Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 turned the successful cooperative concept of the first game, previously viewed from a top-down perspective, into three-dimensional third-person action and became one of the biggest surprises of 2024. Players head out as Super Earth soldiers to fight the robotic Automatons or the insectoid Terminids, with a squad of up to four players needing to coordinate fire support, artillery, and airstrikes called in via so-called stratagems — combinations of directional inputs entered literally on the move under enemy fire.

The game revels in black humor and exaggerated patriotic propaganda that mocks war games and itself alike, while chaos on the battlefield can turn a heroic mission into a grotesque fiasco within seconds, when friendly fire or a poorly aimed orbital strike wipes out your own team instead of the enemy. This unpredictability, and the ability to tell your own absurd war stories, is one of the main reasons the game quickly built a devoted community. On PS5 the game benefits from fast loading and stable performance even with dozens of enemies and explosions on screen at once, though in the first weeks after release it struggled with server load due to unexpectedly high player interest, leading to temporary matchmaking queues.

The game's living world also evolves based on the collective results of players across platforms, so the outcomes of individual battles influence events in the so-called Galactic War and unlock new weapons, enemy factions, and story twists for the entire community at once. Developers also regularly add new factions, weapons, and so-called Warbonds with cosmetic rewards, which keeps player interest high for months after release. Helldivers 2 quickly became a phenomenon thanks to its combination of tactical cooperation, self-irony, and satisfying weapon-fueled carnage, and it is now cited as an example of how to revive a live-service game with compelling design, regular content, and a sense of humor.

Why play it: For players craving tactical cooperation with self-irony and satisfying weapon-fueled carnage, Helldivers 2 is a phenomenon whose living world evolves based on the collective results of the entire community across platforms.