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Helldivers

Right in the sweet spot between being fun and challenging, Helldivers is a superb cooperative experience that keeps you coming back for more.
Helldivers Game Cover
85%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
grinding, stability
91% User Score Based on 12,918 reviews
Critic Score 75%Based on 6 reviews

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Helldivers Game Cover

About

Helldivers is a single player and multiplayer shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and was released on December 7, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

Helldivers is a top-down shooter game with intense battlefield chaos. Players work together in a co-op setting to complete objectives and defeat enemy forces across procedurally generated levels. With a wide range of customizable weapons, upgrades, and difficultly levels, Helldivers offers a challenging and engaging experience for up to four players.

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Helldivers screenshot
Helldivers screenshot
Helldivers screenshot
Helldivers screenshot
Helldivers screenshot
Helldivers screenshot
Helldivers screenshot
Helldivers screenshot
Helldivers screenshot
Helldivers screenshot
Helldivers screenshot
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91%
Audience ScoreBased on 12,918 reviews
story196 positive mentions
grinding145 negative mentions
  • The gameplay is chaotic, fast-paced, and emphasizes teamwork, providing a rewarding and addictive experience with plenty of humorous moments.
  • The graphics are crisp and charming, contributing to an enjoyable atmosphere, while the music enhances the gameplay with its epic and immersive quality.
  • The game offers high replayability through procedurally generated missions and diverse strategies, making it a fun experience, especially in cooperative play.
  • The gameplay can become repetitive over time, and the lack of a consistent story mode and engaging endgame content leaves players feeling unsatisfied.
  • Many players report significant bugs and glitches, particularly in multiplayer settings, which can disrupt the overall experience.
  • The monetization strategies, including microtransactions and DLC perceived as pay-to-win, have drawn significant criticism and left a sour taste for many players.
  • story
    2,229 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect of "Helldivers" is minimal and largely serves as a backdrop for the gameplay, which revolves around completing procedurally generated missions to contribute to a community-driven galactic campaign. Players engage in chaotic, cooperative missions against three alien factions, with the overarching theme of spreading "managed democracy" through military action. While the game features humorous dialogue and a satirical tone reminiscent of "Starship Troopers," it lacks a traditional narrative structure, focusing instead on mission objectives and player interactions.

    • “Every mission feels like a story you’ll retell later: the clutch extractions, the accidental friendly fire, the perfectly timed stratagems, and the glorious failures that somehow feel just as fun as the victories.”
    • “The community is still alive, co-op works great, and every session turns into a new absurd story.”
    • “The tension of surviving in a hostile world, with every mission ramping up the stakes, really draws you in.”
    • “The story in Helldivers is minimal and underwhelming.”
    • “Without any kind of consistent story mode, no means to select missions in already-conquered territory, and a campaign that seems to breeze by without any player action, Helldivers is a game that is almost totally apathetic about you playing it.”
    • “The missions themselves can be carried out by one to four people, with more Helldivers equaling more and tougher enemies, and get increasingly hectic with both amount of players and mission difficulty.”
  • gameplay
    1,379 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Helldivers is characterized by its chaotic, fast-paced, and cooperative twin-stick shooter mechanics, heavily emphasizing teamwork and strategic planning. Players engage in a variety of missions across procedurally generated environments, utilizing a unique stratagem system that requires inputting directional commands to call in support, which adds a layer of complexity and humor to the experience. While the game offers a rewarding and addictive gameplay loop, some players note that it can become repetitive over time, particularly as the community-driven war mechanics may limit content access and the shared camera can lead to frustrating moments during intense gameplay.

    • “The gameplay is chaotic and full of very funny moments.”
    • “The core mechanics are tight and responsive, blending strategic teamwork with chaotic, edge-of-your-seat action.”
    • “The gameplay is fast-paced, chaotic, and satisfying, with plenty of enemies to kill, objectives to complete, and planets to liberate.”
    • “The gameplay loop is extremely action packed, and feels very good even during the game's most stressful moments.”
    • “The gameplay is surprisingly similar to its sequel, despite being a top-down shooter.”
    • “The gameplay quickly grows stale.”
  • humor
    554 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in Helldivers is a standout feature, characterized by its chaotic and satirical take on militaristic themes reminiscent of *Starship Troopers*. Players frequently encounter hilariously absurd situations, particularly due to the ever-present friendly fire mechanic, which leads to comical mishaps and unexpected deaths. The game's over-the-top dialogue and absurd premise contribute to a lighthearted atmosphere, making it a fun and engaging experience, especially in cooperative play.

