This is Arrowhead's triumph.
If you'd told me ten years ago that the guys who made Magicka would produce a AAA budget title with CGI that outdoes square enix, with visuals that are both artistically and technologically among the most impressive of its era, that ends up being WILDLY commercially successful beyond anyone's imagination, and that they did all of this without ever compromising the spirit of comedy, mayhem, and danger that made games like Magicka or Helldivers great, I don't think I would have believed you.
This game is nothing short of a miracle. I don't say that to be hyperbolic about its quality - although it is a really well made game and is a ton of fun to play. I say that because in its triumph it is a dream come true for a little indie team I've loved for a very long time. It is the realization of all the goofy fun that Arrowhead's design philosophy has embodied since their first game in 2011, and everyone loves it and celebrates it.
Helldivers 2 captures the spirit of the original perfectly - being one of the funnest coop shooter experiences out there, but the switch to third person was genius. The combat and shooting feel better than ever, there's a greater level of precision over what you can do to deal with enemies and patrols, and simultaneously more and less obfuscation of details critical to success (you can now see past the edge of the screen but fog and rain are a big deal!) Perhaps the biggest change of all this is that you can now split the team to accomplish multiple objectives at the same time! All of these changes are net pluses to a gameplay loop that already worked like a dream.
All my favorite mechanics - the konami code inputs for strategems, the inevitability of wanton friendly fire, the insane hostility of the game's higher difficulties and the emphasis on doing everything you can to prevent a situation from going bad and then having to BOOK IT when it inevitably does - it's all still there. Nothing has been compromised. If anything they've only taken this stuff further. And the public loves it despite not dumbing down a single element. Astonishing.
I'm happy for Arrowhead. I'm happy for their success. I'm happy for me, as a fan of their games, to see that they've knocked it out of the park yet again and this time everyone else appreciates it too. This game makes me happy. This is Arrowhead's triumph.
If you'd told me ten years ago that the guys who made Magicka would produce a AAA budget title with CGI that outdoes square enix, with visuals that are both artistically and technologically among the most impressive of its era, that ends up being WILDLY commercially successful beyond anyone's imagination, and that they did all of this without ever compromising the spirit of comedy, mayhem, and danger that made games like Magicka or Helldivers great, I don't think I would have believed you.
This game is nothing short of a miracle. I don't say that to be hyperbolic about its quality - although it is a really well made game and is a ton of fun to play. I say that because in its triumph it is a dream come true for a little indie team I've loved for a very long time. It is the realization of all the goofy fun that Arrowhead's design philosophy has embodied since their first game in 2011, and everyone loves it and celebrates it.
Helldivers 2 captures the spirit of the original perfectly - being one of the funnest coop shooter experiences out there, but the switch to third person was genius. The combat and shooting feel better than ever, there's a greater level of precision over what you can do to deal with enemies and patrols, and simultaneously more and less obfuscation of details critical to success (you can now see past the edge of the screen but fog and rain are a big deal!) Perhaps the biggest change of all this is that you can now split the team to accomplish multiple objectives at the same time! All of these changes are net pluses to a gameplay loop that already worked like a dream.
All my favorite mechanics - the konami code inputs for strategems, the inevitability of wanton friendly fire, the insane hostility of the game's higher difficulties and the emphasis on doing everything you can to prevent a situation from going bad and then having to BOOK IT when it inevitably does - it's all still there. Nothing has been compromised. If anything they've only taken this stuff further. And the public loves it despite not dumbing down a single element. Astonishing.
I'm happy for Arrowhead. I'm happy for their success. I'm happy for me, as a fan of their games, to see that they've knocked it out of the park yet again and this time everyone else appreciates it too. This game makes me happy. This is Arrowhead's triumph.