So, you'll see that I am, in fact, recommending this game. I hit yes. But the following review will likely confuse you, because it is going to be negative. Why? Because I do, genuinely, think most people will absolutely enjoy this game. My playtime on Steam is not reflective of my total time played - I originally bought it on PS5. So, yes, I got the game twice.

But I absolutely the ♥♥♥♥ don't. It is everything I have come to just be absolutely fatigued about games in lately.

Always online? Check.
Live service? Check.
An arbitrary leveling system that gates unlocks but has no real customization? Check.
Premium currency? Check.
Lack of story? Check.

Now, I don't think those things will bother most people? Absolutely not. I think most people will love it. It's cheeky, wears its Starship Troopers inspiration right on its sleeve and it controls great for an TPS. But I couldn't play it at all like the first week it was out because of servers being full and them not implementing any kind of AFK kick (and PS5 users could just put their console in sleep mode and save their spot). Then I finally got in to play and wanted to be hype but... the fatigue hit me like a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ truck and about an hour in with some friends I just really wanted to log off and play almost anything else. I played it again for about another 30 minutes with randoms and then another 30 or so with some friends. I was bored but I could see the appeal. Thought hey, maybe if I just play it on my PS5 for a few quick matches before bed instead of trying to play it more hardcore on my PC, I might enjoy it.

I sunk an additional 6ish hours in on my PS5, a bit with a friend, some with randoms. Nothing bad happened. Missions completed fine. People were friendly. Game worked well. But I was just so utterly bored. It felt so empty. It was doing just to do and what I was doing didn't feel... good. I was shooting a bunch of AI enemies just to eventually unlock slightly different way to... shoot more AI enemies. I do genuinely see the appeal and even played quite a lot of Helldivers 1 but... I dunno. I think I'm just completely and utterly "live serviced" out... and sadly Helldivers 2 is the game that finally broke me.

So did I like the game? No. I was bored and if I had bought it directly through Steam I probably would have refunded it. But I got it from a code which can't be refunded. But a game that doesn't get played in my Steam library is nothing new.

To everyone else? You'll probably have a great time with it. Go have fun spreading Democracy and remember that samples are shared. Just do it without me.

So, you'll see that I am, in fact, recommending this game. I hit yes. But the following review will likely confuse you, because it is going to be negative. Why? Because I do, genuinely, think most people will absolutely enjoy this game. My playtime on Steam is not reflective of my total time played - I originally bought it on PS5. So, yes, I got the game twice. But I absolutely the fuck don't. It is everything I have come to just be absolutely fatigued about games in lately. Always online? Check. Live service? Check. An arbitrary leveling system that gates unlocks but has no real customization? Check. Premium currency? Check. Lack of story? Check. Now, I don't think those things will bother most people? Absolutely not. I think most people will love it. It's cheeky, wears its Starship Troopers inspiration right on its sleeve and it controls great for an TPS. But I couldn't play it at all like the first week it was out because of servers being full and them not implementing any kind of AFK kick (and PS5 users could just put their console in sleep mode and save their spot). Then I finally got in to play and wanted to be hype but... the fatigue hit me like a fucking truck and about an hour in with some friends I just really wanted to log off and play almost anything else. I played it again for about another 30 minutes with randoms and then another 30 or so with some friends. I was bored but I could see the appeal. Thought hey, maybe if I just play it on my PS5 for a few quick matches before bed instead of trying to play it more hardcore on my PC, I might enjoy it. I sunk an additional 6ish hours in on my PS5, a bit with a friend, some with randoms. Nothing bad happened. Missions completed fine. People were friendly. Game worked well. But I was just so utterly bored. It felt so empty. It was doing just to do and what I was doing didn't feel... good. I was shooting a bunch of AI enemies just to eventually unlock slightly different way to... shoot more AI enemies. I do genuinely see the appeal and even played quite a lot of Helldivers 1 but... I dunno. I think I'm just completely and utterly "live serviced" out... and sadly Helldivers 2 is the game that finally broke me. So did I like the game? No. I was bored and if I had bought it directly through Steam I probably would have refunded it. But I got it from a code which can't be refunded. But a game that doesn't get played in my Steam library is nothing new. To everyone else? You'll probably have a great time with it. Go have fun spreading Democracy and remember that samples are shared. Just do it without me.