Helldivers is if anything, a triumph of design and singlehandedly made me optimistic for further ventures in a sub-genre
Helldivers Review
Written by Tyler Pederson
I often have trouble really loving games with a top-down view. It’s not that they’re inferior, it’s just a style choice I’ve always felt needed to have an extra special amount of care taken with it’s creation to really make it feel like a world, rather than simple a level. Helldivers comes to us from the development team of the original Magicka and delivers the same general style of co-op gameplay, just turned up to eleven.
The tone of the game isn’t channeling any one thing, nor is it any outright parody. It walks a fine line between parody and homage, finding the best of both and incorporating them into a hilariously fun, and often alarmingly difficult moment to moment experience that rarely gives you time to think about anything but the objective. The seemingly forced co-op is indeed the preferred way to play, and I can’t emphasize enough that I recommend finding a friend to reliably play with or use the available matchmaking features, instead of trying to power your way through solo.
The game seems intent on delivering a serious sense of self pride, and it’s not misplaced. I say this not because of it’s constant reminders of “FREEDOM” during the limited in game dialogue exchange, but because every bit of its progression and risk/reward system comes off as having an intense level of effort to making them compelling. It’s not the sort of game that needs an expansion to draw you back in, but one where the core game consistently delivers a feeling of satisfaction for a job well done, and a proper level of genuine disappointment, and eventual frustration, with failure.
The gameplay is simple to start but gets exponentially more complex as you unlock more tools. In addition to a constantly growing arsenal of weapons, you have a system to work with the game called “Stratagems”. The best comparison I can make would be a perks system, but one where they essentially define your role during the mission. There are offensive and defensive options, as well as vehicles both single and multi-person capable. All in all, the level of actual strategy necessary to accomplish the progressively harder, and multi-goal oriented missions is quite intense. While many slips can be made up for with a good deal of firepower, the wrong attempt to get out of a jam will end in a quick death.
These failure states are easily avoided with practice, but most importantly, with friends. Be it someone you know or friends made on the battlefield, Helldivers has what is definitively one of my favorite co-op experiences on the market. It’s organic moments come in spades, and due to this, the encouragement to play with others borders on a demand. In addition to helping you however, they pose an equal threat if not careful, as friendly fire is always at play in Helldivers. The game will feel unfair at times playing solo, and that’s because it simply wasn’t designed to be played that way. Forced co-op in so many instances is a poor, shoehorned concept. Helldivers feels like the game that sells the idea of this heavily encouraged co-op better than any other, and I can’t rightfully recommend the game to those against playing cooperatively with others.
The campaign as a whole is broken down into a literal war with 3 races of alien. Bugs, Cyborgs, and Illuminate. Each are fittingly varied and their tactics require a good degree of foresight. Even the lesser enemies can pose an unstoppable threat in high numbers. Each race has a variety of difficulties available to tackle at any given time, so you’ll never be out of reach of a mission you can realistically finish. Each mission rewards XP and each completed planet offers a reward of varying degrees of value.
The level of customization seems bare at first, and in appearance it sort of is. No crazy outfits or hats, but a moderate selection of parts to mix and match almost Lego style to differentiate yourself. It’s not a bad choice honestly, but having a brighter color may help to stand out from enemies. The true customization comes in with the pseudo class system made with the plethora of options on hand. No one answer is right, instead insisting you try new things all the time. Where this leaves the biggest opportunity for imbalance, it also offers the best options for variation in a simple gameplay concept that I’ve seen in the genre.
Helldivers is if anything, a triumph of design. It’s had it’s issues out of the gate as any game today is bound to have, but with a working matchmaking system it’s hard to put any game above it. It offers the most intense and potentially fun shooting experience in the top-down view, and singlehandedly made me optimistic for further ventures in a sub-genre I otherwise consciously avoid. It should be noted above all else that the game all but requires co-op play, but that in no way makes it a lesser game when designed with that in mind from the jump. It’s rare that such a vision can come together and seem to have been realized to perfectly, and without compromise, but Helldivers makes it look a dive in the park.
Helldivers gets a 10/10.
