Helldivers II Review Thread

Game Information

Game Title: Helldivers II

Platforms:

PC (Feb 8, 2024)
PlayStation 5 (Feb 8, 2024)

Trailers:

Developer: Arrowhead Game Studios AB

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 83 average - 93% recommended - 31 reviews

Critic Reviews

But Why Tho? - Matt Sowinski - 8.5 / 10

The gunplay is fantastic, the gameplay loop is satisfying, and the reward progression is consistent. Its live service plans are its biggest question moving forward, but right now, Helldivers 2 is a ton of fun.

CGMagazine - Philip Watson - 9 / 10

Helldivers 2 is a testament to the power of teamwork and tactical gameplay, wrapped in a satirical package that’s hard to put down.

Cerealkillerz - Nick Erlenhof - German - 8.4 / 10

Helldivers 2 is great co-op fun for fans of action and alien bugs. It’s mindless fun in its purest form and a credit to the developers for refining the basics of the gameplay so well. However, when it comes to the content, the game stops surprising pretty quickly and becomes a marathon of killing thousands of enemies and repeating familiar missions. But there is plenty of potential for surprises and innovations in the future, especially after the difficult server launch.

Daily Star - Tom Hutchison - 4 / 5

All in, this is great fun, albeit slightly limited in its longevity. While there are unlocks to push for, the core game remains largely the same from the off.

Entertainment Geekly - Luis Alvaro - 4.5 / 5

“Helldivers 2” is a worthy sequel and an excellent co-op shooter. It’s a game that offers not just hours of entertainment, but a genuine connection to a community of players united in their quest to bring democracy to the stars. It’s a reminder of the joy found in shared victories, the laughter in shared defeats, and the unbreakable bonds formed in the heat of battle.

Eurogamer - Emma Kent - 4 / 5

With its high-chaos, high-comedy firefights, Helldivers 2 is a riot to play with friends – although its launch has been hampered by persistent matchmaking and progression problems.

Evilgamerz - Daan Nijboer - Dutch - 8 / 10

It’s clear, Helldivers 2 is fun. Very nice indeed. It is not without reason that this became the best-selling Playstation game on PC within a few days. The wonderful shooting, the spectacular Stratagems and the teamwork while playing makes Helldivers 2 one big party. There are few games that can give you so much fun and chaos, combined with perhaps not the very best graphics, but one of the most atmospheric. You often imagine yourself in a Starship Troopers or Terminator movie with all the explosions and bullets around you. It’s a shame that the game was plagued by so many technical issues in the first few days, but the developer has done everything they can to resolve this and has already largely succeeded. The problems must of course be taken into account in the assessment, but make no mistake, Helldivers 2 is already one of the best games of 2024 and will only get better in the future with all the new free content. And for only €40 this is a no-brainer, get that trade!

GAMES.CH - Joel Kogler - German - 75%

On the one hand, the game has a great addictive factor thanks to excellent multiplayer gameplay and short, crisp missions. The outstanding graphics and audio quality perfectly accompany the war on the dark front and make you want to explore every corner. Unfortunately, the business strategies of Sony and Arrowhead Games stand in the way of the good game. With regular crashes and connection problems, as well as a very limited scope and many promises, “Helldivers 2” seems more like a very good Early Access game. In addition, there is a strong focus on microtransactions, which does not allow us to fully enjoy the excellent gameplay.

GGRecon - Lloyd Coombes - 4.5 / 5

Helldivers 2 keeps kicking me in the rear end, and I can’t help but respect it. Visiting its warzones often feels like a one-way trip, to the point where I’m surprised to make it through. My group chats are awash with war stories of hard-fought victories and those times I dropped an airstrike on my head.

And through all of the chaos, like a grizzled veteran who’s seen some s**t, I’ve got a smile on my face every time I drop.

GamePro - Tobias Veltin - German - 80 / 100

Helldivers 2 is an excellent co-op shooter that lacks a bit of variety in the long run, despite many unlocking options.

Gameffine - Uphar Dutta - 90 / 100

Helldivers 2 is an Action-Third Person Shooter Co-op game that is entirely community-driven. The game offers an entire list of difficulties to find the perfect pick that you can handle with your squad. With a long list of planets to discover and prevent infestations by performing various operations, you are guaranteed to devote yourself to fighting for democracy for hours. With an actual seamless, optimized, efficient performance of the game and multiplayer, I was always in for a good time while playing the game.

Gamersky - Mega杰尼龟 - Chinese - 8 / 10

Even though it changed from top-down to third-person view, Helldivers 2 remains an engaging and unique game. It keeps almost all the good things from the first game and puts them into a new way of playing, making it even more enjoyable than before. However, unstable network connections are still a stumbling block in your fight for Super Earth. Helldivers 2 has a good start. The big question is if the developers can keep adding new stuff to keep players interested.

GamesRadar+ - Rick Lane - 4 / 5

“The way bugs burst and robots rupture is a masterclass in damage feedback”

GamingBolt - Ravi Sinha - 8 / 10

Helldivers 2 is essentially the first game, except bigger, louder and more epic in scale. Despite issues with matchmaking and some desperately needed quality-of-life, it’s enjoyably engaging.

God is a Geek - Chris White - 9 / 10

Helldivers 2 is a surprise hit, featuring some of the best moment-to-moment combat and a satisfying rinse and repeat formula.

IGN Italy - Angelo Bianco - Italian - 8 / 10

Helldivers 2 is an enjoyable third-person shooter, especially in good company. It is. It is often challenging to play but equally rewarding in terms of gameplay.

