Summary
Helldivers 2is seeing yet another wave of negative reviews following a favorable response to its launch in February. While the reasons given for the recent negative reactions toHelldivers 2vary among players, they seem to share a common thread of criticism for the multiplayer third-person shooter’s post-launch management.
Despite some login problems and matchmaking issues, the launch ofHelldivers 2went exceptionally well, selling nearly 3 million copies in its first 16 days and sporting big active player numbers. Within a day of launch,Helldivers 2surpassedGod of Waras Sony’s most-played game ever on Steam.
But the journey hasn’t been without its ups and downs, and the game still seems to be facing backlash fromchanges made in the Escalation of Freedom updatefrom earlier in August. Helldivers 2 still enjoys a mostly positive all-time review score on Steam, with a 72 percent approval rating, but recent reviews are skewed in the other direction, with just 39 percent giving the game a thumbs up. While the recent update diversified the enemy types by adding three Terminids and two Automatons, it also resulted in the nerfing of several popular weapons and strategems, a trend that seems to be the major complaint behind a lot of the negative recent reviews. Other complaints from recent reviewers include continuing crashing and disconnection issues, repetitive gameplay, and a lack of variety among enemies.
Review Bombs for Helldivers 2 are Becoming a Recurring Theme
That wasn’t even the first wave of review bombing to hit the game.Helldivers 2reviews dipped into the mixed categorya little over a week after launch, largely due to players being unable to get into matches because of servers being packed to the brim. However, the addition of more servers helped to quell that wave of criticism.
Helldivers 2also received a lot of negative reviewsin May, after developers required that all players be linked to the PlayStation Network to access the game. That included PC users playing the game on Steam, many of whom weren’t happy about having to link their accounts together, resulting in another big batch of negative reviews on the platform.
In spite of the recent criticism, developers seem aware of player concerns and are trying to address them. Game Director Mikael E made a post to Steam on August 13 laying out Arrowhead Games' plans for the following 60 days, which include re-evalutaing balancing issues and making tweaks to the flamethrower, a weapon that’s previous nerfs have been the subject of a lot of the game’s recent negative reviews.Helldivers 2developers have addressed controversysurrounding the game head-on in the past, such as Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt taking some of the blame for the PlayStation Network linking fallout.
Helldivers 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Do you believe in freedom? Can you stand in the face of oppression – and defend the defenceless? Wage war for peace. Die for democracy.Join forces with up to three friends and wreak havoc on an alien scourge threatening the safety of your home planet, Super Earth, in this multiplayer co-op shooter for PS5 and PC from Arrowhead Game Studios.Step into the boots of the Helldivers, an elite class of soldiers whose mission is to spread peace, liberty and Managed Democracy using the biggest, baddest and most explosive tools in the galaxy.Helldivers don’t go planet side without proper backup, but it’s up to you to decide how and when to call it in. Not only do you have a host of superpowered primary weapons and customizable loadouts, you also have the ability to call on stratagems during play.Helldivers 2 features Arrowhead’s best cooperative gameplay yet. Collaboration will be vital: Teams will synergize on loadouts, strategize their approach for each mission and complete objectives together.1Enlist in Super Earth’s premier military peacekeeping force today. We are heroes… we are legends… WE ARE HELLDIVERS.
