The gunplay is fantastic, the gameplay loop is satisfying, and the reward progression is consistent. Its live service plans are its biggest question moving forward, but right now, Helldivers 2 is a ton of fun.

CGMagazine - Philip Watson - 9 / 10

Helldivers 2 is a testament to the power of teamwork and tactical gameplay, wrapped in a satirical package that's hard to put down.

Cerealkillerz - Nick Erlenhof - German - 8.4 / 10

Helldivers 2 is great co-op fun for fans of action and alien bugs. It's mindless fun in its purest form and a credit to the developers for refining the basics of the gameplay so well. However, when it comes to the content, the game stops surprising pretty quickly and becomes a marathon of killing thousands of enemies and repeating familiar missions. But there is plenty of potential for surprises and innovations in the future, especially after the difficult server launch.

Daily Star - Tom Hutchison - 4 / 5

All in, this is great fun, albeit slightly limited in its longevity. While there are unlocks to push for, the core game remains largely the same from the off.

Entertainment Geekly - Luis Alvaro - 4.5 / 5

“Helldivers 2” is a worthy sequel and an excellent co-op shooter. It’s a game that offers not just hours of entertainment, but a genuine connection to a community of players united in their quest to bring democracy to the stars. It’s a reminder of the joy found in shared victories, the laughter in shared defeats, and the unbreakable bonds formed in the heat of battle.

Eurogamer - Emma Kent - 4 / 5

With its high-chaos, high-comedy firefights, Helldivers 2 is a riot to play with friends – although its launch has been hampered by persistent matchmaking and progression problems.

Evilgamerz - Daan Nijboer - Dutch - 8 / 10

It's clear, Helldivers 2 is fun. Very nice indeed. It is not without reason that this became the best-selling Playstation game on PC within a few days. The wonderful shooting, the spectacular Stratagems and the teamwork while playing makes Helldivers 2 one big party. There are few games that can give you so much fun and chaos, combined with perhaps not the very best graphics, but one of the most atmospheric. You often imagine yourself in a Starship Troopers or Terminator movie with all the explosions and bullets around you. It's a shame that the game was plagued by so many technical issues in the first few days, but the developer has done everything they can to resolve this and has already largely succeeded. The problems must of course be taken into account in the assessment, but make no mistake, Helldivers 2 is already one of the best games of 2024 and will only get better in the future with all the new free content. And for only €40 this is a no-brainer, get that trade!

GAMES.CH - Joel Kogler - German - 75%

On the one hand, the game has a great addictive factor thanks to excellent multiplayer gameplay and short, crisp missions. The outstanding graphics and audio quality perfectly accompany the war on the dark front and make you want to explore every corner. Unfortunately, the business strategies of Sony and Arrowhead Games stand in the way of the good game. With regular crashes and connection problems, as well as a very limited scope and many promises, "Helldivers 2" seems more like a very good Early Access game. In addition, there is a strong focus on microtransactions, which does not allow us to fully enjoy the excellent gameplay.

GGRecon - Lloyd Coombes - 4.5 / 5

Helldivers 2 keeps kicking me in the rear end, and I can't help but respect it. Visiting its warzones often feels like a one-way trip, to the point where I'm surprised to make it through. My group chats are awash with war stories of hard-fought victories and those times I dropped an airstrike on my head.

And through all of the chaos, like a grizzled veteran who's seen some s**t, I've got a smile on my face every time I drop.

GamePro - Tobias Veltin - German - 80 / 100

Helldivers 2 is an excellent co-op shooter that lacks a bit of variety in the long run, despite many unlocking options.

Gameffine - Uphar Dutta - 90 / 100

Helldivers 2 is an Action-Third Person Shooter Co-op game that is entirely community-driven. The game offers an entire list of difficulties to find the perfect pick that you can handle with your squad. With a long list of planets to discover and prevent infestations by performing various operations, you are guaranteed to devote yourself to fighting for democracy for hours. With an actual seamless, optimized, efficient performance of the game and multiplayer, I was always in for a good time while playing the game.

