The best co-op shooter I've ever played, one of the best shooters I've ever played, one of the best GAMES I've ever played.

The weapon variance is fantastic. I seriously contemplate what guns I want to bring on a mission based on the resistance I expect to come up against, while at the same time I have a few favorites that I know I can rely on.

The stratagems mechanic is amazing, it makes you feel so powerful -- I can't think of a comparison from another game. It's just that good. At the same time, you have to make use of your strats intelligently to be effective -- between minute+ cooldowns and super-short spawn times for enemies, you can't just go heaving bombs at everything and expect to win.

The lore/story is great. Every NPC in the game gushes about Democracy and Liberty, including (and especially) the bomber you can call in to "Dispense Freedom!" on your enemies. As long as you remember that it's satire, it's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hilarious. So far I haven't run into any people IRL that take it seriously, but there's always that danger of ultra-nationalist nutters ruining it for everyone, so keep that in mind.

The currencies are pretty decent. I don't have a lot of personal experience with games that have you obtain multiple types of currency to unlock things -- mostly I'm playing single-player games where you're just getting Rupees/Coins/Gold/Gil and so on. There are 6 total currencies to get here, 3 of which are just the same currency with differing rarities, and collecting them isn't a chore. You can unlock all the basic stuff just by playing the game, though you will have to play the highest difficulty levels to earn the Super Samples needed for the absolute top-tier upgrades. It's balanced well, especially as you don't NEED those upgrades to be competent at the game -- they're just sweet to have.

The actual gameplay loop is fun! It damn well better be, as it's ultimately why you're here. You have four layers of gameplay, in essence:

1. The Galactic War. This is the highest layer, and is not very interactive -- you see certain Sectors of the galaxy that are in conflict, and therefore available for you to Liberate. In those Sectors are planets, and in those planets are Operations.
   
2. Operations. There are different Operations to choose that will randomly spawn on a planet in conflict, with different missions in them depending on the difficulty you've chosen and some other random factors. Each Operation consists of one or more missions, all of which must be completed to consider the Operation a success.
   
3. Objectives. Each mission in an Operation has one or more major objectives you need to complete, sometimes with sub-objectives necessary before you can finish the objective itself. Maps will also often (not always) spawn in optional objectives that don't impact the Operation, but can be helpful to you finishing the mission.
   
4. MURDER. Between and during objectives, you are going to run into enemies. Be they Bugs, Bots or [POSSIBLE THIRD THING?], enemies of Democracy stand in the way of your mission. It's your job to violently obliterate all that stand in your path safeguard Liberty to make sure your objectives are completed safely.

So in summary: you shoot things, to make sure you can complete your objectives, to finish missions and therefore an Operation, to contribute to the overall victory of the Galactic War. It's a Hell of a lot of fun, made even more fun by the addition of friends you enjoy gaming with.

One final note: in-game, you'll hear that "Helldivers never die", but dying (and friendly fire, for that matter) is super duper ultra-common. You should avoid it if you can, but it's definitely not the end of the world. Work together and have fun!

The best co-op shooter I've ever played, one of the best shooters I've ever played, one of the best GAMES I've ever played. The weapon variance is fantastic. I seriously contemplate what guns I want to bring on a mission based on the resistance I expect to come up against, while at the same time I have a few favorites that I know I can rely on. The stratagems mechanic is amazing, it makes you feel so powerful -- I can't think of a comparison from another game. It's just that good. At the same time, you have to make use of your strats intelligently to be effective -- between minute+ cooldowns and super-short spawn times for enemies, you can't just go heaving bombs at everything and expect to win. The lore/story is great. Every NPC in the game gushes about Democracy and Liberty, including (and especially) the bomber you can call in to "Dispense Freedom!" on your enemies. As long as you remember that it's satire, it's god-damned hilarious. So far I haven't run into any people IRL that take it seriously, but there's always that danger of ultra-nationalist nutters ruining it for everyone, so keep that in mind. The currencies are pretty decent. I don't have a lot of personal experience with games that have you obtain multiple types of currency to unlock things -- mostly I'm playing single-player games where you're just getting Rupees/Coins/Gold/Gil and so on. There are 6 total currencies to get here, 3 of which are just the same currency with differing rarities, and collecting them isn't a chore. You can unlock all the basic stuff just by playing the game, though you will have to play the highest difficulty levels to earn the Super Samples needed for the absolute top-tier upgrades. It's balanced well, especially as you don't NEED those upgrades to be competent at the game -- they're just sweet to have. The actual gameplay loop is fun! It damn well better be, as it's ultimately why you're here. You have four layers of gameplay, in essence: [olist] [*] The Galactic War. This is the highest layer, and is not very interactive -- you see certain Sectors of the galaxy that are in conflict, and therefore available for you to Liberate. In those Sectors are planets, and in those planets are Operations. [*] Operations. There are different Operations to choose that will randomly spawn on a planet in conflict, with different missions in them depending on the difficulty you've chosen and some other random factors. Each Operation consists of one or more missions, all of which must be completed to consider the Operation a success. [*] Objectives. Each mission in an Operation has one or more major objectives you need to complete, sometimes with sub-objectives necessary before you can finish the objective itself. Maps will also often (not always) spawn in optional objectives that don't impact the Operation, but can be helpful to you finishing the mission. [*] MURDER. Between and during objectives, you are going to run into enemies. Be they Bugs, Bots or [POSSIBLE THIRD THING?], enemies of Democracy stand in the way of your mission. It's your job to [strike]violently obliterate all that stand in your path[/strike] [i]safeguard Liberty[/i] to make sure your objectives are completed safely. [/olist] So in summary: you shoot things, to make sure you can complete your objectives, to finish missions and therefore an Operation, to contribute to the overall victory of the Galactic War. It's a Hell of a lot of fun, made even more fun by the addition of friends you enjoy gaming with. One final note: in-game, you'll hear that "Helldivers never die", but dying (and friendly fire, for that matter) is super duper ultra-common. You should avoid it if you can, but it's definitely not the end of the world. Work together and have fun!