So I Tried… HELLDIVERS

 Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I have never played before. Will I find something new to love? Will I find something new to despise? I'll take a full half hour, no matter how bad it gets or how badly I do, to see if this is the game for me. This time I went for HELLDIVERS.

So, ever since I reviewed HELLDIVERS 2, I’ve been obsessed with spreading Liberty across the galaxy. So, to celebrate my first Liberty Day (26th of October), I might as well turn back the clock by 100 years and participate in the first Galactic War in the first HELLDIVERS. Actually, buying the game actually reminded me that I’ve seen this game before from a YouTube video… thumbnail. I don’t think I ever watched it.

What I thought it was

I very much expect a different beast from HELLDIVERS 2. From what I remember and researched, HELLDIVERS is a top-down shooter, a little similar to Arrowhead’s previous games such as Magicka. It was initially released on the PlayStation Portable but made its way to Steam in 2015. I’m fully ready to transfer some of my time from HELLDIVERS 2 into this game, such as Stratagem codes (I can do Reinforce and Eagle Airstrike almost naturally) but I know there’s going to be some weirdness. Especially if I’m gonna try and fight the Illuminates; the third faction that has yet to make an appearance in the current war.

However, upon seeing the Steam page and its numerous weapon and armour DLCs, I feel like I'm diving in a little lacking in firepower before I even start the game. I am not spending five bucks just to get the Commando rocket launcher, no matter how good it is.

What it actually is

Well, it’s definitely different from HELLDIVERS 2, which is fairly obvious, but there are some things that are the same.

Since I only had 30 minutes, I got to play the tutorial and a couple of missions, which felt more than enough to get a good feeling from the game and see just how much changed over the years. For one thing, the two of the Stratagems I started out with were limited, such as the machine gun turret. Also, I found that the Resupply strat was something you had to select as part of your loadout, rather than something every Helldiver has by default.

Still, there’s plenty I found familiar with my time in HELLDIVERS. While I did struggle at first (mostly because my gun wouldn't fire until I switched on Veteran controls in the settings), I was sort of back into my groove despite the change of perspective. Plus, it was kind of cool to see where it all started and see some of the mechanics that didn’t make it into the sequel, like weapon upgrades.

Will I keep playing?

Maybe, if only to help finish off the last remnants of Managed Democracy’s enemies. It's a nice dive into the sleeper hit that now has thousands of players joining the fray to spread Managed Democracy around the galaxy. I definitely do need to brush up on my twin-stick shooters (I failed twice before I completed my first mission) but I can see myself playing this when I’m sick of the bugs and crashes the current game has.

I definitely recommend checking it out. It goes for pretty cheap when it’s on sale and if you look in the right places (please ensure it is from a respectable source). I hope everyone has a democratic Liberty Day.