“There are those who said this day would never come…what have they to say now?” Wait, that’s the wrong franchise. Nevermind, the point stands. For the first time, the folks over at Sony PlayStation have brought one of their most successful live service games to Xbox, and while I’ve played a fair bit on PC when the game released, we’re here with a full review of the Xbox Series version. Brace for impact and prepare to defend Super Earth and ‘Managed Democracy’ itself – This is the XboxEra Review for Helldivers 2 on Xbox Series X.
Welcome to the Fight
When I first played Helldivers 2 last year at launch, I described it as ‘the most Xbox-assed Xbox Game PlayStation Studios had ever released‘ and now, thanks to the stars aligning, it’s finally happened – it’s come to Xbox. If you’ve been living under a rock, or are perhaps wondering if the game is worth your time, let me fill you in.
Helldivers 2 is a co-operative third person shooter that channels plenty of the satire of Starship Troopers, as you take on the role of a Helldiver, a soldier that has pledged their life to defend Super Earth and ‘Managed’ Democracy. As such, you’ll be bringing freedom and liberty to a number of Alien races, from the bug-like Terminids to the terrifying cyborg Automatons, as well as the games most recent addition, The Illuminate.
Once you’ve completed a brief (and highly amusing) tutorial, you’ll be given access to your very own Super Destroyer, which you get to name – probably something to do with freedom or justice – it’s your call. It’s from this orbiting base you’ll fire yourself from a ‘Hellpod’, descending from orbit to come crashing to a planet surface, ready to share the core pillars of Super Earth society from the end of a rifle to anyone in range.
Hellpods Primed
Your Super Destroyer acts as a lobby of sorts, where your fellow Helldivers can join you to form a 4-player squad. Here, you’ll be able to manage your loadouts, with each Helldiver able to equip a primary and secondary weapon before deploying to combat. These range from Assault Rifles and Sub Machine Guns, Shotguns and even Energy based weapons.
There are also special weapons you can call into the field via ‘Strategems’ (I’ll get onto that in a sec), and you can grind out upgrades for your Super Destroyer for more advanced kit to use in the field. Suffice to say, there’s a lot to do and a lot to unlock. With the game being available on PC and PlayStation for over a year, there are plenty of different Warbonds to check out that provide access to more advanced gear.
Warbonds are the premium, paid for content in Helldivers 2. Everyone gets a free “Welcome” pack, and a token to redeem one ‘Premium Warbond’ if you bought the Super Citizen Edition of the game. For what’s its worth, I’d recommend unlocking the ‘Democratic Detonation’ Bond, as it contains some pretty cool stuff – unless you want the Halo Warbond of course – we can’t blame you. Successful missions will reward you with medals, and these can be exchanged for items in the Warbond you’re currently progressing.
Feet First Into Hell
To get going in Helldivers 2, once you’ve assembled your squad, you’ll gather around the Galactic War table to examine where best to deploy. For Helldivers just starting out, the game allows for different difficulties, ranging from standard “Easy, Medium, Challenging and Hard’ all the way up to “Extreme, Suicide Mission and ‘Super Helldive’ – Good luck with that one! As everyone is just starting out, I’d recommend starting on Hard or Challenging if you’re an experienced 3rd person shooter fan, and you have a team of pals to helldive with.
The Galactic War Table on your Super Destroyer will show the different fronts to which you can deploy, be it taking on the Terminids, the Automatons or the Illuminate, and missions range from horde-style “kill everything” to more complex excursions, tasking you with protecting civilians or scientists, or arming and deploying ICBMs that are siloed planet-side. Once deployed, prepare for utter carnage, especially on higher difficulties.
Much of the joy to be found in Helldivers 2 comes from the unflinching dedication to the premise of Super Earth, and how hilariously dedicated our fellow Helldivers are. Everything, from voice lines, propaganda in the menus, and the triumphant (and utterly brilliant music) add to the feel of the world in which this all takes place. Once deployed, I can pretty much guarantee you will die, and more often than not at the hands of your fellow patriots. Friendly fire is always on, and with all the ordinance going off, be it someone’s Rover Guard Dog laser drone or a misplaced 500kg Bomb, you’re more than likely going to get blown up, shot, dismembered or brutally killed while serving Super Earth. Trust me, it adds to the charm, and promotes teamwork!
During every mission, depending upon what you’ve unlocked, you’ll be able to use ‘strategems’ to call in ordinance from your Super Destroyer in orbit. From ammo supplies, to special weapons and vehicles or incredibly destructive airstrikes, they are vital to your combat effectiveness and overall success. Calling them in is a little akin to playing Dance Dance Revolution on your D-Pad, and when you screw up in a tense moment, makes it all the more hectic. Just make sure you call out to your team where you’re deploying that orbital strike, okay?
Each mission is, (when you’ve stripped back the objectives, which can vary) basically becomes an extraction, as you call for your dropship to come pick you up. Escaping with all the resources you’ve found planet-side (Keep an eye out for samples – they are vital to upgrading your Super Destroyer and unlocking more powerful support weaponry) is tense, hilarious and often chaotic stuff, with everyone gathered on a helipad defending like mad as the dropship makes it’s way in. During those few minutes, the enemy forces typically throw everything they have at you, and believe me, you will feel triumphant as you dive into the dropship at the last possible second – or, taste the bitterness of defeat when killed at the worst possible moment, and missing the dropship entirely.
No Diver Left Behind
A big shout out has to be given to the approach and openness of developer Arrowhead, who have formed a genuinely strong and surprisingly welcoming community around Helldivers 2. While they don’t get everything right, with some game breaking bugs on occasion with a big update, and the nerf of a particularly decent weapon here and there, their hearts are in the right place.
Also, ignore the clickbait headlines, the PlayStation community doesn’t care about Xbox gamers joining outside of that they’re happy to have more soldiers to defend Super Earth. Thanks to crossplay, (no cross-progression sadly) they’re going to get just that. As of me writing this review, the player count for Helldivers 2 has tripled. Who says Xbox gamers don’t buy games?
There are some minor gripes, performance on Xbox (Series S does have a 60FPS mode) isn’t absolutely rock solid, with some minor drops during the more frantic on-screen action, and it can be pretty awkward using the D-pad to call in strategems while aiming and staying alive at the same time, but again, one feels that’s kind of the point.
A Cup of Liber-tea
In short, just like it was at launch, Helldivers 2 is a fantastic video game, one on which you can hop on for quick mission to just complete a daily objective, or team up with your besties as you settle in for a long night of patriotism, comradery and impromptu comedy when that misplaced airstrike hits. It’s pure, unadulterated chaos, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Helldivers 2
Played on
Xbox Series X
PROS
- Incredible fun with friends
- A delicate balance of crushing difficulty and laugh out loud fun
- Plenty of content and replayability
- Welcoming Community
- Performance Mode on Xbox Series S
CONS
- Some performance dips when causing MAXIMUM carnage
- Repeated activities can wear thin, if you're not enjoying the core game.
- Series S version is super fuzzy, but it is playable.
