And yes, while you can get the premium pass for free, it is a super long grind, so you'll be stuck at a wall grinding on Extreme or Hard difficulty before you can get the right weapons to proceed.

And that’s not all: each Warbond is not time-limited! Once you buy it, you’re free to go ahead and reap its rewards whenever you like.

Despite the blurry image, the 60fps performance mode is the place to be - it's mostly at the target, dropping into the 50s in the heavier scenes. The 30fps quality mode is OK, but prone to frame-pacing problems and the occasional, genuine drop beneath the performance target.

Embark on a range of different missions, from taking down high value targets or launching missiles to strike the heart of enemy strongholds. While fighting on the frontlines, keep your eyes open for potential resources and intel to bring back to Super Earth researchers.

One of the most interesting aspects is that mission progress is something the entire player base works toward together. Each of these hostile planets comes with a percentage meter that ticks further toward “liberation” every time a real-life squad completes a mission there. Once the planet is liberated, everyone unlocks new areas and missions.

So whether you're jumping into your Hellpod for the first time or you've already taken down an onslaught of Terminids and Automatons, here are our tips and tricks to get you started in Helldivers 2.

A primitive actualization of barbarity, the Berserker has CPUs in each chainsaw that are programmed to solve one problem: closing the space between saw and target as quickly as possible. Devastator

The various settings options mostly speak for themselves. There are two options of note though. The volumetric fog option seems to alter the resolution of the volumetric lighting in general, with lower resolution results at lower settings, while the anti-aliasing toggle actually does work properly on PC, completely turning off any AA treatment. It's weird that this setting doesn't do anything on PS5 but at least it functions as described on PC. However, the lack of any form of reconstruction option such as DLSS, XeSS or even FSR 2 is a real shame. Instead, a simple spatial upscaler is used, which bears the hallmarks of the OG FSR, just like PS5. Unfortunately, the unexciting visual settings do mean that the upgrades over PS5 aren't as large as you Helldivers 2 Gameplay might expect. There's little difference between the PC at max settings at 4K and the PS5 in its quality mode, absent some slightly higher resolution shadows and a bit of a cleaner image. It still doesn't provide a pristine image though and aliasing remains a significant problem.

A side effect of Terminid gene splicing research, Stalkers can camouflage themselves almost to the point of invisibility. But nothing can hide from the cleansing light of Freedom forever. Bile Spewer

They really leaned into the parody of enlistment and military media, from the music and the dialogue. Weirdly enough, it does make me feel patriotic. Sound effects from the weapons and the enemies are great to say the least, and even elevates the experience.

Performance vs quality mode on PlayStation 5. Essentially it's a choice between an uneven 30fps at 1728p or a relatively solid 60fps at 1080p, with both seemingly combining TAA with FSR 1-style upscaling to a 2160p/4K output.

Your strategy also depends on which mission you’re taking on, and you do need to consider your armor alongside your weapons. As stated in the co-op and combat trailer, each mission will require specific load-outs which are worth considering, so you’ll need to get really familiar with your available equipment in order to successfully take down any larger enemies.

As a multiplayer experience, I think Helldivers 2 hits all the right notes. The gameplay basics are fun and the open-ended environments give you a fair amount of flexibility in how to tackle each objective. It seems like quite a tactical game too, though the need for advanced strategies wasn't too pressing at the lower difficulties I had the time to unlock. It doesn't seem terrifically complicated, nor does it come packaged with the kind of comprehensive content package that modern players often expect, but I think those omissions are more than forgivable at its asking price. The special abilities the game provides, combined with friendly fire (which is enabled at all times) is a recipe for a lot of squad-based fun with friends. There are echoes of other PvE shooters here - namely of the extraction shooter variety, though Mass Effect 3's multiplayer also came to mind - but this game seems more oriented around having fun than creating a tightly crafted competitive experience.

Helldivers 2 is a third-person sci-fi co-op shooter developed by Arrowhead Studios. Players will become a Helldiver in the name of exploring the galaxy and reclaiming planets that have fallen under enemy control back into the Super Earth coalition.