HELLDIVERS™ Dive Harder Edition

So, I haven't heard about first Helldivers game before the massive success of its sequel. The thing is that even after aforementioned success I haven't seen a single mention of the first game, since everyone was too focused on talking about greatness of the second one. I couldn't afford myself buying Helldivers 2, but the "2" in the name made me think "Hm... I wander, what was the original game? Was it also good?", and so I waited for the sale, bought it at insanely low price and really-really liked it!

It's a very fun and energetic isometric shooter that reveals its true potential when you're playing with your friends.
There's a lot of vehicles that have 2 or 4 pilot seats and weapons that reward teamplay. The overall idea of teamplay is further implied by the shared camera, which might sometime be a bit uncomfortable, but encourages team to stay together and help each other. It's not that often when a team-game has so many ways of helping your teammates rather than just playing with them - may it be helping to get up from wound or reloading your friend's rocket launcher.
One of my favorite things about this game is the fact that you and your teammates will die a lot. Friendly fire, bugs jumping on you from unseen part of camera or you stepping on your own mine - all this will happen very often, but fortunately the game knows it and encourages a playstyle of dying all the time and reviving yourself and the team as soon as "Request reinforce" cooldown ends. (Kinda reminds me about Magicka... That was also made by this studio. Makes sense, huh.)
I also really like the variety of weapons and stratagems. Yes, you can only take one weapon and 4 stratagems, but the amount of different combinations allows you to create a build that will perfectly suit your playstyle, may it be a tough guy with machine gun or a quick sniper.
Also-also, the game has a large number of different cosmetics (in forms of armors, capes and helmets) that help your character look more unique.

I don't really have much to say about this game.
It's pretty good and really fun, even tho it's not a legendary masterpiece or a cult classic.
Thanks to Helldivers 2 for giving me a motivation to experience its predecessor, I guess.

10/10 The best game I have played on steam.

-An amazing community that is willing to mentor new players.
-Has well thought-out co-op mechanics that reward you for helping each other in the heat of battle.
-The difficulty system is scaled in such a way to allow new players to learn and adapt to new challenges, while also allowing veteran players to be challenged to the limit.

It's not bad, but it could've been better. The most annoying thing was been stuck on the same screen with other players.

This game is so good, I own it on PS3, PS4, PC, and am now creating a ttrpg. One of the greatest coops around. Challenging, but really encourages going for the samples to slowly improve your items. The number of items and stratagems really makes you feel like you can play your way. Beautifully crafted game, but definitely not for folks who do not like tension and pressure.

Different than Helldivers 2, but still very addictive and fun in its own way. A bit more difficult with the keyboard controls, but still so fun.

Despite my low hour count i have been shot, exploded, squished and hit by an atmospheric pod full of items.
10/10 Game of the year, would reccomend C:

It's really fun. I'm glad that I get to play this game because I couldn't afford HD2 and my computer does not support.

Amazing game and lots of fun solo and with friends, I recommend

Прошел вьетнам ради демократии.
СЛАВА ДЕМОКРАТИИ СМЕРТЬ ВРАГАМ ДЕМОКРАТИИ

Still a gem of fun! This game is for me, I just want to play straight, no micro management on the game, just pick your weapons gear and dive! Im just a busy man today..

IGN: xholic

Tried it out after ~200hrs in Helldivers 2. The top down view had me apprehensive, but it's well worth it. It's a different kind of fun and I'm fully hooked.

Really fun even as a solo. the weapons and items all feel great if you enjoyed the second game you are gonna love this (side note get digital deluxe when its on sale grab a friend and joy ride with the motor cycle you wont regret it)

WE ARE THE SUPREME NYCON!!!

HELLGIVER SCUM!!!!!!!!


ACTUAL REVIEW: this game has soundtrack that the 2nd game doesnt and it feels more dreaded and grounded in the fact that super earth is fighting a true ideological battle against the cyborgs unlike the automatons that came after in the 2nd game

Multiplayer bound to the same screen? what is this Jan 25, 2011?

Even if outdated next to Helldivers 2, this first entry is still a fantastic game, and a good alternative if your computer cant handle Helldivers 2.