    • “The propaganda-style humor, the patriotic absurdity, the announcer cheering you on as if you're saving the universe with every reload… it’s all brilliant.”
    • “The friendly fire adds a layer of hilarious unpredictability that makes every match memorable.”
    • “Incredibly fun, funny, and addictive, all while being a loving parody of the jingoistic science fiction it's based on.”
    • “When playing seriously, and the game decides to land a pod 10 feet away from the beacon right on you, that's not funny at higher levels.”
    • “The attempts at humor often fall flat, making the game feel more frustrating than entertaining.”
    • “I expected some lighthearted moments, but the jokes feel forced and out of place in the game's serious context.”
  • graphics
    418 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are generally well-received, characterized by a unique art style that balances between realism and a cartoonish aesthetic, reminiscent of titles like "Starship Troopers." While some players note that the visuals may appear dated or simplistic compared to modern standards, many appreciate the crispness and charm of the graphics, which run smoothly even on lower-end systems. Overall, the graphics serve the gameplay effectively, contributing to an enjoyable experience despite some minor visual glitches and a lack of extensive graphical options.

    • “The graphics are nice with a unique touch to it, not too realistic and not too blocky, something in the middle.”
    • “The graphics are crisp and the world oozes with character.”
    • “The graphics are great, combat is intense, especially on higher difficulties.”
    • “The graphics may not seem as innovative at its time.”
    • “Its repetitive gameplay, uninspired story, and lackluster visuals make it hard to recommend, especially when compared to other games in the genre.”
    • “Graphics look terrible; it would be bad even for a mobile game.”
  • music
    172 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its epic and immersive quality, enhancing the overall gameplay experience, especially during intense combat and extraction moments. Many players appreciate how the soundtrack adapts to different situations and enemy factions, creating a dynamic atmosphere that complements the action. However, some reviewers noted that the music can become repetitive over time, despite its initial impact and thematic alignment with the game's militaristic and satirical tone.

    • “The soundtrack swells at the perfect moments, and extraction zones feel like scenes from an action movie filmed while someone shook the camera as hard as possible.”
    • “The soundtrack, with its booming orchestral marches, amplifies every heart-pounding moment, making even routine missions feel like epic last stands.”
    • “The music is fantastic, mixing together a heroic, bombastic motif to really get you sold on the Super Earth propaganda, as well as tracks that give off a very sci-fi, maybe a little cyberpunk feel.”
    • “The music is very over the top and generic Starship Trooper propaganda music.”
    • “One point I would put against the game is that the music selection seems limited and gets old quick.”
    • “Despite being a PS4 port, it controls perfectly with m+k and the engine used outputs graphics that look crisp and detailed, with hilariously cheesy (but effective) music.”
  • grinding
    154 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game is frequently described as tedious and repetitive, particularly in the later stages where players must collect samples and upgrade weapons, often leading to long hours of farming. While some players find enjoyment in grinding with friends and appreciate the progression system, many criticize the grind-to-reward ratio as unbalanced, making the experience feel monotonous over time. Overall, the game is best enjoyed in multiplayer settings to alleviate the grind's tedium, but it can still become a chore for solo players.

    • “You're not grinding loot or items for better damage, and your skill is the most important factor to your usefulness and success.”
    • “No grinding (upon hitting level 30 pretty much gets everything unlocked)”
    • “a bit grindy sometimes”
    • “The biggest criticism I have about the game is how grindy it is: you need to collect 10 samples in a mission in order to gain a research point (or you could level up); research points allow you to upgrade your weapons.”
    • “The game requires you to be fast, but the hero is slow, has limited ammo, and is easily hurt by almost anything. One small mistake can be fatal, and the same tasks feel terrible due to grinding and limited development.”
    • “Ultimately, this game is a highly repetitive grind simply for the sake of grinding.”
  • replayability
    123 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game boasts high replayability, with many players praising its procedurally generated missions, diverse strategies, and engaging multiplayer experience. While some reviewers noted that it can become repetitive over time, the variety of loadouts, dynamic gameplay, and community-driven content contribute to its enduring appeal. Overall, it is considered a fun and addictive title with significant replay value, especially when played with friends.

