First off, I haven't played Helldivers 1. However, I did play 2. And, uh, quite a bit. I don't think I've ever gotten more absorbed into a multiplayer game as I have with Helldivers 2. In gaming terms, Helldivers 2 is the Subnautica but for multiplayer games. There is a primal satisfaction in making things go very big boom that never gets old. Helldivers 2, at its core, is a multiplayer cooperative PvE shooter that tasks a group of four so-called “Helldivers” to carry out strategic tasks in heavily contested warzones to gain the edge in a galaxy-wide war. The helldivers are dropped onto planets from starships in orbit, then have to carry out tasks like “retrieve intel of a destroyed research base”, “launch a leftover nuclear missile”, “steal confidential information” or “destroy enemy outposts”, all while surviving the onslaught of enemies trying to stop them. Interesting premise, but what makes this game stand out is that it actually delivers. Besides handheld weapons, players are given support by the starship in orbit, and by supersonic fighter jets in immediate vicinity, armed with weapons ranging from orbital space lasers, barrages, hell the entire starship is one big ass, several kilometers long, railcannon. It can also send down utility items like support weapons, equipment that is necessary for objectives, or just straight up (tactical) nukes. The downside of this is that all things coming from the starship suffer from a long delay between call-in and arrival. So if you call in an orbital napalm barrage, it will be one massive barrage, but it will take a long time to arrive. For more tactical engagements, the fighter jet can be equipped with things you want to land faster. The fighter jet can lay down a field of napalm very quickly, but due to its limited size and capacity it will have less oomph. But sometimes you don't need to crater an entire block, just one street can be fine.

The way I like to rate a game like Subnautica and Helldivers is by thinking about the kinds of fantasies they play into. Subnautica is a “you're a small being in a big, beautiful but unknown world”. Subnautica is basically every person's childhood forest day, except it's even better. Helldivers is that power fantasy you've always been wanting to play. Big ass cannons, massive explosions, that kinda stuff. It turns out, a multiplayer game is perfect for this because it removes the artificiality that most single player games have that are meant to be power fantasies. GTA 5's power fantasy sections all feel very.. bullshitty. You know they're restricted to this one section in the story, the numbers are being dialled into your favor, it's not real. In Helldivers, you can't bullshit the player, since it's multiplayer. Additionally, the game has found an interesting middle ground where enemies feel strong enough to be a threat, but are still weak enough to be suspectible to big booms.

So, for me fantasy here is basically the kind of stuff games like Apex Legends or Overwatch promise. Non-stop high octane action with split second decisions and clutch plays. Your player character has a lot of abilities and each one has a serious impact on the game - or so you think… And that's the problem with those games. You at first feel powerful with that one ultimate that you have because you can just wipe the entire enemy team - but once you start to play against enemies that know their way around, you'll very quickly see the limitations of what you can do, and that big dopamine surge from killing a lot at once will become very infrequent and it will be more of an accident rather than good, skillful play.
Helldivers is different. If you're good, you can make massive plays and get a lot of kills at once. But, the game is kept interesting because you still have to capitalize on this. Killing enemies is entirely coincidental and the main target is to complete the objectives. The enemies will keep coming, so if you just kill a lot and then go back to bed, the mission is not gonna get finished. Essentially, Helldivers promises this dopamine surge you get from doing really cool things with really cool things, and then it actually delivers. And delivers. And delivers. And it just keeps coming without it ever getting boring. Helldivers basically the idea of Counter-Strike that many of us have in our heads but, unlike Counter-Strike, Helldivers is actually fun. Oh and don't let me talk about politics.

See also: Helldivers 2 Guide
See also: Warbond Concept