Best Multiplayer 2024: Helldivers 2

Thanks to the power of democracy, Helldivers 2 has been named our best multiplayer game of the year. For more awards, check out our Game of the Year 2024 hub.

Morgan Park, Staff Writer: When Helldivers 2 comes up in conversation years from now, people will probably bring up its genius approach to live service gaming. Arrowhead had me glued to the edge of my seat for the early months of 2024, signing into the game almost daily to find a new piece of gear, unexplained winged beast, or cheeky communication from a fictional Super Earth. Arrowhead turned millions of casual shooter fans into roleplayers drafted in a galactic war, but after its narrative eventually slowed to a crawl and updates got rarer, I’m still playing Helldivers 2 because it’s just that good.

Its fundamentals are sturdy and unexpectedly sophisticated—guns pack a punch that you see in every severed bug leg or shredded Automaton chestplate, and its ballistic model has more in common with milsims than traditional shooters. There’s a grace to Helldivers 2 as the action oscillates between hardcore and slapstick, embracing random carnage and comedic ragdolls while allowing for skillful cooperation. I played it for 163 hours this year and can easily see that number doubling now that the dreaded Illuminate faction has arrived. Helldivers 2 was a big game when it launched, and it’s only getting bigger. It’s simply the best, most inventive co-op shooter we’ve seen since Left 4 Dead.

Evan Lahti, Strategic Director: Helldivers 2 is one of the rarest things in gaming: a messy blockbuster from a quirky Swedish developer that had eight years of support from one of the biggest publishers in the world to make it—and seemingly without much interference.

Harvey Randall, Staff Writer: Helldivers 2 has had a wobbly journey since its launch—but it’s fought damn hard to keep its rightfully-earned place. The only reason I’m not playing more of it after my dozens of hours spent blasting bugs in a fugue state is because I’ve too many games to play, but I’m stupendously happy it’s seemed to find its stride.

What really astounds me is how seriously its developers took its players’ concerns, and how successfully they managed to filter through the noise. A fanbase is often very good at figuring out that something is wrong, but rarely why or how to fix it. Arrowhead listened to players, then proceeded to pull on the threads of what made those first few weeks with the game a riot.

The Helldivers 2 we have now is one that is playing to its strengths, and is only getting better at doing that with every patch. Its huge armoury of weapons can now actually be used to their advantage. An active and ravenous playerbase can now take direct, democratic part in shaping the galactic war by voting for a space station to move around the galaxy.

Sure, it’s a little easier now, but it’s hit a stride. This game is the spiritual embodiment of “gung-ho” with an arsenal the size of a bile titan—and now more weapons are effective in the field, you get to muck around with your loadout and experience all the fun ways in which democracy destroys the darkness.

Jacob Ridley, Managing Editor, Hardware: We don’t give Arrowhead credit enough for making a sequel in an entirely different camera angle to the original and having it work so well. Formidably entertaining to play with friends, the carnage of voice chat during a rocky extraction is already worth the price of admission.

Morgan: Good point, Jacob. Building off a successful twin-stick shooter by taking the better part of a decade to transform the sequel into third-person milsim Halo was a serious risk. Reminds me of when Risk of Rain 2 made the jump to 3D and, despite some doubts, it turned out incredible.

Tyler Wilde, US Editor-in-Chief: Arrowhead managed to drop a surprise update at the end of the year that felt like a surprise even though its contents, the Illumiante faction and recon vehicle, were things we all knew were coming. They had their low moments, like the whole PlayStation account squabble and various dust ups over balance, but it’s hard for me to think of a more successful first year for a live service game.