When I think of twin-stick shooters I always cast my mind back to the PS3 and PS4 days. Games like Dead Nation, Pixel Junk Shooter and Renegade Ops were the cream of the crop but my absolute favourite was Helldivers. Like all good games, it knew what it was and ensured the core gameplay was fun. Namely; firing insanely powerful weapons to cut down your enemies with maximum prejudice. 

Express Elevator to Hell

So the concept of the original Helldivers was not complicated. Plummet down onto a hostile planet surface in Hell Pods, move around the map to complete objectives and obliterate any enemies that get in your way. While those who played it had a blast, twin-stick shooters have never been a genre that dominated the charts for months. So when deciding to start work on a sequel, you can see why the developers opted for a fully 3D offering.

As master and commander of your own starship, this is your home away from home while playing Helldivers 2. While massive in size the playable space inside is cosy and that is a good thing. All of the various panels and services you need are a few steps away which gets you into the action faster. On the bridge, you have a holographic map where you select missions and navigate the ship to new locations. Then a hop, skip and jump away are your Hell Pod launch tubes. 

Once buckled in you must select a landing zone on the mission map and here we see some great design decisions. One is that other players in the group, while not able to make the decision of where to land, can make suggestions of where they think would be best. Then all players can select up to four stratagems and a booster for the mission ahead. Once everyone is done you are launched at the surface like a car-sized bullet. The music ramps up and this never fails to get you amped up for the carnage ahead.

Maximum Pain

Movement is always important to set the tone for an action game and for many the traversal may feel a little sluggish when coming from faster paced titles. This is just the style that has been carried over from the first game as Helldivers is more about tactical shooting than doing backflips. Saying that I do find the movement very well designed, from the way you can mantle almost anything to the way different terrain affects your run speed. However, the dive mechanic deserves a special mention.

Diving around like a Max Payne extra is essential in Helldivers 2 from avoiding the errant gunfire of your team to escaping the razor-sharp claws of a stalker. There is no better feeling than diving through the air, landing prone and while still on the ground continuing to pump hot lead into your enemies. There are also tactical reasons for crouching or getting flat as this will increase your accuracy and stability when firing the bigger weapons.

I'm Doing my Part!

So let's get the obvious comparison out of the way, this game is closer to Starship Troopers than the official game. From the tongue-in-cheek fascism and gung-ho promotion of the war through over-the-top propaganda to the way your imminent death is almost celebrated. The opening cutscene is fantastic but once in the game, there isn't a campaign at all. However, I think the core game is so strong that Helldivers 2 doesn't even need one. I guess in the future we could see a little bit more lore as people are clearly interested.

One of the ways the developers make you feel like you are fighting the good fight is a collaborative galaxy map. When you start prodding at the holographic map you will see an overall state of play with Super Earth in the middle. Coming in from the sides you have the Bugs (Terminids) on the right and the Bots (Automatons) on the left. This map is affected by all players and their respective success or failure. So far we have already seen special events that encourage fighting in certain areas. If successful these also come with rewards such as access to bonus stratagems. This was very similar to the way things went down in the first game and it will be interesting to see how Arrowhead manages this galactic tug-of-war.

Medic!

It might sound odd to say this but one of the best things about Helldivers 2 is dying. Like the first game friendly fire is a thing and in the heat of battle, you will mulch your own squad many times. Lucky for you the federation has a seemingly endless supply of eager volunteers for the meat grinder. As soon as you die, and you will die, a brand new soldier is thawed out and fired down from orbit. What happened to health and safety in the workplace?

Given how dynamic the game's combat is, things can go awry very fast. Like pitching a grenade only for it to bounce off the husk of an armoured bug and back at your feet. The same thing can happen when chucking stratagems, only orbital bombardments tend to take more than the odd limb. Even dying when cooking a grenade can end badly for nearby squad members. Of course, communication is key to avoiding these little mishaps and for that, we have a decent in-game comms system in the form of voice, text and quick commands. Although most PC gamers I know still use Discord running in the background. 

While there is no story as such, progression is marked with unlocking improvements to your starship. These in turn give you added benefits on the battlefield such as more ammo for turrets or orbital strikes reloading faster. There are also new weapons and stratagems to unlock which can drastically alter your options on the battlefield. One-shotting the biggest enemy in the game with an orbital rail cannon really is pure satisfaction.

