How Helldivers 2 Can Mix Up Its Approach to NPC Storytelling (2024)

In Helldivers 2, players can do several things before joining their companions in the fight for Super Earth. They can change their Super Destroyer's name, purchase and equip different weapons, and talk to the ship's NPC staff to learn more about how humanity lives under managed democracy. While the characters aboard do share interesting tidbits, more can be done with them to teach players about the overall plot.

Once newcomers in Helldivers 2 have finished the tutorial sequence, they are given their own Super Destroyer and crew. While most jump straight toward choosing a mission and facing off alien threats, some take the time to go over their ship's crewmates. Each one has interesting pieces of dialogue, but all of them share the opinion that humanity's fight for managed democracy is nothing but a positive. Showing only one perspective about the war can work against the game's intrigue over its lore. With the way NPCs are currently handled, more can be done with them to interest players in learning about the game's narrative.

A player's Super Destroyer is essentially the central hub that allows for things like unlocking new ship modules, choosing mission types, and so on. Those who decide to roam around the ship will discover the following NPCs whom they can converse with:

• The Ship Master standing in the middle of the ship
• The Service Technician standing by the Engineering Bay
• The Democracy Officer standing by the war table

The more players choose to talk to them, the more dialogue they will produce concerning the war efforts and how the player's actions can contribute to it. While the three occasionally share pieces of information that could intrigue the player into the game's lore, it requires the player to exhaust their numerous lines of dialogue. Even if the player chooses to do so, the single viewpoint they share makes them feel almost identical, with very little differentiating them. Providing them with more unique experience and perspectives that change with certain updates can turn them into compelling characters with their own developing story.

Getting Helldivers to Learn More About Why They’re Fighting

Although Helldivers complete major orders for the sake of Super Earth, the deeper reasons why they must be done are usually lost. Players see them as tasks to complete for more rewards but might be unaware of the history that required the completion of these missions in the first place. The NPCs aboard the ship may provide a few reasons that explain why players must fight, but they only focus on humanity's side and its fight to reclaim colonized worlds. Rather than just being optional background characters to ignore, these crewmates have the potential to play a bigger role in sharing information and intriguing players into learning about the game's plot.

Arrowhead Game Studios can use the Super Destroyer to develop NPCs that have more information and a different perspective on the war. They can come in the form of military or government officials of Super Earth who occasionally visit the player's ship to provide new insights and explain the events that led to the war for managed democracy. These new characters can also respond to in-game events, such as when players fail to complete the most recent major order in Helldivers 2, to point out the consequences of humanity's fight. This can attract players to learn more about their directives and the implications of their actions.

While Helldivers 2 updates address balance changes that affect gameplay, future ones can try adding or modifying NPCs to make the in-game plot more appealing. Making memorable characters that help in telling a compelling plot is one way of ensuring that players remain interested in the game.

Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 is a third-person cooperative shooter developed by Arrowhead Games Studios for the PC and PlayStation 5 where players take control of a Helldiver set to protect the citizens of Super Earth by traveling to hostile alien worlds and destroying threats. Players undergo missions, defeat enemies, and use special items called Stratagems to help turn the tide of battle in this punishing release.

Franchise

Helldivers

Platform(s)

PC , PS5

Released

February 8, 2024

Developer(s)

Arrowhead Game Studios

Publisher(s)

Sony

Genre(s)

Shooter

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence

Metascore

83

Platforms That Support Crossplay

PC & PS5

Number of Players

1-4

PS Plus Availability

N/A

$40 at AmazonSee at Playstation StoreSee at Steam

See Also

Helldivers 2 patch 1.000.400 is a big buffing balance update | TheSixthAxis