Nobody could have predicted the kind of success that Helldivers 2 would enjoy at launch. A follow-up to a cult favorite, Helldivers 2 takes everything you love about Starship Troopers while also letting you nuke your mates under the watchful eye of a evil overlord.
But do you need a bit of a break from letting them come (not like that)? Sick of all of the brawling? Does the insurmountable might of the Helldivers feel a lil bit eepy? If you’re searching for similar games to one of 2024’s biggest smash hits, consider these games instead.
Don’t worry, the Creek will probably still be there when you get back, and Joel definitely won’t have gone full Sauron. Probably.
1. Spec Ops: The Line
Platform(s): PC, PS3, Xbox 360
It’s very hard to explain exactly why Yager’s so-underrated-that-it’s-now-adequately-rated-after-years-of-being-on-underrated-lists Spec Ops: The Line is so similar to Helldivers 2 without spoiling things, but let’s just say that there’s a lot going on beneath the surface of both games that is very much worth digging into.
A third-person shooter set in Dubai following a catastrophe, Spec Ops: The Line follows Captain Martin Walker and his team as they’re sent on a recon mission, but it isn’t long at all before things get completely FUBAR.
As far as gameplay goes, Spec Ops: The Line is a very solid if unspectacular cover-based shooter, but it’s in its narrative, including a few specific tough chances that you can make, where Spec Ops becomes truly unforgettable.
Unfortunately, the game was recently deleted from storefronts for stupid industry reasons, so you may need to find it physically on PS3 and 360, or look On The Line for it, if you catch our drift.
2. Halo: Reach
Platform(s): PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One
There’s a certain feeling of nostalgia to Helldivers 2 that old Halo fans can’t quite put their finger on. Maybe it’s the sci-fi setting. Perhaps it’s the almost impossible task at hand. Or it could very well be that everyone keeps dying all the time.
Bungie’s last ever Halo game, Halo: Reach is set before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and follows a group of Spartans as they valiantly try to push back an alien threat in the name of humanity — sound familiar so far?
With players able to take part in 4-player co-op across the game’s campaign at least in some versions, Halo: Reach’s cinematic spectacle and absolute banger of a soundtrack will definitely call Helldivers 2 to mind. And those goblins who want to betray democracy with some PVP might find what they’re looking for here instead.
As for that campaign, just like Spec Ops, we can’t go into it too much without spoiling things, but let’s just say it ended up on our saddest games ever list for a very good reason.
3. Deep Rock Galactic
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series, Xbox One
While it doesn’t have the cinematic spectacle of Helldivers 2, Deep Rock Galactic absolutely has the same “do dumb stuff with your pals and hope you don’t completely mess things up” charm that makes both such a hoot.
You play as one of four dwarves who descend deep within mines to earn precious, precious plunder and not get eaten by bugs, with things getting more chaotic as time goes on and more parts of the caverns are accessed. Even if you don’t like spiders, you’re going to enjoy setting them on fire with your homies in 4-player co-op.
Just like Helldivers 2, Deep Rock Galactic features procedural generation, destructible environments, and working together as a team to win the day — allegedly. The chance of nonsense is never too far away here, just like it is in Helldivers 2.
And if you enjoy Deep Rock Galactic, you have the rather drug-like Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor to check out afterwards, too.
4. Mercenaries 2
Platform(s): PC, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360
Few video games are as wonderfully video game-y as Pandemic’s sadly mostly forgotten Mercenaries series. Brain goes out, bombs go boom, everybody’s happy — apart from EA, apparently.
An open world game where you’re basically a one-person militia, Mercenaries 2 pits you as, you guessed it, a mercenary who earns money by completing objectives behind enemy lines in Venezuela. Those enemy lines aren’t there for too long, as you pretty much blow them up.
As well as being a third-person shooter with destructible environments, Mercenaries 2 is also similar to Helldivers 2 in that players can call in all manner of air strikes and general help, just like the stratagems given to you by Super Earth that you then recklessly lob at your annoying mate (by accident, you swear).
Mercenaries 2 is a far more arcade-y game than Helldivers, but it’s a shame that this bit of destructive nonsense has been lost to time. Many people prefer the original game, but both Mercenaries games are great for at least a dozen hours of daft fun.
5. GTFO
Platform(s): PC
You know your friend in Helldivers 2 that shoots patrols halfway across the map for absolutely no reason? Yeah, don’t invite them to play this harrowing co-op shooter.
If Helldivers 2 is the Naked Gun of co-op shooters, then GTFO is the Martyrs of co-op shooters. An unforgiving, brutal time in which you must work together as a team to have any hope of getting out alive, the absolute nutbags who play on Helldive difficulty will find plenty to enjoy/suffer through here.
Parts Rainbow Six Siege, Hunt: Showdown, and Deep Rock Galactic, GTFO sees you creeping around a giant vault while trying not to alert its inhabitants, who all hate that you’re using their oxygen.
