If you’ve ever fantasised about starring in your own version of Paul Verhoeven’s blistering sci-fi satire Starship Troopers, you can now rest easy: your wish has been answered. Helldivers 2, the sequel to the 2015 topdown co-op shooter, is an online game in which beefy space marines blast down to alien planets and, spurred on by jingoistic slogans, pulverise anything that moves with super hi-tech weaponry. Some of that involves giant insect monsters, sometimes it’s robots. It doesn’t really matter, though, because the outcome is the same. Gut-splattered industrial slaughter. And like the movie it borrows from, Helldivers 2 is a stupendously entertaining joyride.
There’s really not much to explain upfront. It’s the future, and Earth – now known as Super Earth – considers itself under threat from alien monsters on distant planets – planets that just happen to be rich in mineral deposits. You start out with a basic spaceship and a rudimentary warrior, then you select a world to visit and a mission to undertake, then touchdown on the surface to begin educating the locals in the joys of militarised democracy. Although you can take on missions alone, it’s better with three other players – this is very much a co-op experience. Everyone gets a set of primary and secondary weapons – which means shotguns, SMGs, assault rifles and pistols – as well as grenades. During combat however you can also call in Strategems, special weapons and items ranging from orbital missile strikes to defensive shields and automated machine gun turrets.
Missions vary from raising patriotic flags to realigning communications equipment and rescuing civilian colonists, but there are always side tasks too, including destroying bases and exploring abandoned research stations. You may also discover Samples, which can be collected to buy spacecraft upgrades, and Medals, which get you new armour and custom items. The main currency is Requisition Slips, which pay for new Strategems from a vast and exotic list. There is one currency – Super Credits – which can be bought with real money, but developer Arrowhead Game Studios has insisted that the stuff this buys (mostly body armour and helmets) isn’t necessary for progression, and you can earn Super Credits in the game anyway. I’ve certainly not felt the need to buy anything while levelling up over many, many hours of play.
The gameplay loop is so tight, it would be laughably slim in the wrong hands. You team up, hit the planet, kill things, collect stuff then extract to count your earnings and buy better weapons. Repeat until exhausted. Levelling up unlocks new collections of deadlier hardware, but it’s basically the same thing over and over again until the planet has been “liberated” and you and all the other players in the world move on to another (yes, there’s a global real-time battle map, with every participant contributing to the intergalactic, ahem, peace effort).
Why doesn’t this get tired really quickly? Because Arrowhead has concentrated all its design attention on making every facet of the experience minutely enjoyable. The guns feel chunky, varied and impactful, every direct hit is accompanied by a tidal wave of insect goo or tangled metal, the sounds of missile strikes and napalm blasts are like fiery symphonies of destruction. This is a game that truly understands the value of intense, disproportionate feedback.
Visually, Helldivers 2 benefits immensely from the move from topdown to full third-person 3D visuals. Although the planets are barren, they are studded with bases, hives and wreckage sites, and they provide cover and height where needed. The interplay between players is frenzied and amusing. Controversially, the game has team killing switched on, so if you’re a little wild with your machine gun or nuclear strikes, you can easily take out a pal or two. This would be a disaster in Call of Duty, but here it simply adds to the ongoing pastiche of ludicrous, senseless sci-fi violence. It’s telling that one of the automatic phrases on the communication wheel is “sorry”. You’re going to need that a lot.
The best shooters encourage players to take part in a way that suits the game’s tone and universe, and Helldivers 2 is certainly one of them. You play in a sort of demented panic, calling in airstrikes with abandon and getting through ammo so fast you end up carrying huge backpacks of the stuff everywhere you go. I’ve played with lots of people who have ended up effectively role-playing as actors from the Starship Troopers film, yelling “Now that’s what I call democracy!” with every airburst strike they call in. I do wonder sometimes how many are in on the joke, and how many think they actually are the good guys. But who cares when you’re covered in insect guts, the smell of cordite lingering in the air?
On the downside, there were technical troubles in the opening days, especially on PC, and sometimes it’s hard to get into an impromptu game with strangers as there have been issues with the matchmaking system, though this is certainly improving. For some players there may be question marks over the longevity of a live service product based around such a limited compulsion loop. But this is perhaps the most fun I’ve had from a pure co-op shooter since Left 4 Dead or the original horde mode in Gears of War – it is so precise, its gunplay so invigorating, its feedback and effects so generous. Everything about this game is ridiculous, including how good it is at what it sets out to do.
• Helldivers 2 is out now on PC and PS5
