Helldivers 2 is one of the biggest gaming surprises of 2024 so far. We’re only two months into its lifespan, but the longevity the PS5 game is showing is astounding when you consider the core gameplay loop is still relatively limited in scope, and it’s all thanks to how developer Arrowhead Game Studios is handling the live service nature and letting the players control the narrative. Or at least letting them think they’re in control.
For those reading who haven’t fought for managed democracy and defended Super Earth yet, the entire Helldivers 2 community is fighting a galactic war. Super Earth is our home and it’s under threat from a number of alien factions, primarily the Terminids, hyper-aggressive alien bugs, and the Automatons, a species of Terminator-esque robots. There’s reportedly a third alien race coming soon – the Illuminate – more on them later on.
Helldivers must embark on missions to repel the incoming onslaught from the enemy factions and slowly but surely, completing operations collectively helps liberate planets one by one. But rather than portraying a hand-crafted story like in Destiny 2 et al, Helldivers 2‘s narrative exists exclusively through the actions of players, the major orders instructed to us collectively, and a singular man named Joel, and it’s one of the most surprising contenders for best story games of the year so far already.
A&T, not D&D
Joel is essentially the dungeon master at Arrowhead, the mastermind behind the ebbs and flows of this space armageddon. We know little about him other than his name, but he is both our collective enemy and the reason the war efforts have been so successful. This is because Joel decides where to send enemy reinforcements and which planets to focus on. He’s also the one dishing out the major orders – quests assigned to all players simultaneously that directs everyone to focus their efforts in a specific area of the galaxy.
For example, in early April the Automatons were wiped entirely from the map for a short period, before they returned with a vengeance to attack a plethora of planets in the Hydra, Andromeda, Lacaille, and Valdis sectors, further north from their original battlegrounds. The community must now band together to retake Cyberstan, a planet within the Valdis sector that is the home of the Cyborgs, a faction from the first Helldivers game that Automatons are supposedly direct descendants of. Intriguing already, right?
Robot Vietnam
Prior to this major order however, we’ve achieved plenty of successes, and a couple of failures too. Malevelon Creek, a jungle planet many players likened to fighting in Vietnam, was under Automaton control for the longest time until democracy finally won. For some reason, Malevelon Creek felt slightly more difficult to deal with the bots on than some of the other surrounding planets, and thanks to its position on the galactic map, it was often the first place new players ended up when tackling the Automatons for the first time.
It quickly became infamous because of how intense it was, and the sheer number of trees and treacherous terrain meant dealing with robots, most of whom are armed with ranged weaponry, made it a nightmare. Not to mention their eerie robotic chatter piercing through the woods.
However, before we eventually took it, we did lose it for a period of time, but not because Malevelon Creek fell. Instead, the planets around it were lost as most of the war efforts focused on the Terminids instead, which meant nobody could get to Malevelon Creek. Over 2,000 Helldivers were quite literally left behind, because they were on the planet when it was cut off. Their sacrifice was recognized and they are an inspiration to Helldivers across the galaxy.
Combined with the overall narrative of the war efforts, these player-effort-led stories mean Helldivers 2 is like nothing else in games right now. Thanks to the steady patches and updates, with buffs, nerfs, and new equipment, it will be a long time before the game gets stale. But that’s not all they add, because for every new tool or warbond at our disposal, our enemies grow in strength too.
Playground rumors
A month ago, rumors of walking mechs being introduced for Helldivers to use were rife, before clips started surfacing online of players stumbling upon them randomly when planetside. Before too long, they were introduced to the game as a new stratagem. But then flying bugs started showing up out of nowhere – and are now a much more common foe. Elsewhere, as the war against the Automatons continued, they strengthened their efforts and, almost out of the blue, developed and started using gunships.
By far the best example of this school-playground-whispers-style of adding content is what’s happening right now with the Illuminate. Veterans from the first game will know the Illuminate to be an advanced alien race that originated as an aquatic species and developed into masters of stealth, strategy, and mass destruction.
Over a month ago, the occasional clip surfaced online of players being hit by a blue laser, but the community put it down to the flash of an explosion or graphical hiccups. But they kept happening. Then players would spot some blue light acting in a mysterious way, or they thought they’d spotted a cloaked figure half a mile away on their planet but by the time they investigated, the mysterious being had vanished.
However, it’s now surely a matter of when – and not if – the Illuminate show up, because cloaked ships lingering in orbit above planets have been spotted, and there are a lot of them. There’s a high chance they’ve been here all along, waiting for their moment to strike, but there’s very little we can do; the ball is in their court. Rumor has it they’re waiting for Cyberstan to be retaken before they show their faces, but time will tell.
Strategies and tactics
Online communities – mostly the official subreddit – also play into the narrative by members posting infographics and strategies about the best way to win each given major order. Every time a new objective surfaces, so will a directive from various Helldivers 2 experts explaining the best path to success, determining which planets the majority of our focus should be on.
Again, it all plays into the narrative, and while not every major order can be won – Joel has to win every now and then to ensure the narrative and wider war, stay on track and perpetuate, so the players aren’t totally in control – there’s a real community spirit when everyone is working together in tandem.
I’ve played around 35 hours of Helldivers 2 so far – but I’m only level 26. Some players have surpassed level 100, and every time I’m partied up with one, it’s an honor to be led by such an experienced soldier. But it doesn’t bother me that I’m not the one leading the charge because it is just as fun reading up on the official subreddit every day, following the reports from elsewhere online, and seeing just how the galactic war is progressing, how the game’s story is being received, and then changed, by the players themselves.
But something big is coming, Helldivers, and we need to be ready. Godspeed.