Helldivers 2 is a hit because it was made for the players, not investors, fans argue
Topics: PC, PlayStation, Indie Games, PlayStation 5, Steam
Featured Image Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Topics: PC, PlayStation, Indie Games, PlayStation 5, Steam
Fans are convinced they've figured out what's made Helldivers 2 such a success despite the occasional hiccup – it's because it was made for gamers, not for increasing profit margins and investors.
Best described as "intergalactic cooperative chaos", Helldivers 2 crashed onto the scene wowing everyone in the process. It's not the most polished game at times, but the mindless mayhem it provides is ideal for anyone who wants to play with friends without too much commitment. Obviously, you need to be committed to making it out alive, but apart from that, anything goes.
If you're not playing Helldivers 2, what are you doing with your life?
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Helldivers 2 has been such a huge hit, both on PC and PlayStation, that it's reminded people of the absolute masterpiece that is Starship Troopers; if you've not watched the film, we implore you to change that. Its popularity knows no bounds, with a wife of one gamer jokingly setting up "support groups" for the partners of those fighting the good fight in Helldivers 2.
But it isn't the guns or the chaos that makes the game so entertaining, it's the love that's gone into creating it. "Helldivers 2 is successful cause it took the risk to be special, fun and a game," explains Rondine1990 on Reddit. From there, it sparked a discussion on the "glaring problem" with large games developers only focused on one thing. Money.
"I think games budgets have gotten to be too big for their own good really," said another. "If a modern AAA game costs $100 million +, then you need a large studio to work on it, which leads to too many cooks in the kitchen as well as no one wanting to stick their neck out over an idea. Not that there's no good big budget games, but if you look back at the 90s when budgets were a lot smaller it seems like there was a lot more creativity."
In a world where modern audiences want everything to be "big", it's nice to see a game doing well because it did what it wanted to; it wanted to share a good time with its fandom, while doing its own thing. And by god, it's worked out wonderfully. Hopefully more developers will take a leaf out of Arrowhead Game Studios' book and follow suit.