On top of these choices, you also have a decent selection of base weapons to choose from whether it be shotguns, assault rifles etc. These are all unlocked within the game's built-in battle pass system but unlike most live service games this one is permanent. It is also woven into the game world with Warbonds you can pick up. There is also the ability to purchase super credits but there is no need to panic. This currency can be legitimately earned in game and not so slowly that you need to live to a hundred. There is also a small rotating shop like in Fortnite but again, the prices are refreshingly reasonable.

Bugs and Bots

In the original game, there were three enemy factions: the Bugs, the Illuminate and the Cyborgs. Despite the name change two of these have arrived with Helldivers 2 in the form of the Terminids and the Automatons. The bugs are probably where most players should learn the ropes as they are a little easier tactically. Saying that, they are very good at getting the upper hand with smaller bugs swarming you or bile spitters covering you in corrosive acid. Stalkers are also lethal as they will strike from behind and have a predator-style cloaking ability. 

The Automatons are a different kettle of fish as most of them have ranged attacks. If the bugs are Starship Troopers then the bots are certainly Skynet! The basic troopers make the battlefield look just like the war scenes from Terminator. There is also a nice big gap at the bottom of the galaxy map where a third race of aggressors would fit perfectly. Given that Arrowhead is expanding their studio significantly I’d say major future content is all but guaranteed. 

Back End of Nowhere

So all this sounds fantastic but unfortunately for the last week, this awesome game has been buckling under the weight of its own success. It is sadly ironic that the huge success of Helldivers 2 has resulted in some unfortunate issues. Having to balance server infrastructure with expected sales is a thankless job I would not want. Make your server architecture too big and you overspend. Too small and you end up with the situation Arrowhead are currently in. Many gamers are under the impression that developers can just buy more server capacity but each online game has a unique structure. Ultimately Helldivers 2 wasn't designed to accommodate this many players and so now the team are fighting with the back end to free up more space. 

The rating has also been falling down to mixed on Steam, presumably due to people not being able to play in the busy evenings. This is a dam shame and I do wish people would hold off with these downvotes as the developers are clearly working their arses off. With the server cap just being bumped upto seven hundred thousand I hope this will help in the coming weekend.

Is it PC?

The overall performance of Helldivers 2 has been great. I have been playing with all settings on maximum at 1440p and I'm playing on an overclocked 3080ti system. I haven't had any framerate issues at all and on average I get between 80 to 100 fps. This is even more impressive when you get into some of the larger battles with hundreds of bugs sizing up your sweetmeats. I have seen around five crashes to desktop but these are always in the evenings when the servers are getting battered. 

The visuals of this game are also spectacular with each planet giving a distinct feel and atmosphere. Some are hazy deserts, water-logged swamps or desolate rockscapes where you can see for miles. With changeable weather and a full day/night cycle, this makes the landscapes even more diverse. It is also very impressive how breakable the environments are from the rock formations you are cowering behind to entire settlements. Even the ground can be left with huge craters as the smoke clears from high-level ordinance. There are also lots of little details which show a deft hand when it comes to game design such as when a drop shit comes in to collect you it starts firing its own cannons at enemies. There are even shell casings dropping from the gun like metallic rain.

The enemies have also been given a great amount of detail in both the way they look and move. Some will make a beeline for you while others will start making evasive manoeuvres when you aim in their direction: the AI is really impressive. For example, if you come across a charger they will live up to their name and attempt to flatten you. If you drop a sentry gun with the idea of shooting it on its more vulnerable backside, it will immediately change targets and take this out.

Conclusion

It is always great to see a smaller developer hit the jackpot and the success Arrowhead are seeing is well deserved. It is clear the team has been working hard to solve the server issues and it's not just a case of ‘buying more servers’ like many have suggested. I did see that Sony has sent Engineers to the developer so see if they can assist.

Server issues aside, the game is an absolute blast. There are so many great ideas and well-thought-out game systems. It feels good to run, shoot, bomb, dive, revive and then do it all again. This is only the beginning with more content being confirmed. I have no doubt the game's population will cool off in the coming months as it does with all new releases. The beauty of this game is that you can just leave it installed and fire it up whenever with no worries about missing a season. Like Baldur's Gate 3 proved last year, if you make a great game and don't take the piss with monetisation gamers will embrace it. I cannot wait to see how Helldivers 2 evolves over the coming months and years.