(changed due to mistake on my end) Though it definitly has its flaws and can be extremely disorienting at times, its still a fun little game to play. especially if you're waiting for the HD2 content drought to come to an end...

heres really hoping we actually get some substantial new updates on that front soon...

man.... the game seemed like it was gonna be better. multiplayer is pretty much mandatory, the third party account is just annoying and probably very off putting for some, the grind for a whole lot of nothing kinda blows too, and the game feels repetitive. its made worse that some guns feel necessary or youre just gonna be in for a bad time and teammates can screw you over so bad. like killing you so you lose the samples needed for progression and stealing them, or nobody being kitted out for anti vehicles unless you are and how everyone might not go for the needed crowd control. its just a mess and its not like the foundation isnt there either. the "gunplay" feels nice (albeit hindered a bit with constrained controls), the movement is too along with plot, worldbuilding, all of it. its just not a good experience and im not really sure its a "me" thing. personally, i like the older game more even though it shares some of these weaknesses.

I loved this fuckin game so much i bought it twice on two different platforms. Its honestly just a pretty fun game if you like how it plays. No bugs and satisfying gameplay loop. Some of the best moments ive ever had playing games was in this game.

Re bought the game after not really giving it a try and love it

SES Sovereign of Dawn here at 69 hours to remind you that you must fill out your C1 Permit before any action that may result in a child. For the glory of Super Earth.

Although not fully my cup of Liber-Tea (don't report me for treason). Its still a great game. Go back to the classics, To see what we gained, and unfortunately lost. Who knows, maybe more aspects of this game may end up in its sequel.

It's good but I wish there was a a sequel where it was like third person and stuff

Very fun. Extremely fast pace and hectic gameplay. Not what I was expecting coming from HD2, but there's a lot here to enjoy if it's something you might like.

I used to play this at my friends' house on the PS3 and BOY was it an absolute blast! Nothing but love for this game, even if it's kinda been left behind in favor of the new Helldivers II. But that's alright; Helldiver's II is worth every penny! If you liked Starship Troopers, you'll love these games!

FOR DEMOCRACY!

One of the most interesting co-op games I've played. Having a shared screen really forces you to cooperate.

This game is made to be played by a group of people, playing Helldivers alone will get you a case of anger management (YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED). The game play does not feel fully flushed out: characters move sluggishly, aiming is a nightmare, reloading takes an eternity, and every weapon has MINUSCULE amount of ammo, so you are constantly, CONSTANTLY, having to reload - like, seriously, every 5 god damned seconds.

In sum, having to fend off enemies from every direction alone will FULLY ruin your experience with this game. You'll play it 'till level 3, then you will gladly uninstall it. If you don't already have a group of friends who are planning to play this together, don't bother buying this!

i really like the perspective and diffrent enemy types is has and all the varity and how the galatic map and war workes even how you can autally lose! it is really fun and addictive and i also like the teamwork aspect and even how you can go solo but its harder

Great game to play with friends, even after the first campaigns I still come back to play after HD2 MO's are complete

warning if you buy this game there is helldivers 2 so cheak that out first its not 3rd preson but still fun

I killed my friend for just joining mid game and landing on top of him.

I'm no longer his friend and now i don't have anyone to play it with.

10/10

i like it it is fun as the 2nd game. its a bit hard in the start but over all very worth it

Helldivers is a challenging game because it's so hard to see anything.

The UI is terrible. Your player card is always in a random spot out of 4. Stratagems don't have names on them so every time you try to call one there's a pause of confusion. But the worst offender is the teeniest-tiniest thin white crosshair - good luck finding that shit on the screen.

I often find myself writing how I hate something about a game when the game is actually great. Well, Helldivers 1 is a great game at it's core. I love it. But I hate the way it treats player at higher difficulty. When you litreally CANNOT SEE it's not a challnge, it's a handicap. What would it take to patch this game to make the reticle customizeable?

Insanely fun, but it does needs mod support. 9/10 would recommend

A very good game, recommended if you can't buy Helldivers 2.

A blast, but impossible on higher difficulties without others.

Happy liberty day folks!