Gamersky - Mega杰尼龟 - Chinese - 8 / 10

Even though it changed from top-down to third-person view,, Helldivers 2 remains an engaging and unique game. It keeps almost all the good things from the first game and puts them into a new way of playing, making it even more enjoyable than before. However, unstable network connections are still a stumbling block in your fight for Super Earth. Helldivers 2 has a good start. The big question is if the developers can keep adding new stuff to keep players interested.

GamesRadar+ - Rick Lane - 4 / 5

"The way bugs burst and robots rupture is a masterclass in damage feedback"

GamingBolt - Ravi Sinha - 8 / 10

Helldivers 2 is essentially the first game, except bigger, louder and more epic in scale. Despite issues with matchmaking and some desperately needed quality-of-life, it's enjoyably engaging.

God is a Geek - Chris White - 9 / 10

Helldivers 2 is a surprise hit, featuring some of the best moment-to-moment combat and a satisfying rinse and repeat formula.

IGN Italy - Angelo Bianco - Italian - 8 / 10

Helldivers 2 is an enjoyable third-person shooter, especially in good company. It is. It is often challenging to play but equally rewarding in terms of gameplay.

INVEN - Jaihoon Jeong - Korean - 8.5 / 10

Despite the bold genre change, Helldivers 2 has successfully maintained the core enjoyment of its predecessor. The uncontrolled battlefield, incidents that make you laugh uncontrollably, and the thrill of victory make the game worth playing, even with the acceptance of crashes and glitches.

Jump Dash Roll - Derek Johnson - 8 / 10

Helldivers 2 is the third-person Starship Troopers title that never was, which means that if you've been looking for an excuse to get into a bug fight, it's absolutely worth picking up the title so you can do your part to stop the alien menace.

PC Invasion - Leo Gillick - 8 / 10

A game that has more bugs than it intended but still produces a standout experience. Helldivers 2 gives scale and gravitas to alien warfare in good old-fashioned multiplayer fun.

PSX Brasil - Mateus Alexandre - Portuguese - 90 / 100

Helldivers II came as a surprise and marks a significant moment in PlayStation Studios' console and PC releases. If it has the proper support, it will be a game remembered and played for years to come.

PlayStation Universe - John-Paul Jones - 9 / 10

There's no getting around it - Helldivers 2 is a supremely fun, frequently unintentionally hilarious and bombastic squad shooter that builds upon its predecessor and deftly sets up a long-term future in the process. Though the lack of split-screen is keenly felt and Helldivers 2 is by and large identical to its predecessor in so many ways, Arrowhead Studios highly anticipated sequel nonetheless does a great job of repackaging a shooter that not nearly enough people played into a thunderous current-gen offering that sets a new bar for extraction shooters everywhere.

Push Square - Aaron Bayne - 9 / 10

Helldivers 2 is a riotous affair, offering up best-in-class gunplay, a truly epic and often cinematic experience, mixed in with one of the best co-op gameplay romps currently available. Its present matchmaking issues hold it back from true glory, but when it works it really works, forcing you to feel a sense of patriotism for Super Earth as the score swells and bullets fly. Helldivers 2 is a hell of a lot of fun, and is the best laugh you and your mates will have on PS5.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Ed Thorn - Unscored

Impeccable action and clever details make this a rare breed of live service co-op shooter, where the focus lies squarely on laughter instead of racking up loot.

SECTOR.sk - Peter Dragula - Slovak - 7.5 / 10

Overall, Helldivers 2 is a decent co-op game. It's simple, easy to play and quick to get into. Maybe it's not a AAA title by any means and don't expect a story, cutscenes, top graphics, but the gameplay here is good and at the same time the price is quite low.

Screen Rant - Kyle Gratton - 4.5 / 5

Helldivers 2 is a refreshingly fun power fantasy, where mastery through teamwork breeds satisfaction. Diving out of a charging bug's way and firing into its exposed back or blowing up a machine dropship before it can deploy its forces feels incredible. The game's tone is finely tuned so that getting caught in a friendly airstrike and seeing your own character's limbs go flying isn't frustrating, it's a hilariously minor setback. All told, the modestly priced, always online game takes a measured approach to its monetization while being built entirely to bolster its main gameplay loop, making Helldivers 2 a shining example against $70 live-service titles that nickel-and-dime their players.

