Recent reviews by Mifian

Mannn, I'm not going to write anything that people don't already know at this point. But I wanted to get a few of my thoughts out there as to why I love this game so much, when so many other live service and online only games have flopped for me, personally. Tl;dr: buy this game.

To start off, I enjoy games that don't take themselves too seriously, but leave room for the player to take it seriously. This game does this, from the moment you enter the tutorial, to the 50th mission you've dropped, and beyond. You're constantly inundated with everything from "How about a nice cup of liber-TEA!" to "BRASCH TACTICS! Use 'em... Or DIE TRYING" to "Sweet Liberty!~ My *body part*!" There's just this tongue in cheek nature where the developers knew not to take themselves or their world TOO seriously, but just serious enough. The obvious parallel to Starship Troopers is there, but this is still different. The developers they created to be so silly and yet strangely endearing, that when the other shoe drops, it drops hard.

Because the developers may have kept their world tongue-in-cheek, the drops are something different entirely. A mentality has been built up in the community around certain worlds: Malevelon Creek, Ubanea, Ingmar, Fenrir III, the list goes on. The discord rallies around these worlds and their defenses.

Early difficulties are doable as a solo player, especially against the bots. It’s Terminator mixed with Call of Duty until about drop level 3 (there’s 9 levels to drops). Enemies are pretty easy to take out, a few larger bots within each group allows for some variability in engagements. But it’s at the higher levels where all hell breaks loose.

Tracers flying by your head as another dropship flies in, bringing more bots, some of them ride AT-STs, some of them look like Ork Warbosses, most of them look like roided out humanoids, and they all have guns, and they all know they have armor; and they begin to walk towards you while the smaller bots flank you, throwing grenades and calling out commands in their technobabble tongue. Suddenly, the tracer or two flying over your heads on the earlier difficulties light the night up like some sick fireworks display. There’s nowhere to run because everywhere is a fired round. Strategems are called in. Some hit their mark, igniting the bots in a blaze of freedom, others miss their mark and land amongst the dirt; or worse, amongst you or your team. Cover is but a thing of the past. The buildings you were fighting around? A Hulk smashed through the last one minutes ago. The natural ground formations? Better get low and stay low, and hope nothing too big pops it’s head above the rise in the ground. The music swells and over the gunshots and explosions and screams of your fellow soldiers both in-game and out, and suddenly you hear another dropship ready to support the bots.

That juxtaposition between silly, not-so-serious focus on world-building and then the absolute insanity in-game is why I feel this works. Those missions are so intense, so insane, so explosive, that when you stand and fire a machine gun for 200 rounds, and your character screams “FORRRRRRR SUPPPPPERRRRR EARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” you FEEL it. Even if you’ve heard that voiceline a dozen times. A hundred. You know the odds you’re facing, and they are overwhelming, but suddenly you have a cause worth fighting for. Because without you, those bots, those bugs, and whatever else is out there, is threatening Super Earth. Threatening democracy. And you won’t stand for that. Those silly jokes you heard 20-30 hours ago when you started playing, that’s in the past. Boot camp is over.

Now you’re a Helldiver.

I want to preface this review by saying that I'm not normally one who writes reviews in the first place. But this game changed that.

If you like survival games, this one seems to be the pinnacle. I've never before played a survival game that is as much fun or tense. Lemme give you a recount of my first three games.

Game 1: Woke up in the middle of the night, in a blizzard. I had no idea where to go and began freezing fast. I realized I had a flare and popped it as quick as I could. I began to run through the woods. As I reached the end of my rope, I saw a small cottage in the distance and I ran for it as quick as I could. I made my way inside and found some food. I waited a day or so until I ran out of food then ventured outside once more....
...
and directly into the jaws of a wolf. I died, due to lack of food and preparation. I nearly ♥♥♥♥ myself when the wolf jumped on me.

Game 2: Woke up during the day, afternoon I believe. The weather was relatively peaceful, and I managed to find a group of houses. I picked them apart then chose one for my own uses. Upon slightly stocking it over the course of a few days, I ended up making a fatal mistake by leaving to go exploring. A blizzard hit, and I couldn't find my way back in time before I froze to death.

Game 3: By far my most successful one. Woke up around 9 am. I ventured from mystery lake to coastal highway along a set of railroad tracks. When I reached coastal highway I fell off of a cliff and ended up spraining my ankle. I hobbled along until I heard wolves behind me. I moved as quick as I could and at last spotted a cabin. I stayed there for a day, resting my ankle until it was functional once more. I began exploring a series of fishing villages, plundering what I could from the worn down houses. I found a gas station and began stockpiling it. A week passed in game, I had a good thing going.

And then those ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ wolves moved in. I don't know if there is a pack tendency, or if they are randomly placed, or if they aren't supposed to move from one zone to another. But suddenly I had four wolves scratching at my door. I had found a rifle, but only had three bullets. I knew flares would scare them off, but not for good. But then I realized that they were taking down deer in the area. Then I formed a sort of symbiotic relationship with them. I wouldn't kill them and they killed deer, soon after which I'd go and carve the carcass up. I began stockpiling more food, and more, until I had a hefty amount. Day eleven rolled by, and I decided that I wanted to check out some of those ice fishing shacks I had spotted on the horizon. I geared up and made my way out to one.

So begins my fatal mistake.

I arrived at one and was relatively unharmed for a day. Then a wolf happened by. I had one bullet left, at this point, and I used it on the wolf, figuring it was the only one. Not the case. Three more soon arrived, huddling around the ice fishing shack. I knew that I was on borrowed time by this point. I spent three nights holed up in that shack, (earning the achievement for spending three nights outdoors), then made my peace with whatever God is out there, and I stepped outside. The moment I did, I was pounced and killed. Surviving an epic 15 days and 7 hours.

It was amazing.

Pros

• Good survival aspects such as calorie count, which drains as you preform heavy tasks such as harvesting wood, skinning animals, running, etc., and a tempurature gauge (including windchill!) to help you monitor how much body heat you have.
  
• The game feels balanced enough (for an early access game, no less) that you don't feel helped along by the mechanics, but they are fair enough to where you can, if you're smart, find or steal enough food for yourself to survive. That's what it boils down to in the end, food.
  
• Weather effects are amazing, and there's something to be said for being trapped in a building for three days because there is a blizzard outside.
  
• The game is beautiful, it reminds me somewhat of The Telltale games. It has a sort of handpainted, almost comic book look to it.
  
• The sound design is fairly well done. Wind whips around buildings and wolves howl in the distance. At night it's peaceful, houses settle as you're in them. The sound design further helps the idea that you are indeed, very much alone in this world.
  
• A minor crafting system is implemented, meaning that it should expand further in the upcoming months.
  
• The dev community seems very into the game and seems to be actively working on it.

Cons

• It is in early access, so the game is not completed, first off.
  
• Some bugs.
  
• Occasionally you'll be spawned somewhere, in the middle of the night, in a blizzard, with no way to survive.
  
• Animal behavior is erratic and, sometimes, downright weird. Though I imagine that'll be improved with time.
  
• Very small area to explore once you've done it.

I am aware that this is early access, and I don't begrudge the game for it. At the end of the day it is an amazing early access game, and one that I would wholeheartedly tell everyone to support. It has an enormous amount of potential, and I would love to see this game be taken further.

tl;dr: Great survival game, still in early access, buy it anyway.