilarious. It's really annoying to be splatted into a shipping container that's 30 meters away by the rocket thrusters of the ICBM you just launched, but it's also objectively funny. There's nothing quite like your friend cry-laughing as he calls you back into the action
- I'm probably going to keep playing this game for a long time. It's just one of those fun social titles that's conducive to chatting with friends and shooting bad guys
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I told myself I'd wait until I hit 50 hours before posting a review, and I'm glad I did. It's shown that the devs are responsive to player input and handling the unexpected popularity of the game well. For a live service title, support is a huge consideration, and Arrowhead have been performing admirably
- As mentioned earlier, this game runs exceptionally well. From what I understand, Helldivers 2 was made using an unpopular and esoteric engine, but Arrowhead have really made the most of it. After so many high-profile games have been launching as nearly unplayable messes, it's nice to boot up a game and have it run almost flawlessly
- Although there were a lot of highly-publicized server issues near the game's launch, I'm happy to report that I haven't had an issue getting into the game in nearly a month
Final Verdict
- 8.5/10. Some balance and mission variety complaints aside, it's so easy to recommend this game. It runs incredibly well, it looks amazing, and most importantly, it's just so much fucking fun to play
[Note for Backloggd: Marking this as "complete" for Journal purposes even though I'm going to keep playing it for likely several months. Oh, and if you're interested in the game but don't have anyone to play with, feel free to add me on Steam. Just leave a comment here to give me a heads-up!]