Edit after the PSN requirement update:
I can no longer in good-faith suggest this game to anyone unless this requirement is removed. No, it's not because of a PC '"holier-than-thou" attitude towards PlayStation, but that the PSN network cuts off tens of millions of gamers from accessing the game, effectively banning them, under the guise of "we can better handle cheaters". It is a PVE game, not a PVP game. They ruin their own game and the game master can still manage the overarching war story - PSN is not relevant nor a smart move.

That being said, there are also numerous security reasons to NOT link your steam account to PSN, like having constant data breaches every couple of years and corporate greed of Sony breathing down the necks of the small developer. I won't be taking this lightly and neither will most of the player-base, as you can see by the hefty amount of negative reviews being made or changed, like mine. OG review below for posterity.

--------

Edit 2: Sony has completely backtracked and decided not to go through with the mandatory PSN account linking, proving that the consumer CAN vote with their voice. We as players who love the game were extremely sad to hear about the mandatory linking, effectively destroying the community and disabling access and risking heavy security breaches with personal information (IT CAN REQUIRE GOVERNMENT ID!!!!) that has already leaked MULTIPLE times in the past. Sony's choice to back out of the update will forever be immortalized in gaming history. ICYMI, Arrowhead devs and the community pushed rather extremely (including requesting refunds at NINETY+ HOURS) to essentially either force the hand of Sony to actually abide by the playerbase's wishes to not have PSN required, or to simply double down and prove that they were anti-consumer completely. It would have tanked their stock price.

Although this is not what we all want, a few people will still no longer play the game because of Sony's involvement. All in all, keeping it as optional is what we want today. I am glad they backtracked. I changed my review back to positive.


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This game is exactly what everyone is saying: it is the game that the entire world has waited for.
No politics shoved in, no weird story tropes that take you from the immersion, no microtransactions that are pay-to-win (couple things to fast-acquire cosmetics, totally fine with this).

Helldivers II takes place in the future where Earth and it's inhabited worlds across the galaxy (that empire being called Super Earth I guess) is under threat of attack by two different groups: the Automatons, a robot species, and the Termanids, a hive bug species. As you play, you "dive" via an escape-pod style "Hellpod" to the surface of a planet you are trying to liberate for Super Earth in order to "spread Managed Democracy" and liberty.

The hype of the little in-universe propaganda for fighting honorably for your race makes it so much fun when you are able to play with 3 other people in an up to 4-player co-op. These fights, however, actively progress the ENTIRE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE in saving parts of the galaxy, something you can witness in real-time in the little war-map galaxy sector area that you use to decide a planet for you to assist with.

The game is simple, you fight and do little "missions" that would help with the progression of controlling the area or planet you're on. Sometimes it's saving civilians (and trying not to accidentally get them stuck in crossfire), and other times it's simply blowing up large groups of enemies all at once.

One of the gameplay mechanics you get is from the ship you get in-game: it stays in orbit as you drop to the surface, and you get what's called Stratagems; old-style cheat-code up-down-left-right codes that unlock an orbital assistance of some sort. More ammo, a support specialty weapon, orbital bombardments or barrages to take out enemies... and its absolutely so satisfying to use.

The gameplay loop is extremely fun and consistent, and you can look for different zones to help out in with varying difficulty (you finish one to unlock the next highest difficulty, which is fair, though queuing up with higher-leveled people that have more managed stratagems can quickly get you to a higher difficulty you can't handle yet, so pay attention to what you actually can do yourself). It is 100% PVE.

The music is phenomenal. It's a little repetitive, and usually in games, that makes me want to stop hearing it so much. But it's just so good, and each fanfare and placement of the score parts are well-done, I have had a hard time wanting NOT to hear it when I play. It hypes you up when you win and even when you do simple mission objectives. It's 100% iconic to the game and can't be overstated.

All in all, this game ticks all my boxes because of how the development team at Arrowhead have designed it. The original was a more top-down feel, but this installment is much more involved, similar to how Risk of Rain and Risk of Rain 2 are to each other. I am extremely pleased with playing and the community that it brings is straight up simply more propaganda-making memes and online hype to get people to fight in certain areas to retake planets. It's simple and its fun, and well worth not only the $30 price tag but the extra $20 for the completely unnecessary DLC that basically gives you access to a few more cosmetics - something that any other game would be a waste of money, but for Arrowhead, is a perfect "thank you" for focusing on a player-driven and oriented game instead of profit maximization or bad balancing. You also get a cool "Super Citizen" tag on your player profile card in-game.

tldr; 10/10 gameplay loop, story-based universe (no story campaign), music score, and approach to community involvement. I'll be playing this far after the hype online dies down. It's just too good.

