Helldivers

Helldivers is a 2015 top-down shooter game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game was released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita (with cross-play) in March 2015. A version for Windows was also released on 7 December 2015, making it the first Sony published game for PC.

Helldivers received positive reviews from critics and sold over 4 million units by May 2024. A sequel, Helldivers 2, was announced in May 2023 and was released on 8 February 2024.

Gameplay
In Helldivers, the player needs to coordinate their actions during chaotic combat to complete objectives and avoid friendly fire casualties. The game pits the players against three different enemy species and tasks them with ensuring the survival of Super Earth. Players engage with procedurally-generated missions where players must accomplish a series of objectives. At the start of each mission, players can choose their loadouts (sets of weapons, equipment, and gear) and deployment positions. They can also use the game's unique stratagem mechanic to enhance their options, catering to the map layout or their individual playstyle. For example, the player may choose stratagems that focus on providing additional firepower or mobility, or give themselves supportive abilities such as calling in precise airstrikes.

The game has a single difficulty option, though the player can then choose a hard or easy planet for their missions. This changed over the course of development.

In each mission, the player must fight or sneak through enemy-controlled territory to complete the given objectives, then escape via a dropship. It is possible to fail some of the given objectives without immediately losing. It often benefits the player to avoid direct combat if possible, as the enemy has infinite reinforcements, and there are no in-game rewards for simply killing enemies.

The game keeps many of the mechanics common to the genre, like Fog of War and a map that shows any enemies the player(s) can currently see. The enemy will patrol their territory, impeding the player's attempt to complete the given objectives. Enemy units that come in contact with the player(s) will try to raise an alarm, which will result in continuous waves of enemy reinforcements for as long as the alarm remains active. The player can prevent an alarm by avoiding enemy patrols if possible, and can cancel one by defeating all units currently aware of the player or by fleeing the area.

Once all mission objectives are successfully completed or failed, the player is then required to call in a dropship and escape with all their remaining units. This takes 90 seconds and draws enemy attention to the landing zone, resulting in heavy fighting. Entering the dropship completes the mission.

Multiplayer
Friendly fire is always active. This includes the players' personal weapons as well as other, less direct sources such as air support and deployed turrets. Supply drops or vehicle deployments can also crush allies, requiring players to carefully plan their actions during the game's many chaotic combat sequences or take preventive measures to mitigate these risks. Options include upgrading turrets to stop shooting when players enter the line of fire or choosing weapons that fire over allies.

There are tangible benefits to multiplayer as teammates can help a downed ally recover, as well as provide healing or ammunition. Several heavy weapons come with a backpack that allows a second player to help reload, and some resources can be pooled for the group to access. In online play, it is possible to allow random players to join a mission in progress through optional matchmaking.

Plot
The dystopian universe of Helldivers has mankind ruled by a 'managed democracy', an alteration of contemporary democracy where the outcome of elections are more predictable. The pseudo-democracy has become more than a way of electing a government, it has become a creed by which the inhabitants of Super Earth fight for - without fully acknowledging what it means.

Super Earth, the fictional futuristic Earth is beset on all sides by three hostile enemy races (the Bugs, the Cyborgs and the Illuminates) that, according to the government, in one way or another need to be subdued. And while the Helldivers are a pure combat unit, they are often tasked with retrieving technology, activating oil-pumps or other activity that is deemed important by the government to preserve freedom and the Super Earth 'way of life'.

Critical reception
Helldivers received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic. In Japan, where the game was ported for release on March 5, 2015, Famitsu gave it a score of two eights, one seven, and one eight for a total of 31 out of 40.

IGN played the demo version of Helldivers at the 2013 Gamescom, and reviewed the demo positively. Game Informer also gave the demo a positive rating, commenting that it "isn't easy, but this throwback to classic top down shooters is still a good time."

GameSpot's reviewer Cameron Woolsey noted that the PlayStation 4 version has "fantastic cooperative action" but "missions and story are lacking." IGN said of the same PS4 version, "Brutal, focused, and mechanically rich, Helldivers is one of the best co-op action experiences you can have."

In a review-based web series Previously Recorded, Rich Evans described the game as "stratem-up": "At face value one when I saw the video for this, it looked like it was just a twin stick shooter. I expected something extremely dumb but kind of fun, and what you get is kind of a lot deeper. I thought it was going to be a shoot'em-up, it's more of a strategy based-... It's a, it's a stratem-up! A "strate-shmup". Because it's not just shoot at things and dodge bullets, there's more to it than that."

Helldivers was nominated for "Action Game of the Year" and won for "Handheld Game of the Year" at the 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards held by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

Sales
Helldivers had sold over 4 million units by 22 May 2024.

Sequel
In May 2023, Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment announced a sequel titled Helldivers 2. Unlike the first game, the sequel is no longer a top-down shooter, but instead is a third-person shooter. The game was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on 8 February 2024.