Sony Interactive Entertainment

Helldivers 2has been the surprise rack up of February , but it has also been surprisingly hard to get into the game . Server issues are frequent , and while Arrowhead Game Studios is actively working to resolve these issues , Helldivers 2’sonline experience is far from perfect . If you ’re foiled at not being able-bodied to playHelldivers 2 , but need to play something like , there ’s another fantastic option .

I ’m not reference thesimilar rubric on Xbox Game Pass . I ’m referring to the originalHelldivers . First released on PC , PlayStation 4 , and PS Vita in 2015,Helldiversis a game that I did not believe much of before this calendar month , as I only put about 15 minutes into it after getting the biz as a monthlyPS Plus title in 2016 . regress to it in the wake of my use ofHelldivers 2,I find much of the magic spell of the sequel is present in its predecessor , albeit in isometric shooter form .

Key art for the original Helldivers.

Sony Interactive Entertainment

It ’s fascinating to see mind that would go on to makeHelldivers 2a hit in their nascent state in the originalHelldivers , which does a lot of the same things correct and still has an alive on-line residential area today . So if you ’re struggling to get into aHelldivers 2match due to server issues , it ’s not a bad theme to give the first game a gibe .

A different perspective

The core gameplay loop ofHelldiversisn’t dissimilar to that of its continuation . There ’s a metagame of defending the galaxy from intrude on forces with the service of other instrumentalist , and multiplayer is extremely bucked up . You ’ll even recognise some of the satellite names . Before each mission , players kit out their loadout with unlike weapons andstratagems that can be called downmidfight . You ’ll recognize many of these gambit too . Once on a mission , histrion need to complete objectives and then extract to garner their full rewards . The handsome departure : it ’s an isometric twin - joint shooter .

If you ’ve ever bring games likeEnter the Gungeon , Nex Machina , orThe Ascent , that ’s the panache of game the originalHelldiversis . That meansHelldiversdoesn’t feel as eminent - budget as its continuation , but that ’s not a sorry affair as it still looks and plays really well for a plot that ’s almost a decennary old . While gameplay might playact out from a unlike perspective , it ’s really not all that different of an experience . It ’s always abase when you may see where some great franchise got their starting ; it ’s like going fromFallout 1and2toFallout 3andNew Vegas .

The originalHelldiversestablished the feverish friendly fire - filled shootouts that its sequel would go on to hone . Sometimes , this game even get a little more ambitious because you ca n’t move while inputting gambit and throwing grenades , and throwing stratagems also lacks the preciseness ofHelldivers 2 . Within an minute of picking this secret plan back up , I already had a couple of memorable moments where I get hold of myself out with a gun enclosure I lay down and was accidentally shot in the back of the head by a teammate who then copiously apologize over voice chat .

Those similarities make the originalHelldiversan enticing alternative to its follow - up , but some other expression of this game warrant a revisit . There ’s a bit more narrative content onHelldivers ’ castanets than there is in its sequel ; an entire enemy cabal called The Illuminate is also an opponent to take on here as well . A mechanic that gives players reinforcements after completing an objective and progression systems that apply to individual weapon system and stratagems also makeHelldiversa chip more gratifying in solo romp than in its subsequence .

It ’s still possible to play on-line inHelldivers . The servers are more stable here than they are fot its subsequence , and there ’s still a big enough community where you could get random assist from players in match . Hopefully , even more hoi polloi will be encouraged to revisitHelldiversafterfalling in love with its continuation ; I certainly recommend that you do so .

Because so much of the magic that madeHelldivers 2a surprisal hit this calendar month was present in the original , I ’m kick myself for lettingHelldiverssit in the depths of my PlayStation biz library for so long . If you save the plot on PS Plus class ago or do n’t beware overleap $ 20 onHelldiverson Steam or the PlayStation Store , it ’s deserving a sport session with protagonist if you ’re all still struggling to access and matchmake inHelldivers 2 .

Helldivers Dive Harder Edition , the fully updated interpretation of the secret plan , is useable now on PC , PS3 , PS4 , and PS Vita . It plays bully on PS5 , too .