Edit after the PSN requirement update: I can no longer in good-faith suggest this game to anyone unless this requirement is removed. No, it's not because of a PC '"holier-than-thou" attitude towards PlayStation, but that the PSN network cuts off tens of millions of gamers from accessing the game, effectively banning them, under the guise of "we can better handle cheaters". It is a PVE game, not a PVP game. They ruin their own game and the game master can still manage the overarching war story - PSN is not relevant nor a smart move. That being said, there are also numerous security reasons to NOT link your steam account to PSN, like having constant data breaches every couple of years and corporate greed of Sony breathing down the necks of the small developer. I won't be taking this lightly and neither will most of the player-base, as you can see by the hefty amount of negative reviews being made or changed, like mine. OG review below for posterity. -------- Edit 2: Sony has completely backtracked and decided not to go through with the mandatory PSN account linking, proving that the consumer CAN vote with their voice. We as players who love the game were extremely sad to hear about the mandatory linking, effectively destroying the community and disabling access and risking heavy security breaches with personal information (IT CAN REQUIRE GOVERNMENT ID!!!!) that has already leaked MULTIPLE times in the past. Sony's choice to back out of the update will forever be immortalized in gaming history. ICYMI, Arrowhead devs and the community pushed rather extremely (including requesting refunds at NINETY+ HOURS) to essentially either force the hand of Sony to actually abide by the playerbase's wishes to not have PSN required, or to simply double down and prove that they were anti-consumer completely. It would have tanked their stock price. Although this is not what we all want, a few people will still no longer play the game because of Sony's involvement. All in all, keeping it as optional is what we want today. I am glad they backtracked. I changed my review back to positive. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This game is exactly what everyone is saying: it is the game that the entire world has waited for. No politics shoved in, no weird story tropes that take you from the immersion, no microtransactions that are pay-to-win (couple things to fast-acquire cosmetics, totally fine with this). Helldivers II takes place in the future where Earth and it's inhabited worlds across the galaxy (that empire being called Super Earth I guess) is under threat of attack by two different groups: the Automatons, a robot species, and the Termanids, a hive bug species. As you play, you "dive" via an escape-pod style "Hellpod" to the surface of a planet you are trying to liberate for Super Earth in order to "spread Managed Democracy" and liberty. The hype of the little in-universe propaganda for fighting honorably for your race makes it so much fun when you are able to play with 3 other people in an up to 4-player co-op. These fights, however, actively progress the ENTIRE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE in saving parts of the galaxy, something you can witness in real-time in the little war-map galaxy sector area that you use to decide a planet for you to assist with. The game is simple, you fight and do little "missions" that would help with the progression of controlling the area or planet you're on. Sometimes it's saving civilians (and trying not to accidentally get them stuck in crossfire), and other times it's simply blowing up large groups of enemies all at once. One of the gameplay mechanics you get is from the ship you get in-game: it stays in orbit as you drop to the surface, and you get what's called Stratagems; old-style cheat-code up-down-left-right codes that unlock an orbital assistance of some sort. More ammo, a support specialty weapon, orbital bombardments or barrages to take out enemies... and its absolutely so satisfying to use. The gameplay loop is extremely fun and consistent, and you can look for different zones to help out in with varying difficulty (you finish one to unlock the next highest difficulty, which is fair, though queuing up with higher-leveled people that have more managed stratagems can quickly get you to a higher difficulty you can't handle yet, so pay attention to what you actually can do yourself). It is 100% PVE. The music is phenomenal. It's a little repetitive, and usually in games, that makes me want to stop hearing it so much. But it's just so good, and each fanfare and placement of the score parts are well-done, I have had a hard time wanting NOT to hear it when I play. It hypes you up when you win and even when you do simple mission objectives. It's 100% iconic to the game and can't be overstated. All in all, this game ticks all my boxes because of how the development team at Arrowhead have designed it. The original was a more top-down feel, but this installment is much more involved, similar to how Risk of Rain and Risk of Rain 2 are to each other. I am extremely pleased with playing and the community that it brings is straight up simply more propaganda-making memes and online hype to get people to fight in certain areas to retake planets. It's simple and its fun, and well worth not only the $30 price tag but the extra $20 for the completely unnecessary DLC that basically gives you access to a few more cosmetics - something that any other game would be a waste of money, but for Arrowhead, is a perfect "thank you" for focusing on a player-driven and oriented game instead of profit maximization or bad balancing. You also get a cool "Super Citizen" tag on your player profile card in-game. tldr; 10/10 gameplay loop, story-based universe (no story campaign), music score, and approach to community involvement. I'll be playing this far after the hype online dies down. It's just too good.