Helldivers II is About Working Together
Something Most People Can't Do Anymore
My first Substack is going to be about the latest game from Arrowhead Studios, Helldivers II.
If you are unfamiliar, Helldivers II is a third-person shooter that is a direct sequel to 2015’s Helldivers. The sequel released earlier this month, February 8th, and as of this writing has hit upwards of 800,000 players. With a development team of only ~100, this is a huge feat. Since its release, there seems to be at least three articles written about this game every day. From server issue grievances, to demands for release on Xbox (right now the game is only available on PS5 or PC), to plain praise of this game; there is already a ton out there. However, what I want to write about is this game’s cooperative approach, and how people are already ruining it.
One unique aspect about this sequel is that it is not PvP (player vs. player) like so many typical online shooters. Instead, you fight against CPU armies of either robots (Automatons) or big alien bugs (Termanids) either alone, with three other friends, or with three other random players. The world map of the game shows both fronts of the war, allowing the player to freely choose which planet to help on which war front. Each planet has a progress bar showing the shared progress for liberation of that specific planet. This design is refreshing. It feels like you are dropping into a never-ending sci-fi battle. Developers post weather updates for specific planets, specific objectives to complete for extra EXP, and special defense missions when either Automatons or Termanids are gaining ground. Hop onto an dedicated Helldiver forum and you are bound to see posts celebrating our shared victories and grieving our lost planets.
I’ve played only five hours or so of this game so far, but have had a blast. I can’t wait to dig into it some more. However, more and more stories are coming out about players who are making this cooperative fight…not so cooperative.
We are kicking players from games for not having weapons or strategems equipped that this specific player deems “the best”. We are ignoring the mission objectives in order to farm for EXP. We are laughing at and humiliating new players for not being good at the game yet.
You’re probably thinking: relax, it’s just a game.
It is just a game, and maybe this whole post isn’t really about the game in question at all.
Maybe I’m just trying to reconcile with the real world where seemingly no one can get along anymore.
I guess I thought for a second that I could escape into this video game world designated to be collaborative and experience this feeling of working together over and over again. Sharing in our success and failures together.
Sure, of the 800,000 players right now, there are probably plenty who are playing cooperatively and not out to feel superior to the average player. Just the other day I joined a squad of three random players. One was already level 50, while the rest of us were all below level 5. This level 50 player gave us tips on the best weapons to unlock, how to defeat the toughest enemies, and let us in on some secrets the game doesn’t teach you. It was definitely the opposite of many online game experiences I’ve had. There was no judging of abilities, no commanding, really no toxicity at all. There was only an experienced player giving advice and novice players accidentally blowing each other up. If we accidentally killed each other or straight up failed a mission, there was only laughter. It was such a positive gaming experience that felt like something new.
But this is 2024 baby, toxicity ain’t going nowhere.