Helldivers 2

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.

Helldivers 2 is a fantastic co-op game where anything can and will go wrong, thanks to several clever design choices. Calling in orbital bombardments while laying waste to alien swarms and robot armies has never been more fun. However, server capacity remains an ongoing problem for anyone looking to get in.

Helldivers II is a good game that happens to have some current teething problems. Everything — from the perfect satirical tone to the solid gunplay and variety of difficulty levels — create some exciting and satisfying gaming moments. Some of the more military simulation traits generate some tense situations, but they can be humorous moments, too. The microtransactions don't feel too bad in the game's overall scheme. If the connectivity issues can be resolved and stabilized soon, then Helldivers II can be one of the sleeper hits of the first half of 2024.

The novelty of Helldivers 2, like its in-game purpose, is reliant on multiple conditions working together in synergy. Said conditions haven't just been met but surpassed, in less than a month since launch. It's an outstanding achievement, one that has deservedly engulfed the conversation. Yet, the commitment to a live service model comes with compromises. It's the game of the moment, sure, albeit a fleeting one. Only time will tell how long the ships outside your window will stay in orbit — or if there'll even be a server to queue up for.

Helldivers 2, then: It's blunt, but very, very good, combining moments of unbridled panic with epochal triumphs. It's simply an exercise in barely controlled chaos. Arrowhead knows how to bring you dangerously close to the threshold of being overwhelmed every few meters and then give you a friendly pat on the back.