The Unexpected Success of Helldivers 2 | Unpacked

This week on Unpacked, Nick is diving into the unexpected success of Helldivers 2.

[SecondWindGroup]

Thanks for watching this new episode of Unpacked! Hope you enjoyed and let me know if there's any other topics you'd like me to cover! - Nick

[wayroad]

The real genius is tying the community together by showing that everyone *does* have an impact on the overall progress of the in-universe story.

[StellariumSound]

The failure of Suicide Squad and the success of Helldivers says a lot about the difference in direction between the emotionless suits trying to please shareholders treating customers with sneering contempt, and a game studio making a game that's fair and fun. Imagine that in this day and age.

[zerthios]

Feel like its not mentioned enough, but the battle passes are never going to expire, so if you dont complete the pass for 6 months or 6 years you can still complete it

[elaias]

Helldivers really shows how Live-service games are simmilar to superhero movies: people are not tired of them, they just want products that were created with clear passion and love.

[clarkmichaels]

Helldivers feels so immersive. You see your ship get more equipped as you upgrade it. If you join someone else's ship you see their upgrades. You can stand at the window and see other player's ships in orbit who you are not even playing with actively participating in missions: pods dropping down, aerial barrages, even ships getting destroyed and crashing. And then obviously the stuff in the missions themselves. The barrages, the airstrikes, the dropping in, the gunplay. The best thing was doing the ICBM mission, launching the missile and then seeing the sky light up with a massive mushroom cloud and getting hit by the shockwave. It's all in the details.

[nicklager]

Who would have guessed a game would be succesful if it treated the gamers playing it with some respect, and deliver on the fun. Simple and basic sometimes you dont need more.

[fixthespade]

Helldivers 2 is proof that 'Live Service' is not the problem, it's an online multiplayer game complete with in game store and everything. But it's also a good product. It (mostly) works, the in game store isn't a complete piss take and most important of all the game is fun. It's unexpected but not surprising that it's been a hit, people really do want to play good games.

[axios]

Helldivers 2 has also benefitted from being a love letter to sci-fi nerd culture as a whole.

From the obvius homage to starship troopers to inspirations taken from Halo, Star Wars and Warhammer 40K, the upcoming EXO mechs are drawing the eyes of Battletech players and being memed on as titans from Titanfall...

It has managed to attract and unite players from a dozen different IPs under a single banner by creating a flavourful experience that appeals to all of them.

[ChenAnPin]

As mentioned, what's great about Helldivers 2 is that the devs know they're making a game, not a cash shop. They're not trying to entice people to open their wallets to buy a cosmetic or to skip the grind (and its more than likely not a good sign if the game is selling a solution to a problem they put into the game in the first place). Even the CEO of Arrowhead was chad enough to tell people to get the $40 game later if one couldn't afford it right now. How refreshing is that to hear from a CEO to decline to take money right away but instead would rather build the customer's trust and a positive repertoire?

[randomjunk]

Any game that manages not to crash and has "call 8 danger close airstrikes" as a routine part of an average mission is going to get my attention for at least a little while

[thechevyferrari]

I knew Arrowhead from Magicka WAY back in the day and that game was tight lil coop game, but the love for Helldivers 2 is INSANE. I’m definitely gonna check it out soon.

[p_booth_fan]

This whole scenario reminds me of Ghost Ship Games and Deep Rock Galactic. The game is priced very well, and part from very select cosmetics which have zero effect on the gameplay, you can unlock everything purely in game for free. It actively encourages me to support the Devs by picking up the occasional dlc or cosmetic drop almost like a thank you for their efforts.

[christianschlegel]

When I picked up Helldivers 2 I was so pleasently suprised how much the game reminded me of Deep Rock Galactic in all the right ways.

[greglikesYouTube]

I don't typically multiplayer games, and this game has consumed all my freetime in the name of spreading Managed Democracy.
Tell my wife I love her.

[TehNoobiness]

IMO, a large part of what makes Helldivers 2 work is that the creators clearly understood the whole game they were making. From the satire of Super Earth and Managed Democracy that shines through from the start of the tutorial to the end of the mission, to the guns feeling powerful (just powerful enough to secure victory against an ever-present enemy), to combat and progression loops that directly encourage working together and discourage toxicity, every part of this game works in unison. Normally, making all the core progression part of the battlepass would be a terrifying concept, but this too ends up feeding back into the design, because you're constantly getting the currencies used to unlock items and the premium pass--making it feel more like a tech tree than a battlepass.

(Incidentally, I've played 23 hours and just unlocked the premium pass. That playtime was racked up in 2-3 hour sessions over a couple weeks and it flew by like no time at all.)

[kadnhart]

This is exactly the conversation I was looking for! I don't play multiplayer games, so I was really curious how Helldivers 2 differs to make it so successful. Thanks for the breakdown!

[DPedroBoh]

They have been making the best coop games released for the last 15 years. Im so happy they are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

[Suren]

I'm not big on co-op shooters but this is the first time my friends and I just went on a 16 hour binge playing over and over and over. It's an incredibly fun game, a massive spectacle in-game with all the explosions, the incredibly fitting music when fighting the Automators or the Terminids. The punchy and grounded weapons, cannons, missle launchers. It just makes you feel like an incredibly powerful, albeit cannon-fodder-esque, badass. Just incredible how the art, gameplay, sound design and systems come together. It reminds me of BF1 in those terms, a game made with a specific vision - a lightning in a bottle. I also play it solo in the 6-8 difficulty, I love the fact that you can complete a mission, still fail extraction, and get majority of the rewards. A PROPER 'Suicide Squad'.

[AstarionGrle]

It's Oppenheimer to Baulders Gate's Barbie. We can have democracy for all.