They say brevity is the soul of wit, and Arrowhead Game Studios has demonstrated that wonderfully with the opening of Helldivers 2. There are two philosophies at the core of the game’s narrative: the first is that war is hell, and the second is that the authorities will lie to you about war being hell so that you’re more willing to sign up. Instead of belaboring the point over multiple cinematics and text logs left by other characters, the game opens with a one-two punch that drives the point home in a dark but memorable way.
Helldivers 2 starts with a piece of propaganda exhorting the suburbanites of Super Earth to sign up for the war against the Terminid menace. After we watch a typical nuclear family get absolutely mulched, we’re offered an immediate solution: sign up to become a Helldiver, a frontline soldier in the infinite space war. In exchange, you will be a hero, a legend, beloved by the utopian Super Earth.
After the introduction, you run through a short tutorial that teaches you combat basics: how to shoot, how to call in a friend, and how to shoot bugs. All the while, a recorded announcement showers you with praise and admiration for even the smallest of achievements. “I’m not easy to impress,” says General Brasch, before noting that you don’t seem scared of the upcoming training. “Impressive!”
As I played, I felt pretty good about myself and this whole war thing. Seemed like things were under control! As Brasch put it, “Those unthinking bugs never stood a chance against a super genius mind such as yourself. You’re literally invincible!”
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And then, with my heart swollen with patriotic pride, I entered my first match with friends and immediately got slaughtered. It took me a moment to realize that the heroic reinforcements weren’t clones — they were totally new people. Each Helldiver’s life is so cheap that they essentially serve the same function as a bullet.
This is an absolutely horrifying start to a game, which is funny because Helldivers 2 is such a delightful romp. But it also establishes everything you need to know about the setting immediately, and all of the combat barks shouting about liberty, democracy, and justice back that up. We know exactly what kind of war this is, and how each individual Helldiver is doomed to get dissolved by bile or exploded by a robot. But they don’t know that, and by the time the revelation wears off, the entire thing becomes a wonderfully dark comedy.
Helldivers 2 is not delving into unexplored territory here; there are obvious inspirations drawn from Starship Troopers, Warhammer 40K, and other satirical pieces of military fiction. But Arrowhead Game Studios did a great job of setting the tone, and it’s part of what drew me in to keep queueing up for matches — for liberty and democracy.