I played the crap out of this game on the Vita its worth every penny even if the new one exists never forget the original war

~ DIFFICULTY ~
🔲 My 90 year old grandma could play it
🔲 Easy
🔲 Normal
✅ Hard
🔲 Dark Souls

~ GRAPHICS ~
🔲 MS Paint
🔲 Bad
✅ Meh
🔲 Graphics dont matter in this game
🔲 Good
🔲 Beautiful

~ MUSIC ~
🔲 Bad
🔲 Not special
🔲 Good
✅ Eargasm

~ STORY ~
🔲 This game has no story
🔲 Like playing Temple Runners for the story
✅ It's there for the people who want it
🔲 Well written
🔲 Epic story

~ PRICE ~
🔲 Free
🔲 Underpriced
🔲 Perfect Price
✅ Could be cheaper
🔲 Overpriced
🔲 Complete waste of money

~ REQUIREMENTS ~
🔲 You can run it on a microwave
✅ Average
🔲 High end
🔲 NASA computer

~ LENGTH ~
🔲 Very Short (0 - 3 hours)
🔲 Short (3 - 15 hours)
🔲 Average (15-50 hours)
🔲 Long (50-90 hours)
🔲 Extremely long (90-110 hours)
✅ No ending

~ FUN ~
🔲 I'd rather watch paint dry
✅ Hard to enjoy
🔲 Repetitive
🔲 Actually pretty amusing
🔲 Ride of your life

~ REPLAYABILITY~
✅ It's a one-time experience
🔲 Only for achievements
🔲 If you wait a few months/years
🔲 Definitely
🔲 Infinitely replayable

~ WORTH BUYING ~
✅ No
🔲 Wait for sale
🔲 Yes

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Helldivers attempts to deliver a cooperative, top-down shooter experience but falls short of reaching its potential. While the concept of a team-based, tactical mission structure sounds promising, the execution leaves much to be desired. Despite moments of intensity, the overall experience feels repetitive and lacks the polish needed to stand out in a crowded genre. The promise of deep, strategic gameplay is often overshadowed by frustrating design choices.
The story in Helldivers is minimal and underwhelming. Players are tasked with defending "Super Earth" from alien forces, but the narrative is shallow and serves only as a thin backdrop to the action. There is little effort to develop the world or create any emotional stakes, making it difficult to remain invested in the overall conflict. For a game focused on the future of humanity, it does little to make players care about the outcome.
Gameplay suffers from repetitive mission structures and frustrating mechanics. While the idea of friendly fire being constantly active adds a layer of difficulty, it quickly becomes a source of irritation rather than a fun challenge. Missions often feel similar, with little variety in objectives or enemy behavior. The lack of meaningful progression or customization options makes each mission feel like a grind rather than an engaging experience.
Visually, Helldivers does little to impress. The environments are bland and lack diversity, while character and enemy designs are generic. The top-down perspective, while functional, limits the game's ability to showcase any impressive visual detail. Explosions and weapon effects are serviceable, but there is little here that stands out in terms of graphics or art direction.
Overall, Helldivers is a game that struggles to maintain interest after the initial excitement wears off. Its repetitive gameplay, uninspired story, and lackluster visuals make it hard to recommend, especially when compared to other games in the genre. The cooperative elements show potential, but the overall execution fails to deliver a memorable experience.
Helldivers gets a 4/10.

For more reviews check my Steam profile
Hope you enjoyed my review, god bless you

It's a good game. The only problem I may see for some people is the camera. I was initially strongly not happy with a it, but with time I got used to it and now camera even has its charm. Otherwise it's definitely fun and worth trying!

You often get stuck with one of 3 races (cyborgs), due to how online multiplayer is designed. Better to get console version and switch off internet - makes a good coop couch game.

Very fun game, sometimes stressful when your teammates test your anxiety but honestly the best 32 hours ive played so far. :D

This is a Starship Troopers game at its core though it doesn't actually use that license. It is a great game with a quality co-op set-up. It is NOT 1st person but I think that actually makes it better. There is a HIGE range of weapons, vehicles, turrets and orbital strikes plus a mess of other tricks and tools. A MASSIVE array of planets, stages, stage types and bosses. being online is required but as that DOES add an interesting dynamic to a GLOBAL co-op mission that is constantly going and changing the way you interact with the entire galaxy in the game.
Give it a try it'll be worth it. 8/10

VERY fun!
- Good gameplay loop
- DLCs COMPLETELY optional
- Awesome community
It is a bit grindy at times for samples in the early levels (15-25), but once you get your loadout down, you'll be fine.
100% Reccommend!
P.S. If you're looking for someone to dive with, send me a friend request!

For 7.99 with all DLCs as an offer really great, also because worse systems can manage this game. Absolutely not worth the money for the full price and all the comparisons with Helldivers 2 are really ridiculous.