    • “The dynamic missions and galactic campaign add layers of replayability, while the polished presentation immerses players in the chaos of battle.”
    • “Its visuals are stunning, and its teamwork-focused mechanics ensure endless replayability.”
    • “With all the variety in the levels, objectives, weapons, and aliens coupled with the solid team-oriented mechanics, there is a lot of replayability to be had for the money.”
    • “But can become grindy after a while and it certainly loses replayability value after all the bosses have been completed.”
    • “Long story short, the game is easy to run, fun to play with friends, but has no enjoyable replayability after you've 'beaten' the game.”
    • “I love this game and if you don't have it, I'd recommend buying it; the gameplay is insanely fun, I just wish there was more to do. It seems like there's no real endgame once you get enough RP to upgrade your loadouts all the way. It just feels empty at the end; give me something to dive for.”
  • optimization
    63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is highly praised, with many users reporting smooth performance across various platforms, including lower-end PCs. While some minor issues like occasional stuttering and controller compatibility were noted, the game generally runs well, offering a solid experience for both solo and cooperative play. Players appreciate the balance between visual quality and performance, making it accessible for a wide range of hardware.

    • “On PC, the game shines with crisp visuals, smooth performance, and tight controls.”
    • “A large selection of optimized, powerful weapons for the base arsenal and a massive amount of options for high-powered stratagems means you can absolutely find a loadout that works for you and allows you to be an asset of destruction and team player all in one.”
    • “Performance is astoundingly good and I get well over 100fps in most scenarios; the game isn't the highest end in terms of graphical fidelity but it should run pretty good on most systems.”
    • “Also, the game is not greatly optimized for 2 players.”
    • “I really enjoyed the game with the short amount of time I played it; although the specs said it would run on my rig, it ended up being horribly laggy as though it was unoptimized. I really wanted to give this a better review, but unfortunately, I refunded my purchase because of the horrible frame rate.”
    • “Abit too much lag on PC, needs optimization.”
  • atmosphere
    58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising its engaging sci-fi setting, captivating sound design, and humorous undertones reminiscent of "Starship Troopers," while others find it underwhelming compared to its predecessor. Many reviews highlight the game's beautiful graphics and immersive environments, contributing to a fun and cooperative gameplay experience, though some note a lack of polish and depth in the atmosphere. Overall, the game successfully creates a unique and enjoyable atmosphere that enhances the gameplay, despite some criticisms.

    • “The music is fantastic, mixing together a heroic, bombastic motif to really get you sold on the super earth propaganda, as well as tracks that give off a very sci-fi, maybe a little cyberpunk feel, especially when you're on the bridge of your ship choosing which planet to spread managed democracy to next, or if you've just landed in a relatively safe spot to start a mission and you're feeling the very alien atmosphere you just dived into.”
    • “The atmosphere is also top notch and if you enjoyed the movie Starship Troopers, you'll love the over-the-top war for democracy in Helldivers.”
    • “The variation in planet type and environmental atmospheres is done well enough that the feeling of travel and exploration is felt strongly.”
    • “The atmosphere, in particular, is worth singling out above all other flaws present in hd1; while the core gameplay is passable, the atmosphere simply is not there compared to hd2.”
    • “Only try this if you can live with a much more underwhelming atmosphere and gameplay is the only trait you're looking for.”
    • “The atmosphere of the game really does give off a Starship Troopers vibe.”
  • stability
    52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of Helldivers 2 has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, particularly in multiplayer settings. While some users noted improvements over previous titles and found the game generally playable, others experienced game-breaking issues and frequent crashes. Overall, the game is described as having a range of stability issues, from minor glitches to more severe problems that can hinder the experience, though some players still found it enjoyable despite these flaws.

    • “Also, it runs great on the Steam Deck.”
    • “HD is not a demanding game, detailed where it has to be, some effects look great and the engine seems to do the job. Many planets have different environments—forest, desert, volcanic, and snow are the main settings. They may change a bit during daytime, dusk, and nighttime. There is not much to add; HD runs smoothly and it's almost bug-free, well optimized.”
    • “The gameplay is exciting, tense, challenging, and unlike so many AAA games, fun and bug-free.”
    • “Helldivers 2 is a badly thought out power fantasy that is way too easy for its own good and way too buggy to be playable long term.”
    • “The breaking point for me is the unacceptable number of game-breaking glitches and other by-design 'cheap shots' which might be far too much even for the 'legendary' players of this game.”
    • “Game constantly glitches out and crashes or disconnects.”
  • monetization
    29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization strategies in the game have drawn significant criticism, with many players expressing frustration over the prevalence of microtransactions and DLC that feel essential for high-level play, often perceived as pay-to-win. While some users acknowledge that certain microtransactions are reasonably priced, the overall sentiment leans towards viewing these practices as predatory and detrimental to the gaming experience, with calls for more content to be included in the base game rather than sold separately. Despite the fun gameplay, the aggressive monetization tactics have left a sour taste for many players.