The Game Crater - Chris Melnyk - 8 / 10

Helldivers 2 offers players a bountiful amount of rich and engaging content, from varied and exciting missions to satisfying gunplay and engrossing progression systems.

The Games Machine - Marco Bortoluzzi - Italian - 9 / 10

What is most refreshing about Helldivers 2 is not just the fact that it's an incredibly fun game, but that Arrowhead managed to grow in scope without losing its identity: this is, without question, a game made by the same people who created Magicka so many years ago. At present state, however, Helldivers 2 suffers from some stability issues, and employs an invasive anticheat.

TheGamer - Sam Hallahan - 4 / 5

After all of this, I got what I was expecting from the game: a damn fun time. What I didn’t expect, however, is to be thinking about it so much after each game, wanting to dive right back into hell with others alongside me. I can’t wait to get better at the game, face bigger threats, to see what planets this galaxy holds, and just what each planet will throw my way. I’m not one to often fall into multiplayer experiences, but even with a quickly-resolved rocky launch, Helldivers 2 is a strong and careful foundation for the beginnings of a flagship multiplayer experience of 2024 and, if it bears the strength of its launch, into the years to come.

TheSixthAxis - Stefan L - 8 / 10

A naked shower scene away from being an official Starship Troopers game, Helldivers 2 is gloriously daft fun when you can get a group of friends together to play. It's just a shame about the matchmaking and crash bugs at launch.

Twinfinite - Cameron Waldrop - 4 / 5

The beauty of Helldivers 2 is in its simplicity. You’re just a single soldier tasked with the impossible job of contributing to a whole galaxy’s defense. But that’s also where the game shines, as you don’t play as Commander Shepard or someone massively important. You’re essentially just a grunt who survives long enough to get better gear and further fulfill their duty. Whether you want to sink hours into the war effort or just take on a few missions, this game is perfect for as much or as little as you want to give it.

Use a Potion - 9 / 10

Helldivers 2 is absolutely brilliant, with the strategic yet action-packed gameplay complemented by the unpredictable madness that can unfold at any minute. Between the powerful weaponry and Stratagems at your disposal, the co-op focus that sees you working with three other players, and the sheer ferocity and overwhelming nature of your opponents, the game is packed with thrilling moments that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat as you barely scrape through each encounter. I’m completely hooked in, and with the developer promising free additions to the game in the future, I think I will be for a long, long time.

There is one big caveat at the moment though: public multiplayer is broken. Whilst you can play with friends in private games, I haven’t had any success joining a public game. I’ve been lucky enough to have friends to play with so it hasn’t affected me so far, but it is definitely worth bearing in mind if you don’t have others to play with. It is due to be fixed soon though, and when it is? You can bump my score up a notch.

all 18 comments

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[–] all-knight-party@kbin.run 10 points 9 months ago

Absolutely fantastic game. Extremely addicting, very satisfying gunplay, animation, sounds, everything looks and feels great.

Comparatively with the first game it is a bit more difficult, though a lot of skills, weapon, and enemy knowledge carry over. Only two factions currently compared to the first game's three.

Instead of doing piecemeal DLC to unlock other equipment like the first game this one opts for a battle pass style of using points attained through gameplay to unlock new items, with each tier of possible unlocks opening up once you hit thresholds of points spent. The battle pass acts as a separate, shorter unlock track that takes the same points. You can buy the battle pass track through the Super Citizen edition or for ten dollars, or by completing most of the free upgrade tracks and using the premium currency it provides to unlock the other track for free.

Compared to the first, which had no free option for unlocking premium equipment, I would consider this more fair, as it'd be a grind, but is totally doable, and it helps that equipment from either upgrade track seem decently balanced, you are not incentivized to get the battle pass equipment because they're better.

Lastly, the game is a technical mess at the moment. It runs very well and smoothly, everything feels great, nothing is awkward or overly wonky, but then the game just crashes or disconnects you, or you can't connect in the first place. There have been rapid patches, but it isn't clear if these are helping or worsening the issue, as after two or so patches I played for a few hours yesterday and between the four of us disconnected and crashed numerous times.