In comparison, the only realy better thing I can say is that the escort and goods delivery missions in HD1 are a bit more fun, as you escort the group/goods across the map and not just in one location as in HD2. However, this is hardly possible in HD2 due to the size of the map and the fact that it is a 3D shooter. It should also be mentioned that the rounds are significantly shorter here, with a maximum of 20, more like 10 minutes.

The balancing, which is so highly praised here in comparison, is just as bad or good as in HD2. Some of the weapons are absolutely useless and I haven't seen one person using them, in fact I've seen very little weapon variation in HD1 in general. The enemy spawn is rarely completely bugged, sometimes nothing spawns the whole round, only to give you all the past waves at the same time with some reinforcement wave. I've fought an army of 6 Hawks at the same time on difficulty 5, who came with one reinforcement in solo play, plus a host of other opponents. Enemies also regularly spawn in the field of vision. At points where the map already shows me an enemy, there is very often nothing. If you then turn around briefly, the newly spawned enemies suddenly fall into your back.

Collecting research in HD1 is absolutely boring and even hinders the flow of the game. They just lie around randomly on the map without any system. On the other hand, you need less to fully equip a piece of equipment.
The maps in general are also random, just like in HD2. However, as there is no balancing of the locations here, you will hardly find any ammunition on most maps, but on others you can go swimming in it. As a result, ammunition replenishment is an absolute must and takes up one of the four equipment slots for many players. Yes, ammunition here is a gadget like tactical weapons, not standard and always present, as it is in HD2.

Incidentally, some maps have permanent and system-independent graphic errors, especially at the edge of the field of vision.

All in all:
Balancing - no better than in HD2, at least for solo players unfortunately even worse due to the uneven distribution of ammunition
Gameplay - average twin stick shooter, solo definitely the least fun, well suited and fun for groups
Price - far too expensive these days, buy on offer with all DLCs as a bundle
Other special features - it doesn't require a powerful PC, which is nice.

In direct comparison as short as possible - HD1 offers no better balancing, contains much less action and is unfortunately also much faster monotonous. In HD2, the adrenaline level is much higher, as is the joy of having completed a round well.
Nevertheless: HD1 is a solid game, especially for poorer systems and on offer. Just stop being ridiculous and claiming it's better than HD2, just learn to aim, look for co-op players for a co-op game or just get eaten by bugs, but stop this flood of tears.

An incredible game, with unique mechanics, very satisfying and addictive. The game is cooperative multiplayer and the community is very united. I played with players of different nationalities, without experiencing lag that hindered the matches. I'm loving this game and I think I'll play it for a long time, even after completing it 100%.

Team for one, one for team. We always dive together or not at all.

The gameplay loop and character progression is good. Getting to explore different stratagems the more you play is really fun. The community driven map also makes it feel like an actual real time war instead of a scripted event (nothing wrong with story driven games).

What makes this game shine really, is the cooperative experience and the different tactical interactions with the weapons and stratagems. Having your teammate feed your recoilless rifle with ammo while you're dishing out constant anti-armor goodness is a fun cooperative experience and makes sense in a squad shooter setting. It makes you feel like you're actually just a soldier fighting in a war, not some ultra-badass main protagonist. All these things and some other things I probably forgot to mention due to the rush of typing this review, make the game all the more immersive for me; that's pretty much the selling point of the game for me, excellent co-op mechanics and the immersive world. For Super Earth!

spinning around in a circle and watching your cape float is peak gameplay

Don't like the feeling that i don't get all the puzzle pieces to complete the challenge, they want you to buy DLC or you can farm and grind to get what you want.

Also the game is not greatly optimized for 2 players. Yea yea... i know obvious it's a 4 player game but still they could have made it better.

Don't like that i don't have a REAL goal like defeating a last boss for example. The ``Every player work togheter´´ mechanic bothers me.

4/10

Absolutely effective distribution of democracy here. wouldnt change a thing about it. fantastic arcade style shooter just about anyone can pick up and get familiar with. love this game. :D

This has probably the best gameplay loop of any other top-down shooter I've ever tried!

It was fun for a few hours to play with your friends. but the game definitely overstays its welcome. It's not going to be a fun experience if you are also aiming for 100% achievements due to grind. Besides the bugs which seems to be everybody's favorite race to fight against, all the enemy designs are quite annoying to play against. Various game mechanics to add "weight" to the feel of the game mostly feel cumbersome all around. Maybe it could have worked on other genres, but definitely not on a twin-stick shooter.