A lot of excitement is starting to build around Helldivers 2, given the popular title's upcoming release for Xbox consoles. Ahead of this big occasion, players are still being bombarded with excursions to protect Super Earth. As always, Major Orders are still keeping fans occupied, with the most recent order seeing players face off against the Automatons across three key planets. These planets are all home to critically important DSS facilities, with players having to successfully hold the planets when the Major Order timer runs out.
While a lot of the discussion around this Helldivers 2 Major Order is related to the best ways to manage the Automaton assaults, some of the planets involved in the Order offer some distinct difficulties. Planets like Gaellivare and Claorell are typified by their unique environmental hazards, putting a disruptive spin on the fight for their liberation. While this kind of gameplay variety is a perfect example of what makes Helldivers 2 unique, the huge range of potential environmental combinations can sometimes get a bit too out of hand.
Helldivers 2 Developer Plans to Add More Challenging Content
Arrowhead Game Studios confirms plans to add more challenging content to its successful third-person shooter Helldivers 2 in the future.
Helldivers 2's Gaellivare and Claorell Are Drawing a Lot of Attention For Their Environmental Hazards
The three planets involved in the latest Helldivers 2 Major Order are Gaellivare, Claorell, and Tarsh, with players fighting hard to repel the constant attacks of Automatons on the former two. A lot of discussion is currently being had around Gaellivare in particular, with the planet being renowned for its humid environments and sprawling life. This opens up Gaellivare to some debilitating environmental modifiers, with rainstorms in particular proving to be a real problem.
These weather conditions are exacerbated by extreme darkness within Gaellivare, reducing visibility to the point of it being comedic. Navigating the planet and coordinating attacks against Automatons is proving to be a real pain in these conditions, with modifiers such as this bringing as much replayability as they do potential issues. Despite these conditions, Gaellivare is almost fully liberated at the time of writing, yet Helldivers 2's Claorell is brewing its own unique batch of environmental hazards.
Claorell falls on the opposite end of Helldivers 2' s environmental threat spectrum compared to Gaellivare, featuring the likes of freezing temperatures and life-threatening meteor storms. While maybe not as game-changing as the absurd darkness of Gaellivare, these conditions can still put a real spanner in the works, especially in the chaos of a Major Order's final hours.
Some Helldivers 2 Environmental Hazards Walk a Fine Line
Environmental hazards can provide some of the most unique and memorable gameplay experiences in Helldivers 2, allowing Arrowhead to get much more value out of the same assets while keeping things fresh. The near-endless combination of modifiers that can come from this environmental mechanic can also suck the enjoyment out of certain skirmishes, with Gaellivare being a great example of how this can serve to the detriment of the game at times.
Even if detrimental, these modifiers can still lead to highly rewarding challenges, bringing more varied experiences in the wait for new enemy-centric content to be added to Helldivers 2.
Players recently saw new enemy types quietly being added to Helldivers 2's Automaton and Illuminate factions, with the environmental chaos of the recent Major Order only adding to the intrigue and mystery of their addition. Environmental modifiers can ultimately make a real statement on Helldivers 2' s gameplay in a wide range of engaging or frustrating ways, with the recent player experiences on Gaellivare being a great example of this.
Helldivers 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- bitsquid
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