Make no mistake, GTFO is absolutely not for everyone, but if you really don’t wanna live forever, you might enjoy suffering through it with your friends. Just be sure to hold the weird alien baby nice and tight.
6. Giants: Citizen Kabuto
Platform(s): PC, PS2
Every single list like this should have at least a single entry that will make 1 out of every 100 people unexpectedly quaffing down the memba berries. Enter one of the most forgotten, underrated sci-fi games of the 2000s.
Part third-person shooter, part-RTS game, Giants: Citizen Kabuto is a wildly ambitious game that sees you playing as one of three different factions on an alien planet: Meccaryns, Sea Reapers, and the titular Kabuto himself. You can probably tell which of these might be able to get a mortgage on Super Earth.
As well as letting you take on giant beasts far greater than yourself alongside teammates (with jetpacks!) in an exotic location, Giants: Citizen Kabuto is also a very funny, goofy game that has tiny aliens doing Scottish accents. That should really be enough to sway you, but how about base-building, multiplayer, and a slice of jet ski racing as well?
Giants: Citizen Kabuto was a bit of a failure, but this was a pioneering game in a lot of ways back in 2000, and one that’s still worth seeking out in 2024.
7. Aliens: Fireteam Elite
Platform(s): PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series, Xbox One
Both Helldivers 2 and Fireteam Elite let you go on bug hunts, but only one of them has ever really managed massive mainstream success. That’s a shame.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite isn’t the greatest or even most polished co-op shooter on the market, but as far as love for the source material goes, it’s quite remarkable what Cold Iron Studios were able to accomplish with the budget they were given.
Much like Helldivers 2, Fireteam Elite sees you playing as a squad in order to co-ordinate against a threat far bigger, far more alien threat than you, a mushy human. If you enjoyed the desperate dying moments of a Helldivers 2 mission in which you fight to extract alive, the majority of Fireteam Elite’s missions are just that the whole way through.
While it’s a lot less nuanced than Helldivers 2, you will still get a kick out of teaming up with friends and cackling maniacally as you light up xenomorph scum with an endless barrage of firepower. Or you could just play with the aggressively stupid bots and empathise with the people who hated the kid in that Spielberg movie.
8. Borderlands 2
Platform(s): PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Switch
Who doesn’t know about Borderlands 2 at this point? Apparently even Cate Blanchett is aware of it, having, you know, agreed to star in a movie adaptation of it that’s definitely going to sweep the Oscars.
Even though Borderlands 3 is the more recent game, Borderlands 2 feels like a much more focused, tighter experience. And, maybe it’s just us, but the crude humor feels a little less like it was written for teenagers with ADHD. A little bit.
A co-op looter shooter that unfortunately provided inspiration for about 1000 different, not quite as good imitators, Borderlands 2 allows up to 4-player co-op as you loot, loot, and loot again while trying not to be charmed by Handsome Jack, one of gaming’s most likeable villains.
Borderlands 2 is a game that can last you for hundreds of hours, especially if you wanna muck around with different builds, styles, and the almost endless amount of loot. Best of all, it’s pretty dang cheap these days, with keys for the games being more common than the amount of team kills in Helldivers 2.
9. Risk of Rain 2
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
If you basically want Helldivers 2 with roguelike elements on the cheap, Risk of Rain 2 is a very good option for you and a few friends.
Instead of landing on hostile planets in order to spread democracy, Risk of Rain 2 asks you to escape from a hostile alien planet in order to try and find your way home. Along the way, you’ll combine all kinds of wild loot and have more fun facing off against intergalactic kaiju than Timothee Chalamet.
Risk of Rain 2 is a game that lasts for as long as you want it to, with you being able to combine all manner of totally broken builds as you face off against more and more total chaos. It even has multiple survivors to play as, each with their own different strengths and weaknesses.
And while playing with friends isn’t quite as tactical or cinematic as it is in Helldivers 2, if you’re looking for something to play that is kinda like 3D Vampire Survivors with friends, you will be dumping dozens of hours into this game.
10. Starship Troopers: Extermination
Platform(s): PC
You really just have to feel a little bit bad for the actual Starship Troopers game that came out in 2023. While Helldivers 2 is very much a satire riffing off a satire, the biggest satire here is Extermination not even managing a quarter of its fanbase.
Switching the perspective from third to first-person, Extermination tasks you with taking back Planet Valaka from the bugs, one Morita clip at a time. You can even build bases across the game’s massive map, with equally massive hordes coming to take your liberty away.
While the actual shooting feels a little flimsy at times, and there’s a lot less spectacle compared to Helldivers 2, Starship Troopers: Extermination has some clear love for its source material, with multiple classes and gear unlocks helping you to find some variety as you battle for Valaka with up to 16 of your fellow apes.
If you would like to know more, Extermination is currently in Early Access on Steam, with plenty of fairly regular updates.
Helldivers 2 is available now on PC and PS5.
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