Helldivers 2

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Helldivers II
Developer(s)Arrowhead Game Studios
Publisher(s)Sony Interactive Entertainment
Writer(s)
  • Russ Nickel (lead)
  • Stephen Flowers
  • Emma Levin
  • Tristan Bellawala
Composer(s)Wilbert Roget II
EngineAutodesk Stingray
Platform(s)
Release8 February 2024
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Helldivers 2 is a 2024 cooperative third-person shooter game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game is the direct sequel to Helldivers, a 2015 top-down shooter. It was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on 8 February 2024. It received positive reviews from critics and sold over 8 million units within the first two months of its release.

Gameplay

Unlike Helldivers, which is a top-down shooter, Helldivers 2 is a third-person shooter.[1] A core gameplay feature carried over from the first game is the use of 'stratagems' – such as cluster bombs, sentry guns, shield generators and supply pods containing limited-use special weaponry.[2] Friendly fire is always on. The game's armor system is inspired by real firearms fired against armored targets.[3]

While Helldivers featured shared-screen co-op, Helldivers 2 does not.[4] The game features cooperative multiplayer with up to four players,[1] but does not include a dedicated single-player campaign.[5] It also provides optional cross-play between PlayStation 5 and Windows.[6] In the initial days of release, gameplay involved staff at the studio observing players and influencing gameplay in real time.[7]

The game features a battle pass that never expires. Players can earn various types of in-game currency during gameplay; "war-bond medals" and "requisition slips" are awarded for completing missions and game objectives, while "super credits" are found during missions or purchased via microtransactions.[8] As players gain experience and progress in level, they unlock different weapons and Stratagems to use during missions.[9] Players can participate in Defense missions to defend against an ongoing enemy invasion or Liberation mission to retake enemy-occupied planets. By completing missions, players also contribute to the collective "liberation" of planets, a percentage displayed on the Galactic Map.[10] The location of the mission can also affect gameplay; for example, a planet may feature environmental conditions like firestorms or earthquakes, which can damage or incapicitate players respectively.

Plot

Helldivers 2 is set a century after the triumph of "Super Earth", a self-described managed democracy, over the Cyborgs, Terminids, and The Illuminate during the events of the first game. It is discovered that, upon death, the Terminids produce a unique and highly valuable resource known as E-710. Farms are established on human-colonized worlds, but containment is eventually breached, releasing the bugs and causing chaos and destruction. Simultaneously, a new threat emerges in the form of the Automatons, a mechanical army intent on destroying humanity. The game begins with a recruitment video for the Helldivers, who are elite shock troops dropped from orbit to reclaim the colonized lands.[11] Environmental storytelling is prevalent throughout the game, with various logs, notes, and propaganda messages available for players to find during gameplay.[12]

Development and release

On 3 December 2020, Arrowhead Game Studios revealed that work had started on a new project for PlayStation 5. It was confirmed that the game would be a third-person shooter.[13] Like the first game, Helldivers 2 runs on the discontinued Autodesk Stingray game engine (originally known as Bitsquid). Arrowhead Game Studios founder Johan Pilestedt confirmed on social media that "The project started before [Stingray] was discontinued," adding, "Our crazy engineers had to do everything, with no support to build the game to parity with other engines."[14][15]

On 13 September 2021, Helldivers 2 was mentioned in a GeForce Now leak.[16] The game was teased in a TikTok post showing Arrowhead's social media manager starting their workday, which is followed by a series of posts from fans demanding them to release the game.[17] On 18 August 2022, a 12-second clip of gameplay was leaked on Twitter, but was later removed.[18][19]

On 24 May 2023, Helldivers 2 was announced during the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, with a slated release of sometime in 2023.[20] On 6 July 2023, a trailer showcasing gameplay was released.[2][3] On 30 July 2023, the game received a M rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board for "blood and gore" and "intense violence".[21] On 14 September 2023, gameplay was shown in a PlayStation State of Play event, and it was announced that the game would release on 8 February 2024.[22] Pre-orders became available on 22 September 2023.[23] On 8 February 2024, the game was released on the PlayStation Store and Steam.[24]

Reception

Helldivers 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[25][26]

Upon release, the game experienced a large influx of players, leading to widespread server and login issues for the first two weeks of release.[41] By the third week of release, the player cap was increased to "a whopping 700,000 concurrent users" according to Wesley Yin-Poole of IGN.[42]

Aaron Bayne of Push Square described the game as "a riotous affair, offering up best-in-class gunplay" and a "truly epic and often cinematic experience, mixed in with one of the best co-op gameplay romps currently available." However, he criticized the game for the server issues and crashes that players experienced after release.[36]

Helldivers 2 has been compared to the 1997 science fiction action film Starship Troopers; both are a satirical comedy featuring a militaristic regime fighting against a race of large insectoids.[43][44]

Sales

On 11 February 2024, Arrowhead Games CEO Johan Pilestedt announced that Helldivers 2 had sold approximately 1 million units.[45]

Helldivers 2 was the largest launch of any PlayStation Studios game available on PC.[46] Arrowhead stated that the game's success has greatly exceeded their expectations.[47] Following its initial success, Arrowhead Studios announced its intention to scale its studio and team to accelerate its post-launch content plans.[48][49] Pilestedt reacted to the game's ongoing success by stating that he hopes to see Helldivers become considered as iconic as PlayStation's other IPs such as Uncharted, God of War, and Horizon.[50]

In Europe, the United Kingdom, and Canada, Helldivers 2 was the best-selling game of February 2024.[51][52][53]

By 24 February 2024, the game was estimated to have sold over 3 million units and became the most actively played game on the PlayStation Network, surpassing Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and Fortnite.[54] By 15 March 2024, Helldivers 2 was estimated to have sold 8 million units and reached 450,000 concurrent players on Steam.[55]

Helldivers 2 continued to be the best selling game in the UK for the second month in a row, and also managed to drive up video game sales by 26% in the country.[56]

References

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  2. ^ a b Smith, Graham (6 July 2023). "Helldivers 2 explains how its newly third-person chaotic co-op will work". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b Park, Morgan (6 July 2023). "If Helldivers 2 isn't on your 2023 radar, this excellent gameplay trailer should correct that". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Helldivers 2 Is Making Me Mourn The Death Of Split-Screen Co-Op". 21 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
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  8. ^ Bussing, Anthony (14 February 2024). "The Pros and Cons of Helldivers 2's Permanent Battle Passes". Gamerant.com. Game Rant. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
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External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helldivers_2&oldid=1221071468"