Robbed. I am still convinced Arrowhead Games Studios’ Helldivers 2’ was robbed of Game Of The Year, 2024, something I will take to the grave. The game was tight in so many areas: character, gameplay, accessibility, graphics and even atmosphere. More importantly, it was just fun; chaotic, but wholesome fun regardless.  You can even read our fully comprehensive review of Helldivers 2 from the original release, for PlayStation 5, here.

This review will compare the Xbox release to the PlayStation release; however, I can also personally compare it to the PC release, too, as that is where I chose to play it in my own time.

Everything is mostly the same. Gameplay on Xbox is just as fluid and smooth as it is on a PlayStation controller; however, it is still not as clean as playing on PC with a mouse and keyboard. That just hits on another level, even with a controller on PC, the extra frames just make for a nicer experience.

Graphically and in an auditory sense, you won’t notice much difference either. The planets are still wastelands swarming with enemies, whether it be the Bugs, Automatons, or the Illuminates, the Super Earth Federation has still never looked so good. The sound effects still make me burst out into cackles, whether it be from blowing myself up in a field of landmines, listening to robots mumble under their breaths like disgruntled employees or Hellbomb explosions detonating behind your friends’ backs. The soundscape is still so brilliant.

One thing it does need is cross progression. I have so many hours and skins pumped into my Steam version, it almost felt diabolical to go play on console with my friends. I just wanted to flex my cool Killzone gear from an event earlier in the year. It’s something I strongly believe every multiplayer needs if they have crossplay as a default. Which, might I add, crossplay is also seamless in connecting with friends and randoms, but would sometimes drop you out of the squad when deploying on a planet. Thankfully, you can rejoin someone mid-mission.

Honestly, I don’t have much to say about a game I actually think was a perfect storm in a teacup for 2024. Helldivers 2 dropped in a time where gamers had lost hope in soulless cash grab multiplayer games. Arrowhead knew to bring the solid gameplay, with a balanced multiplayer system and sprinkled on top a sense of sass and charisma that is unmatched by most games in a similar category. Finally, having it released as an extremely polished version on all consoles for the communities to play is such a jewel in the crown for the franchise. 

In saying that, though, I do still highly recommend the PC version as your port of call to play. It’s just an overall smoother experience, and after a couple of games on the Xbox version with the squad, I found myself booting up to my Steam version every time. In 2025, it’s ironic that democracy has never been so sweet.

Written by: Stacey