Helldivers II - Playstation 5

Helldivers II has been a phenomenon. Developer Arrowhead Game Studios conscripted millions into the Super Earth Armed Forces, and a desperate battle against invading Automaton and Terminid armies has raged ever since. Helldivers 2 got people talking, and against all odds it kept them talking; a tall order in the modern era, where so many disparate live-service experiences are vying for our attention. Friendships shattered through hasty extractions, galaxy sectors won and lost to the whims of the community, stratagem commands punched in under a haze of grease and gore – together, we fought for managed democracy.

Developer: Arrowhead Game Studios | Platform(s): PC, PS5

"A fiercely challenging and visually breathtaking cooperative shooter"

The biggest change Helldivers 2 makes is switching the action to third-person, putting you on the ground just behind your highly trained, equally expendable fascist space thug. This might seem like a minor selling point for a sequel, but the difference it makes to your appreciation of Helldivers' action is enormous. Now, when you call in an ammo replenishment from your orbiting space cruiser, you can look up to the sky, and watch the pod jettison from the side of the spacecraft before arcing down through the atmosphere. And when an alien bug the size of a bin lorry thunders in your direction, you can feel the ground vibrate as its pincer-shaped legs stab into earth.

Arrowhead understands not just the appeal of this sense of scale, but the importance of providing tangible feedback at every point on that scale. At its most basic, Helldivers 2 is about shooting waves of enemies with shotguns and assault rifles, and these foundations are thoroughly satisfying. The way bugs burst and robots rupture is a masterclass in damage feedback, as is the way larger enemies shred and stagger under sustained gunfire. 

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