    • “This was remedied in the sequel by having armor contribute to stats and other bonuses, and microtransactions to ensure this is never bundled with weapons... I hope... buying this is optional.”
    • “Speaking of which, some of the DLC items feel straight-up pay-to-win and like they should be unlockable in the base game for free if they're so crucial to high-level play (looking at you, all-terrain boots and rumbler cannon!). That being said, at least it's really cheap DLC that you can purchase in a bundle, so it's on the very tail end of the scale of scummy microtransactions, at least in my opinion.”
    • “There is a learning curve but once you've hit it you'll find the gameplay is challenging and at times movie-like. It left me craving more. There is a lot of good DLC behind a smaller paywall that I would argue are needed but are not on sale; they're roughly $1.50, so it's not bad in terms of microtransactions. It still holds up as a decent game and if you're into HD2, I would pick this up just to see what we could have in the future and to experience a good top-down shooter with possibly some new buddies.”
    • “Monetization-wise, it leaves a very bad taste since release-day has been egregiously selling borderline 'pay-to-win' solutions to problems they designed themselves.”
    • “The worst camera I have ever seen in a video game and horrible, predatory monetization.”
    • “DLCs are a clear cash grab that should have been in the game to begin with.”
  • emotional
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the Helldivers series is characterized by a mix of wholesome community interactions and humorous, chaotic gameplay moments that create memorable experiences. While some players feel a lack of deep emotional stakes in the game's narrative, the camaraderie and laughter shared among friends during intense missions foster a sense of connection and enjoyment. Overall, the game strikes a balance between lighthearted fun and engaging teamwork, making it a worthwhile experience for players.

    • “We held the line for a while but as the psion plunged Julian into madness... I can still hear his screams in my bunk at night, 'Oh my god, he reversed my controls!' I can still feel his hubris touching my soul to this day as he turned and accidentally (allegedly anyway) shot and killed our brother Kevin.”
    • “It's good wholesome fun, spreading democracy with up to three other suicidal patriots.”
    • “A few very well-made one-liners and a great overall wholesome fitting theme works well for pulling you in and giving the game a great identity that is worth coming back to.”
  • character development
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is highlighted by aesthetically pleasing designs, with distinct enemy types that aid in gameplay strategy. Players appreciate the persistent progression through gear and ability unlocks, although some find the overall character development to be basic and repetitive.

    • “The character designs are very aesthetically pleasing; in fact, a few look very inspired by Star Wars armor designs, while the enemy designs are all very distinctive from each other, which helps with determining enemy weaknesses quickly amidst the chaos.”
    • “Persistent character development in the form of sweet gear and ability unlocks will keep you coming back.”
    • “Great missions, fun character development, and tactics used to advance.”
    • “Repetitive gameplay and very basic character development, not more to say here.”
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75%Critics’ scoreBased on 6 critic reviews
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23h Median play time
48h Average play time
11h Main story
69h Completionist
14-50h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 58 analyzed playthroughs
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"Review bombing as a concept wasn't a thing": Helldivers 2 boss says Arrowhead's debut hit Magicka was actually just buggy and unoptimized, though it was later review bombed by Helldivers mad at Sony

January 5 on gamesradar.com

Helldivers Movie Director Doesn't Play Games, And Game Boss Says That's Just Fine

December 4 on gamespot.com

‘Let Justin Lin work his magic’: Arrowhead CEO says the Helldivers movie director doesn’t need to have played the game

December 4 on videogameschronicle.com

Justin Lin to direct the Helldivers movie

December 3 on shacknews.com

Helldivers' Movie Director Isn't A Gamer, But Arrowhead Trusts Him

December 3 on thegamer.com

Helldivers movie director may not be a gamer, but Arrowhead boss says he trusts Justin Lin because he "did a great job on the Star Trek movie"

December 3 on gamesradar.com

Newly-announced Helldivers movie director may not be a gamer, but he has worked on multiple Fast & Furious films

December 2 on eurogamer.net

Citizens of Super Earth, rejoice: Helldivers movie moves forward with Fast and Furious director

December 2 on gamesradar.com
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Frequently Asked Questions

Helldivers is a shooter game with science fiction theme.

Helldivers is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Windows, PlayStation 3 and others.

The main story can be completed in around 11 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 69 hours to finish. On average players spend around 48 hours playing Helldivers.

Helldivers was released on December 7, 2015.

Helldivers was developed by Arrowhead Game Studios.

Helldivers has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Helldivers is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Helldivers 2, RUNNING WITH RIFLES, Red Solstice 2: Survivors, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and others.