Ten minutes into a mission on the planet of Malevelon Creek, my squad and I emerge from a swampy treeline to finally catch sight of our target. This time it’s a scientific base, and we’re here to destroy it entirely. After clearing the area of enemies, I summon a hellbomb – one of the largest payloads in our arsenal – and manually arm the device.
Helldivers 2 reviewDeveloper: Arrowhead Game StudiosPublisher: Sony Interactive EntertainmentPlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out now on PC (Steam) and PS5
We quickly move away, making space for the massive explosion that is to come. Yet as we scurry back towards the bushes, I spot a neighbouring facility that be destroyed with a simple airstrike. The temptation of completing two objectives within twenty seconds proves difficult to resist, and I bring up my stratagem list to input the combination.
As I pull back my arm to throw the beacon, several things happen at once. The hellbomb behind us explodes, triggering a massive shockwave that rocks my screen. This diverts the aim of my throw ever-so-slightly to the left – instead of gracefully arcing through the air towards the robot facility, the beacon bounces off a large rock, drops to the floor, and lands at the feet of my squad. Before we know it, explosions are raining down around us, and we’re all swiftly turned into jam by my airstrike.
Oh. Perhaps cool guys look back at explosions.
This ridiculous scenario is typical of a mission in co-op shooter Helldivers 2, where team-killing is a regular occurrence. Over the past week, I think I’ve died more frequently from the actions of my squadmates than from the hordes of bugs and robots we’resupposed to be fighting. Far from this being annoying, however, the ease with which accidents can occur is actually one of the game’s greatest features. Mistakes, mishaps and dramatic ragdolls are the point of Helldivers 2 – creating a stage for goofy firefights with friends that can quickly spiral into a comedy of errors. It’s this extreme silliness which makes the game so entertaining, and its battles so memorable. (Certainly this one – my squadmates won’t be letting me forget particular mistake for a while.)