Helldivers

***Helldivers*** is a 2015 twin-stick shooter video game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4, and later personal computers.

*Helldivers* is set in a dystopian future where humanity resides on Super Earth and led by a managed democracy. Players take the role of the titular Helldivers, an elite force charged with defending humanity from hostile alien threats; the game includes three enemy factions. Gameplay is presented from a top-down perspective and allows both single-player and co-op modes, with up to four players. Combat encourages coordination between players in procedurally-generated missions and avoid friendly-fire, a major aspect of the game. The game includes crossplay between its various platforms.

Director and Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt conceived *Helldivers* during the development of the studio's first title, *Magicka*. The game's themes and aesthetics were inspired by science fiction works such as *Star Wars*, *Aliens* and *Starship Troopers*, as well as by Pilestedt's growing interest in global politics and geo-political warfare. For its development, Arrowhead chose to license the Bitsquid engine for its cheap price and flexibility. The team faced some hurdles while designing crossplay between various PlayStation platforms, though the final result impressed Sony.  *Helldivers* was announced at Gamescon 2013, and originally meant to be released in 2014 before getting delayed to March 2015, followed by a PC port later that year.

*Helldivers* received generally positive reviews upon its release. It was praised for its rewarding co-op gameplay, metafiction elements, world-building and satirical humor, while criticized for its graphics, repetition in mission design and solo-player gameplay, which was observed by reviewers as overly difficult and unbalanced. It received several end-year nominations, including at the 2016 D.I.C.E. Awards. Arrowhead continued to support *Helldivers* with a variety of updates and free expansion packs following its release. A sequel presented from an over-the-shoulder third-person perspective, *Helldivers 2*, was announced in May 2023.

## Development

*Helldivers* was developed by Swedish studio Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Arrowhead co-founder and CEO Johan Pilestedt served as the game's director and co-lead designer. According to Pilestedt, the idea for *Helldivers* came up during the team's work on their first title *Magicka* after playing a game called *I Made a Game with Zombies in It!*. Pilestedt and his team amused the idea of creating a similar title that could also contain their game philosophy.

## Reception

### Reviews

* Metacritic: 81/100 (PS4); 83/100 (PC)
* OpenCritic: 82/100

* Destructoid: 9/10
* EGM: 7/10
* Game Informer: 8.5/10
* GameSpot: 8/10
* IGN: 9/10
* PlayStation LifeStyle: 8.5/10
* PlayStation Universe: 9/10
* PushSquare: 8/10
* USgamer: 8/10

*Helldivers* received generally positive reviews from gaming publications; critics praised the cooperative gameplay, metafiction elements and satirical humor, as well as its worldbuilding and depth, while criticism was directed at the graphics, repetitive mission design and the harsh difficulty of the game's solo mode. On MetaCritic, the PlayStation 4 version holds a score of 81/100 based on 56 reviews, while the PC version holds a score of 83/100 based on 14 reviews; both are classified as "generally favorable reviews" by the site. On OpenCritic the game holds a score of 82/100 with a 77% recommendation rate, with the site consensus states: "Helldivers combines the best parts of the shoot-'em-up and strategy genre and delivers it with excellent co-op minded gameplay. However, this is it's downfall as critics note how it is not as satisfying to play without friends".

## Future

A Nvidia GeForce datamine leaked in September 2021 included several titles by PlayStation Studios slated for release on personal computers, one of which being a title called *Helldivers 2* developed by Arrowhead. Neither Sony nor Arrowhead commented on the list, while Nvidia claimed that the list was "speculative". In August 2022, trailer footage identified as a *Helldivers* title surfaced before getting a copyright claim by Sony. *Helldivers 2* was officially announced in May 2023 for the PlayStation 5 and PC, with release scheduled for February 2024.

## References

1. ↑ Arrowhead Game Studios Customer Story, PDF file.
2. ↑ https://www.vg247.com/geforce-now-god-of-war-pc-helldivers-2-leak