Helldivers II has been blowing up all over the internet, inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to join the ranks and fight for democracy. 

Helldivers II is the sequel to the game Helldivers. Helldivers is a top-down shooter game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony in 2015.

The plot surrounding the Helldivers universe is set hundreds, if not thousands, of years into the future when humans inhabit Super Earth. Super Earth is very similar to our regular Earth except that there is now one super-government.

During Helldivers, Super Earth and its sector are surrounded by three rival groups: the bugs, the cyborgs, and the illuminates. Each group controls multiple sectors, which are usually 20 lightyears across, making them super powerful.

Although they may have a lot of control over space, it is nowhere near the amount that the Federation of Super Earth (FSE) controls. The FSE conquers planets and fights these hostile enemy races in order to spread “managed democracy.” 

In the Helldivers universe, this managed democracy gives more control to the FSE. When voting, an AI asks a citizen questions and the AI then takes their inputs and votes for them. This makes it a more controlled election. Essentially, the citizens don’t get an actual vote, but to say this would be treason.

It has become a creed and way of life to join the Helldivers and fight for this so-called democracy. Little to no one questions their superiors to see whether what they are doing is correct, but those who ask too many questions or send the wrong message about the FSE are tried for treason.

Helldivers is still up and running, as there was really no ending to its story. Recently, however, old players and some new players went back to Helldivers to finish what they started and take over the final sector. 

In Helldivers II, 100 years after the first game, the FSE remains strong, being the sole superpower in the Helldivers universe. The enemy factions in the first game have been removed, except for the bugs, which are now called Termanids. 

Additionally, there is a new enemy faction called the Automatons. Many theorize that the Automatons are the leftover forces of the cyborgs and that since they have come back stronger, they will keep conquering sectors until they get revenge on the FSE. It has also been noted that their forces are slowly inching towards their home planet. 

Currently, Helldivers are trying to push back both the Automatons and Termanids, but this has proved difficult. 

For instance, players often compare fights on these planets to real-world fights. On Malevelon Creek, a planet run by the Automatons, players relate this jungle-like warzone to Vietnam. On these planets, many soldiers die, whether it is by the enemy or a friend. Many accidents happen during these fights. A teammate might throw or call in explosives, and teammates are often caught in the crossfire, causing argument and death. 

According to Saint Paul’s Sophomore Bobby Hanks, who currently has PTSD from these wars, “Malevon Creek is hell; there is death and destruction everywhere, and every time I close my eyes, I see the Creek. The images of my comrades dying have been burned into my mind.”

Helldivers 2 has proved to be a fantastic game that brings many together. Helldivers 2 can be played by PC and PlayStation owners, bringing the two communities together. Xbox fans feel left out and wish for Helldivers 2 to come to Xbox so they can help join in the spread of democracy.

Even Though both PC and PlayStation players want the game to go to Xbox, it will likely not happen due to the feud between Sony and Microsoft.

One reason Helldivers 2 has become so popular is because of the marketing. With informative gameplay trailers and cool and funny cinematics, many are drawn to the game. 

When first logging into the game, the player is sent to a planet where he or she is taught the basics. The player is taught how to maneuver, evade, and fight as if the fate of the world depends on it.

One will also learn to use stratagems. Stratagems are called by typing in a unique input code pertaining to the specific stratagem. Knowing and memorizing favorite codes will help the player call them in faster. Stratagems can be anything from guns, ammo, jetpacks, mech suits to bomb, and energy strikes.

Not only weapons can be called, though; when a teammate dies, a player can call in a stratagem reinforcement. This will bring them back. Stratagems can also be used to call down equipment, such as mining equipment and scanners, that can be used during missions. All stratagems have a differing cooldown or amount of times they can be called based on how good they are. 

As the player levels up and progresses through the game, they can unlock new stratagems to help them on their mission.   

After learning the basics, the players are assigned their own ship, which they can name. The ship comes with its own crew, and they can upgrade this ship to get new things and decrease stratagem cooldown times.

The ship also contains an area where they can look at the stars and see all the different planets. Another thing they see is the ships of other helldivers; the number of ships can increase or decrease depending on the number of people orbiting or on the planet. 

This room also contains a holographic war table. This table lets the player navigate through the space sectors, so he or she can choose what planets to go to. When looking at the table, a player can also see Super Earth, Automaton forces, Termanid forces, and the sectors they control.

There is also a battle pass that costs no money. As the player completes missions and levels up, he or she gets medals, which can be used to buy items in the battle pass. Besides the weapons and general upgrades in the battle pass, players can also get armor. There are multiple different types and styles of armor, which customizes the player experience, allowing the game to feel more personalized.

However, this battle pass is not the only way to get armor. An item shop resets every 24 hours; the armor that appears in the item shop can not be acquired from the battle pass. 

Additionally, there is a War Bond battle pass that can be purchased with the in-game currency, which is different from the warbond medals previously mentioned, which can either be bought or earned by grinding out the game.

Helldivers 2 shows how a game can unite players of all kinds. It was initially a game meant for a small group of people, but it is now a game that hundreds of thousands of people play.

This shows that a little game meant for the few can be liked by everyone and become a game for the many.

While this unexpected boom in popularity was not expected, it was better for business. However, Arrowhead Studios still ran into problems. The game’s price was made a solid $40 because of the game’s stat predictions. Arrowhead needed to make the game this much because they expected a small amount of people to play, and they still needed to make a profit. Because of the boom in popularity, many complained about the price.

Additionally, the servers were glitchy and prevented people from playing. The servers were having problems because each server was only meant to hold a certain number of people. The servers were overflowing because of the sudden popularity, causing a player’s game to bug and glitch.

One would think that these glitches would cause people to dislike the game; however, it was the opposite.

People now showed more interest because the game was so popular that it could not fit everyone who tried to play. Combined with the amazing ads and propaganda made by fans and ArrowHead, the game’s popularity will continue to rise.

Helldivers II has shown just how far one can get with some clever advertisements and a simple game. While this game may be popular, its creator, ArrowHead, is not.

What makes Helldivers II so interesting is the fact the company that made it is not remotely popular.

Arrowhead Studios is a Swedish video game development company. It was founded in 2008 by Lulea University of Technology students studying in Skelleftea. These students were into coding and eventually started making games. Even though many contributed to the creation of this gaming company, the CEO was made to be Johan Pilestedt. The company started with titles that never saw the success they hoped for: Magika, The Showdown Effect, and Gauntlet. This company was being put through the wringer until the miraculous Helldivers emerged. 

This game brought the company back, and while it did not blow up like its sequel, it was still played by many and paved the way for what Helldivers II would accomplish.

Helldivers II is finally bringing some notoriety to Arrowhead. With the company being more popular and having more money, who knows what kind of bangers they can drop now? 

All in all, Helldivers II is a fast-paced third-person shooter that can be played with friends. It is not only thrilling, but the story is constantly changing. It changes as the players complete or fail missions throughout the game. In other words, the player makes the story, which is why this game is a masterpiece.