Helldivers 2 Review - This Is How You Do A LIVE SERVICE GAME

At its core, Helldivers 2 is a third-person shooter that's unapologetically like the original. It combines brutal action and near-insurmountable odds with over-the-top, arcade-like chaos while offering satisfying gunplay and an addictive gameplay loop.

As players battle the Terminids once more and contend with the new Automatons, they'll flex all kinds of explosive firepower, from Orbital Strikes to Eagle runs and automated turrets. Backed by incredible fidelity, it makes for some fun moments.

Despite issues with matchmaking, glitches, lack of a proper lobby browser, and some desperately needed quality-of-life features, Helldivers 2 is worth checking out on PS5 and PC. The compelling sense of community and solid gameplay would be enough, but it also has one of the better monetization models in the live service sphere.

[joebond]

Good job Divers, we successfully Liberated Heeth

[dibidibadibidibou]

Game is half price of AAA but delivers twice more!

[mitchnewland]

I’m glad we are not getting Battle Royal games all the time now which is great. This game is really good and has its own unique experience

[snappa_tv]

So a note about eagle strikes. They have infinite uses per mission. You just need to have the eagle go on cooldown after running out of charges. As the eagle is an aircraft that has to return to the ship to rearm and reload.

[sideoldtype]

You know it's a fun game when you're still having a good laugh after getting carpet bombed by your team mates.

[peterreed]

This game is worth it, and the fact that I hate online games and live service games but enjoy this should be a ringing endorsement. It’s genuinely the most fun I’ve had online in years as someone who tends to only do single player experiences

[edwingarcia]

Im an exclusive solo campaign gamer kinda guy, the only multiplayer i play is Apex legends. This game has opened up a whole new world of multiplayer for me, that team heroic feeling you get when you and your team barely make it out of the extraction zone battle, the way we revive one another and give each other health when you see a teamates health low, that moment when your team is low on ammo and grenades and you call it the ammo reserve help and all your team salutes you cuz you did the right thing to help! I mean before this, i was the guy that muted everybody in the lobby at apex legends, sometiems i wondered off bymyself to do looting but all that is out the window with this! Its truly the best $40 ive spent ever

[josedias]

Take notes competition. This is how you do a multiplayer coop shooter, and democracy

[brandon]

Anyone who played the original already knew HD2 was going to be successful.

[jacobwilkerson]

I was part of the squad that liberated heeth to %100

[koammudo]

Remember lost planet ? Those game were fun

[Tito_bless]

This the type of game I tell family, and friends to buy. I show them gameplay to convince them “this could be us”. 😂

[lip]

You got a double A game with weapons sounding like it's from a triple A studio making this game wtf🤣🤣. This game is a SEAL of approval.

[vercetti]

This game is addictive with friends, We're really enjoying it. Reminds me starship troopers

[thelinsky]

I like how many times he said Tyranids and not Terminites. Got a good laugh out of it.

[jamster]

The title says my thoughts too. This is live service done right.

[psychjay]

I had no interest in this game. Never played the first one. Wasn’t even on my radar for 2024. But the last couple of weeks peaked my interest; still I didn’t preorder or it even bought at launch. Then a video in my feed appeared after launch. Watched it and it looked really cool. One vid led a an avalanche videos in my feed over the next few days. Most with simple it’s awesome, a chaotic masterpiece and such titles. Some of which didn’t have Helldivers in the title LOL. Oddly enough, the connection issues is what got me. Because so many people who were frustrated with it were still praising the core experience of the game and saying how much fun they were having regardless of the issues. So finally I bought it yesterday and my god, it is awesome. The sound design and the Stratagem mechanics are awesome. Thank you to all those spreading word of mouth, I would not have purchased otherwise. But I have been fortunate, just connection/servers issues to get into a game. But I hear people are not getting rewards and are getting kicked during a game. But it’s cool it’s like I am playing a Starship Troopers game in one match. Then it’s like I’m play a Terminator game with the Automaton missions. Then the gunplay is somehow scratching an itch for Star Wars. I had been playing battlefront 2 on and off for years since there are no other recent modern Star Wars FPS games.

[cusman]

Your video posted 6 hours ago. I was able to use the Quick Match option without issue when I played Friday night (day after game released). Joining on friends is more finicky because not everyone shows up correctly on the Social Menu to Invite / Join, but the join option from within the PS Party works reliably.

So I am wondering if the matchmaking issues you are describing in review are from Steam or PlayStation. I read about people on Steam having issues and recommendations on Reddit for PS5 players to turn off cross-play to not have issues, but I have kept cross-play setting on and I've been able to play.

I do have issue of game disconnecting sometimes mid-mission and sending me back to ship, but then re-join on friend or receive in-game invite to re-join friend and can get back to it and complete the mission, but it doesn't count the mission completed if I was the host that started it. The game also crashes more than any other game I have ever played.

To be fair if some other game crashed this much, I would stop playing, but this one I just can't stop. It is too good to not put up with these launch week challenges. I believe many of the issues are due to sheer number of players playing. More than they were prepared to receive. I think now that million+ players are actively playing the game, they will have more data and diagnostics and funding to increase servers and improve code to make it more stable.

[ShinobiDrip]

This is such an immersive game. I absolutely love how everyone in the world thts playing is working toward a common goal. And how much the environment plays a role in the gameplay.

[noah]

I was playin against automatons and I attacked one of their bases three HMG opened up on me and seeing those red laser along with the sound felt so awesome it looked amazing as well I literally can’t describe it can’t believe I didn’t clip it