I often love how two seemingly identical games can rely on similar elements but produce completely different feels. There’s a lot to say about presentation, scarcity of in-game resources, damage models, mechanical complexity, and more, but one thing that tends to tip the scales one way or another is how high the stakes are.
Hellraiser 2 is the latest reminder that you can have a bunch of different currencies, several crafting materials, a quasi-loot system, and an always-online requirement – and still manage to create a solid co-op game that’s not, well, like any other that we can’t seem to get away with Mediocre live service game.
iGamesNews
There’s a lot to like about Hellraiser 2. Its commitment to elevating Starship Troopers’ thematic finesse was just one aspect of its presentation; its droid faction owes a lot to Terminator, and its armor and weapon designs also owe their roots to Star Wars , “Halo” and six other science fiction titles.
Its gameplay isn’t actually entirely new, either. This is more or less the same game as its predecessor, just played from a third-person perspective instead of a top-down perspective. That’s not to say the shift is trivial. I’m really hard pressed to name a few games that have retained their charm even after changing genres or camera angles.
This change of perspective gives new meaning to the experience that the original game was always so good at delivering. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the limited field of view you get from an over-the-shoulder camera compared to an isometric camera is another reason why the sequel is so intense. You have less information at any given moment, which automatically adds more weight to the most trivial of encounters.
But there’s one thing that’s always been there between the two, and it’s a core component of how the Helldivers formula works: stakes.
No, this is not a survival game, nor is it an extraction shooter that puts everything at risk the moment you enter a match. This is a standard co-op event, with sessions lasting 30 minutes or less; death is not the end of the world and you can simply start a new mission and keep playing. Of course, you do lose experience points as well as any samples or collectibles you might have collected on failed missions, which is an element of the formula.
Even without the potential loss, every moment of Helldivers 2 is reminiscent of the Left 4 Dead games in that it knows how to play with your emotions so well, both in moments where you feel overwhelmed and in moments where you wonder. Alternate between moments of how you are barely scraping by.
One of Helldivers 2’s cleverest tricks is its reliance on simulated interaction. In most games, initiating an area defense sequence, summoning a boss, or setting up some kind of scripted encounter really just requires you to walk up to a button and press it; the game does the rest. In Helldivers, the same events make even more sense, as the game requires you to enter a series of button inputs, ensuring you have maximum agency when making decisions.
You don’t feel like you’re turning on a fake radar tower in a video game; You feel like you’re in control of key moments in an ever-changing battle. There’s an undeniable sense of responsibility that permeates your entire time in the game. The same spirit is present in many of the game’s strategies – essentially killstreak-like support calls. Whether it’s airstrikes, bombings, orbital lasers, or fixed turrets that take away some of your heat – they’re vital to your survival.
To call any of these, you also need to enter the exact sequence. Fail and you have to start over, which isn’t always possible/desirable, especially when you’re doing it while chaos is happening around you and you have to divide your attention between surviving the relentless onslaught of enemies and pressing the right buttons. between.
even if you never really worked For those devastating blows (which only have a cooldown), you’ll feel like you’ve earned them. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment every time you trigger one of these mega-explosions, and that sense of accomplishment is doubled if you deal the damage you want.
Going back to the lessons Helldivers 2 learned from Left 4 Dead, the biggest lesson is clearly how games foster distrust in players. Developer Arrowhead Games has confirmed an AI director-like element, controlling and manipulating the experience behind the scenes.
If things go well, I worry about them also Excellent. If I can’t seem to catch my breath between encounters, I wonder if my setup is messed up, or if I’m taking the wrong approach to the situation. When you add a cooperative element to the mix and allow players to set themselves and others up for failure, you get something akin to a team sport, only with tons of virtual killing.
If there’s one thing I hope other developers learn from the success of Helldiver 2, it’s that you should let the player fail; make the game feel dangerous; and make the player feel comfortable killing them often. Well, that’s three things, but you get the idea. Good multiplayer requires an edge, but not enough people dare to do so.
