03/10/2024
HELLDIVERS 2 : PS5
“FOR THE GRUNTS! FOR DEMOCRACY!”
HD2 is a MMO squad-based shooter that is best played with your buddies. At $40 it’s hit the ground running and embarrassed the 2024 AAA studios at every level. It’s a polished production, a complete game at release with lots of free content coming to keep it updated. So what is this game that everyone is raving about? Why should you care about an MMO that appears to be just another looter-shooter?
First off, the tone of the game is tongue-in-cheek. It’s humorous and comical premise is set within a galactic conflict between the humans of Super Earth and two huge armies; The Automatons (terminator like AI robots), and The Terminids (An Alien race akin to the bugs of Super Troopers). On two sides of the galaxy, sectors of planets are being taken over by both and it’s up to the ENTIRE player base to take them back and “Liberate” them.
The missions take place on the ground of these at-war worlds and you join your team after a brief but hilarious tutorial. Once you do, you’re issued your own Dreadnaught ship, complete with crew and requisition equipment. This is where the gameplay begins.
As a Helldiver team, you and three of your friends drop in from orbit via Hell Pods, in a crescendo of epic music and fire! Equipped with selected gear and a plethora of unlockable air strikes called “Strategems.”
The fight usually starts immediately with literally HUNDREDS of enemies in swarms. Let’s start with the Terminids.
Depending on the difficulty level, enemy types and difficulty will change. Your squad has to communicate well as friendly fire is always on. Leading to some hilarious blue-on-blue situations if you don’t coordinate well with your team.
The gunplay is excellent, with satisfying impacts on the enemy, and a realistic application of fireteam maneuvering being the key to success. If you don’t have interlocking arcs of fire, or good movement, you’ll ultimately end up gunning down your team member.
And it’s realistic too. There’s no jump button, so everything has a “reaction” time per se. You have a scramble button, allowing you to climb. You’re more accurate shooting from one knee or prone, and if you re-load halfway through a mag, the one you dump loses the remaining ammo.
Re-loading also takes time, so you have to time your range and engagements of enemies carefully or they’ll close the distance and tear you apart.
The bugs have a wide variety of mission types, as do the Automaton planets. Clearing nests, bonus objectives and seizing tactical assets all add to the percentage liberation amount at the end of the mission. But the higher the difficulty, the heavier and bigger the enemies.
Voice chat is essential during these missions, as stamina diminishes and then rebuilds over time. Your movement is subject to the ground, so running through heavy woods and thick grass slows you down. Making for a frantic four player squad full of enemy contacts and tactics.
The AI robot Automatons on the other hand, have weapons to shoot back with. So the use of cover and high ground, if used incorrectly, lead to large disadvantages. It’s like Terminator Salvation, with the humans being greatly overwhelmed by heavily armored robots and mecha.
But we have weapons… lots of them.
Getting mobbed by a hundred enemies? Your Dreadnaught Destroyer can drop bombs, akin to an AC-130 that rearm on a ticker. An orbital laser or rail cannon strike can knock down giant bad guys in an instant. Or scorch the earth with Eagle fast air, ripping across the sky and dumping Na**lm and 500KG hell bombs in seconds. If you’re a defensive user, turrets and pods can be deployed to permanent placements, funneling swarms through choke points for an ambush.
It reminds me of Mercenaries, and the air strikes available. You can also seize and load an artillery cannon that can be called in across the map, closing bug nests or wrecking Automaton production factories.
All together these Strategems are called in on the fly, by activating a sequence if D-pad directional combinations. Once you get quick, you can desolate an area for extract, ultimately using Super Weapons to get the job done.
Like I said earlier… friendly fire is on, so let them know before you drop in a 380MM HE barrage on your friends.
I had pretty low expectations when I got this game, but it’s a game that creates memorable and hilarious moments among your team. Last minute escapes are the best. But the moments where you’re overwhelmed and fighting for every inch… unmatched since playing the original Battlefront games on the first edition Xbox.
HD2 is an Epic game, with only minor bugs and game annoyances accepted. It’s a complete game at release with some incredible action experienced to be had. AAA studios take note…
We’re giving our money to games that give value for purchase.
HD2 is one of those games.
9.5/10.
