Helldivers 2, one of the most anticipated games of 2024, has seen its reviews on Steam plummet to “Mostly Negative” following several updates that have left the community dissatisfied. Upon its release in February 2024, Arrowhead Game Studios’ live-service cooperative shooter received high praise from numerous players, despite a challenging initial launch on PC. The game was celebrated for its community-focused objectives and gratifying gameplay, even setting records for Sony. However, as time passed, controversies and unpopular updates have led to a notable exodus of players.
Currently, Helldivers 2 maintains a “Mostly Positive” overall rating on Steam from almost 665,000 players, but its recent reviews—close to 12,000—are predominantly “Mostly Negative.” A significant portion of these reviews criticize Arrowhead Game Studios for making unnecessary changes to various weapons, reducing the overall enjoyment of the game. One player, LeoFinns, expressed frustration by saying they’re “really tired of the game breaking and being gutted every other patch,” while another, Tolstoj, described the situation as “Nerf after Nerf after Nerf after Nerf after Nerf.”
Helldivers 2’s Developer Addresses the Steam Rating and Announces New Patch
Arrowhead Game Studios has responded to the recent negative feedback in a Steam community post, emphasizing its commitment to player feedback and stating that it is “always looking for ways to improve our community engagement.” The post detailed plans for an upcoming patch, set to release on September 17th, which aims to bring “significant changes” to the game.
The planned changes involve reworking elements such as Armor Penetration, Anti-Tank weapons, and enemy armor and health values as part of an initial balancing effort. Additionally, several enemies will be overhauled to make them more “rewarding” to defeat. In response to the complaints about weapon nerfs, the Autocannon, Heavy Machine Gun, and Anti-Material Rifle will be enhanced, along with improvements to flamethrower-type weapons.
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Further modifications are detailed in the full post, but it appears Arrowhead Game Studios is actively addressing the issues players have encountered in Helldivers 2, striving to recapture the elements that initially made the game successful. Whether this will be enough to win back the community and encourage those who have left to return remains uncertain.
Source: Steam
Helldivers 2
Helldivers II is the follow-up to the 2015 multiplayer top-down single-player/co-op shooter from Arrowhead Game Studios. The sequel, which has shifted gears to a third-person shooter format, drops players into the boots of elite super-soldiers who fight to protect Super Earth from invading alien forces while taking the fight to those who threaten the "democracy of Super Earth."
