The undercurrent of propaganda that shapes Helldivers 2's obnoxiously yet endearingly democratic universe has truly boiled over in the wake of conflicting, definitely real reports from the game's community and developers alike.
28.02.2024 - 17:58 / gamesradar.com / Josh Sawyer / Austin Wood
In amongst the expected Star Troopers chatter, a less obvious comparison for Helldivers 2 has quietly been making the rounds: 2015's Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Unexpected overlap in stealth, movement, and gunplay has brought Kojima's open-world action espionage masterwork back into the spotlight, and director Josh Sawyer of RPG powerhouse Obsidian reckons it's all just more evidence that more games shouldn't feel bad about copying stuff that works well and feels good.
"I’m not kidding when I say more games should just directly copy stuff that feels good from games they like and then riff from there," Sawyer said in a tweet sharing a video from AnthonyCSN, who reckons Helldivers 2 feels Metal Gear-ish in many ways. Anthony points to gameplay from 2014's bite-sized treat Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes specifically, with prone shootouts being one touchstone for it and Helldivers 2. The two games obviously pursue different goals, but there's a case to be made for shared DNA in their bones.
"The act of copying something requires you to do a lot of critical analysis and it’s extremely informative even if you scrap everything and start over," Sawyer adds.
Now it makes sense why I’m obsessed with Helldivers 2 so much pic.twitter.com/ktsOGSTffDFebruary 28, 2024
Sawyer is, of course, correct, and the wording and timing of his assessment has raised a few interesting points. I'm reminded of the time-honored advice that artists, especially new artists, should wholeheartedly copy their favorite art as a step on the way to discovering their own style. Art inspires art which inspires art, and similar iteration ideation happens in games all the time, on mechanical, technical, and artistic levels just to name a few.
Countless Stardew Valley-likes have put a spin on its farming sim formula, which is itself based on Harvest Moon. How many post-Genshin Impact games are there? How many Vampire Survivors-likes? Slay the Spire-likes? Games like Pokemon? Just last month, a lead dev on the "Hollow Knight meets Kirby" Metroidvania Biomorph told me that the game's core mechanic was originally inspired by Super Mario Odyssey. Round and round the design wheel goes as new creatives take turns spinning it with their own force and intent.
I'm especially intrigued by one response from Seth Rosen, game director on the newly released car survival game we called "brilliant, infuriating, and frustrating in equal measure" in our Pacific Drive review. As a practical example of riffing in practice, Rosen attributes one of Pacific Drive's mechanics, diagnosing quirks in your car's performance, to the time-bending mystery Return of the Obra Dinn, from Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope. In the same way Rosen says we can
The undercurrent of propaganda that shapes Helldivers 2's obnoxiously yet endearingly democratic universe has truly boiled over in the wake of conflicting, definitely real reports from the game's community and developers alike.
Good job, recruits. Helldivers 2 players have descended on four "high-priority" planets to deploy a grid of Termicide dispensers that should shut down the local bug population for good, and the latest report from developer Arrowhead indicates the community is about to "permanently contain bugs."
Granblue Fantasy Relink, a surprise hit that's managed to stand out in a year positively stuffed with JRPGs, is barely a month old but already rolling out an exciting roadmap of free content that starts with a new boss coming this Thursday, March 14.
Man, y'all really like mechs. The long-awaited Helldivers 2 mechs hit the game earlier today following the liberation of planet Tien Kwan, and it seems the community's enthusiasm has outpaced developer expectations and server limitations once again.
Helldivers 2 mechs are finally here, people. Just one day after galactic game master Joel added factory planet Tien Kwan to the war front in a surprise twist that delayed the mecha mayhem, hundreds of thousands of Helldivers have successfully liberated the joint and unlocked the new mech Stratagem for everyone.
Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios is working on what's handily been the most-requested balance change since launch: nerfs to the Chargers, Hulks, Bile Titans, and other heavy enemies that are currently running roughshod over even the most democratic players.
After a few incendiary statements from development and community figures poured kerosene on the debates dominating the Helldivers 2 player base after its recent balance patch, Arrowhead CEO and game director Johan Pilestedt stepped in to assure players that such snippy remarks are "not a message that the studio stands behind."
As the Helldivers 2 community learns a whole new meta in the wake of a major balance patch that took a hammer to favorites like the railgun and personal shield, one balance lead from developer Arrowhead has advised players to learn to embrace nerfs rather than constantly asking exclusively for buffs.
Josh Sawyer, a CRPG veteran and the director of Pillars of Eternity, Fallout: New Vegas and more has spoken out about how Pillars of Eternity got its name, along with how its inspiration – adra – came to be.
Long-rumored Helldivers 2 mechs are officially on the way, and they're coming "soon."
Helldivers 2 players died over 10 million times taking one planet, Mort, from the Automatons last week, and you'd better believe that galactic D&D game master Joel was watching the whole thing from the front row with a bucket of popcorn in one hand and a waving lighter in the other.
Helldivers 2's dynamic warfront is being conducted almost exclusively by a single D&D-style game master named Joel, but the co-op shooter's explosive launch has gotten so big that Joel needed "emergency" reinforcements of his own within developer Arrowhead Game Studios.