Still, it's a testament to how extremely thoroughly well designed and executed the game is that I'll still come back and play more. Arrowhead know how to make an excellent game, just seems they were not prepared for this level of success, I didn't see it coming either. I only pray they get it together and smoothen it out soon so people can just enjoy it. The first game ended up really smooth and problem free, so I expect HD2 to end up the same, the only question is how long it'll take.

[–] Nanno@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

Its really immersive/atmospheric and plays pretty good on PC. Not sure yet if i like it more than Deep Rock Galactic, but ill have to give it some more time. It has the same gameplay loop as DRG, but is more tactical. It's either way a good coop game especially considering it just launched! Theres some startup issues with connections getting lost etc, but those will get resolved within a week i think. Theres some MTX in there which i don't like but it's easy to ignore without missing out on things. I wouldn't let that deter you.

Bought it on greenmangaming for 33 EUR which is more reasonable than 40 EUR in my opinion

[–] dumpsterlid@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

To be fair being better than Deep Rock Galactic is an insanely hard bar to clear.

[–] Nanno@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

But HD2 has way more players than DRG ever had on it's highest peak (46k vs 268k). I suspect that many gamers really like the less cartoony graphics

[–] dumpsterlid@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

I mean, I really don't care about raw numbers that much here, in terms of the core gameplay loop DRG is essentially flawless.

I think one of the things many players love about DRG is the graphical style. It certainly facilitates the destructible terrain which is an integral part of the gameplay.

[–] Glitchington@lemmy.world -1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Most devs have expressed they'd rather you pirate than use key sites. With the anti-cheat they used that maybe difficult, but a key site purchase usually doesn't pay the developer a dime. Where if you hadn't entered a key, you could still purchase the game, even on sale, and support the developers.

[–] LolcatXTREME@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Greenmangaming is not a key reseller. They’re legit.

[–] Nanno@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Thats what i thought. I think Glitchington is mixing up sites like G2A. Greenmangaming, Fanatical and Humble bundle are authorized resellers as far as i know

Appareantly this site only lists legit resellers: https://isthereanydeal.com/game/helldivers-2/info/

[–] robalees@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago

Really wish there was a good Lemmy community for Helldivers, I've been back on the "site that shall not be named" to find out updates and see what people are saying. It's easily one of the best games I've played in a long time!

[–] delitomatoes@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago

Opinion from someone not into live service games. I've played Destiny and found the story pushes you along, a lot of interesting set pieces and bosses and expansive world, but that's on a whole different budget.

Helldivers gets the core gameplay there, but it's very grindy. You essentially loop into a small flat world without any landmarks and use the mini map to head to the objectives. Which are mostly kill stuff. You interact with a console sometimes.

The meta game is just unlocking new weapons and costumes. You do get early taste of better weapons if you team up with higher level players

The game is most fun in a team, solo is good to learn the ropes but gets tedious quickly. There are no roles or tactics like in Deep Rock Galactic

Enemy variety at least for my brief time playing is very low, there are 2 archetypes, varying from small mobs to the standard armoured large dude or charging monster.

The tutorial is fantastic and hilarious but that type of writing isn't brought up again.

I would say wait for more content patches. Vehicles, more enemy types, linear worlds or more interesting objectives would drive up the variety and replayablity

[–] tiberius@lemmy.ca 4 points 9 months ago

We need willing Super Citizens to join the Helldivers and push back the baby stealing socialist bots. Join the galaxy's last line of offense!

[–] northendtrooper@lemmy.ca 3 points 9 months ago

If you're a fan of Starship Troopers, both the movie and game, then I would highly recommend this game. There is great replay-ability of the game.

[–] wirelesswire@kbin.run 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I was looking forward to this one for months, but shipping it with nProtect Gameguard rootkit is a hard pass.

[–] ExfilBravo@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

The fun part is if you are ok with installing it, it still crashes 9 times out of 10 on launch with an error and opening my browser.

[–] Xanvial@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

On steam alone it already passed 250k peak concurrent players. Really unexpected game

[–] Cybersteel@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Can you fight alien bugs in a giant robot?

[–] SpacetimeMachine@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

Mechs are not currently in the game but should be releasing soon.