INVEN - Jaihoon Jeong - Korean - 8.5 / 10

Despite the bold genre change, Helldivers 2 has successfully maintained the core enjoyment of its predecessor. The uncontrolled battlefield, incidents that make you laugh uncontrollably, and the thrill of victory make the game worth playing, even with the acceptance of crashes and glitches.

Jump Dash Roll - Derek Johnson - 8 / 10

Helldivers 2 is the third-person Starship Troopers title that never was, which means that if you’ve been looking for an excuse to get into a bug fight, it’s absolutely worth picking up the title so you can do your part to stop the alien menace.

PC Invasion - Leo Gillick - 8 / 10

A game that has more bugs than it intended but still produces a standout experience. Helldivers 2 gives scale and gravitas to alien warfare in good old-fashioned multiplayer fun.

PSX Brasil - Mateus Alexandre - Portuguese - 90 / 100

Helldivers II came as a surprise and marks a significant moment in PlayStation Studios’ console and PC releases. If it has the proper support, it will be a game remembered and played for years to come.

PlayStation Universe - John-Paul Jones - 9 / 10

There’s no getting around it - Helldivers 2 is a supremely fun, frequently unintentionally hilarious and bombastic squad shooter that builds upon its predecessor and deftly sets up a long-term future in the process. Though the lack of split-screen is keenly felt and Helldivers 2 is by and large identical to its predecessor in so many ways, Arrowhead Studios highly anticipated sequel nonetheless does a great job of repackaging a shooter that not nearly enough people played into a thunderous current-gen offering that sets a new bar for extraction shooters everywhere.

Push Square - Aaron Bayne - 9 / 10

Helldivers 2 is a riotous affair, offering up best-in-class gunplay, a truly epic and often cinematic experience, mixed in with one of the best co-op gameplay romps currently available. Its present matchmaking issues hold it back from true glory, but when it works it really works, forcing you to feel a sense of patriotism for Super Earth as the score swells and bullets fly. Helldivers 2 is a hell of a lot of fun, and is the best laugh you and your mates will have on PS5.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Ed Thorn - Unscored

Impeccable action and clever details make this a rare breed of live service co-op shooter, where the focus lies squarely on laughter instead of racking up loot.

SECTOR.sk - Peter Dragula - Slovak - 7.5 / 10

Overall, Helldivers 2 is a decent co-op game. It’s simple, easy to play and quick to get into. Maybe it’s not a AAA title by any means and don’t expect a story, cutscenes, top graphics, but the gameplay here is good and at the same time the price is quite low.

Screen Rant - Kyle Gratton - 4.5 / 5

Helldivers 2 is a refreshingly fun power fantasy, where mastery through teamwork breeds satisfaction. Diving out of a charging bug’s way and firing into its exposed back or blowing up a machine dropship before it can deploy its forces feels incredible. The game’s tone is finely tuned so that getting caught in a friendly airstrike and seeing your own character’s limbs go flying isn’t frustrating, it’s a hilariously minor setback. All told, the modestly priced, always online game takes a measured approach to its monetization while being built entirely to bolster its main gameplay loop, making Helldivers 2 a shining example against $70 live-service titles that nickel-and-dime their players.

The Game Crater - Chris Melnyk - 8 / 10

Helldivers 2 offers players a bountiful amount of rich and engaging content, from varied and exciting missions to satisfying gunplay and engrossing progression systems.

The Games Machine - Marco Bortoluzzi - Italian - 9 / 10

What is most refreshing about Helldivers 2 is not just the fact that it’s an incredibly fun game, but that Arrowhead managed to grow in scope without losing its identity: this is, without question, a game made by the same people who created Magicka so many years ago. At present state, however, Helldivers 2 suffers from some stability issues, and employs an invasive anticheat.

TheGamer - Sam Hallahan - 4 / 5

After all of this, I got what I was expecting from the game: a damn fun time. What I didn’t expect, however, is to be thinking about it so much after each game, wanting to dive right back into hell with others alongside me. I can’t wait to get better at the game, face bigger threats, to see what planets this galaxy holds, and just what each planet will throw my way. I’m not one to often fall into multiplayer experiences, but even with a quickly-resolved rocky launch, Helldivers 2 is a strong and careful foundation for the beginnings of a flagship multiplayer experience of 2024 and, if it bears the strength of its launch, into the years to come.

TheSixthAxis - Stefan L - 8 / 10

A naked shower scene away from being an official Starship Troopers game, Helldivers 2 is gloriously daft fun when you can get a group of friends together to play. It’s just a shame about the matchmaking and crash bugs at launch.

Twinfinite - Cameron Waldrop - 4 / 5

The beauty of Helldivers 2 is in its simplicity. You’re just a single soldier tasked with the impossible job of contributing to a whole galaxy’s defense. But that’s also where the game shines, as you don’t play as Commander Shepard or someone massively important. You’re essentially just a grunt who survives long enough to get better gear and further fulfill their duty. Whether you want to sink hours into the war effort or just take on a few missions, this game is perfect for as much or as little as you want to give it.

Use a Potion - 9 / 10

Helldivers 2 is absolutely brilliant, with the strategic yet action-packed gameplay complemented by the unpredictable madness that can unfold at any minute. Between the powerful weaponry and Stratagems at your disposal, the co-op focus that sees you working with three other players, and the sheer ferocity and overwhelming nature of your opponents, the game is packed with thrilling moments that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat as you barely scrape through each encounter. I’m completely hooked in, and with the developer promising free additions to the game in the future, I think I will be for a long, long time.

There is one big caveat at the moment though: public multiplayer is broken. Whilst you can play with friends in private games, I haven’t had any success joining a public game. I’ve been lucky enough to have friends to play with so it hasn’t affected me so far, but it is definitely worth bearing in mind if you don’t have others to play with. It is due to be fixed soon though, and when it is? You can bump my score up a notch.