Game of the Year: #9 - Helldivers 2 1
Image: Push Square

Helldivers 2 is one of the biggest surprises of 2024. Not one of us here at Push Square could have quite predicted how the game would take off, and even weeks before its launch, the buzz around it all seemed minimal. But once that now iconic, meme-able gameplay started to spread across the web, it was clear that Arrowhead Studios was onto something special.

With teams of four dropping into bug, robot, and now alien infested planets, the premise and basic gameplay loop of Helldivers 2 isn’t really anything special. You transport boxes, capture areas, and input simple commands into terminals, before calling a shuttle and getting the hell out of dodge. But Arrowhead applies that magic sauce to the whole gameplay experience.

Players are bombarded with the most manic waves of enemies, meaning any simple task that must be completed becomes an explosive fight for survival. The ingenious use of directional commands to call down the game-changing stratagems might seem quite simple, but in the heat of battle it's easy to lose your head.

Dialling up the difficulty and throwing enemy after enemy your way is one part of Helldivers' magic, but another is its ability to balance the cinematic with the hilarious. Playing with your other friends, the action can become quite chaotic and frequently you’ll encounter clippable moments where, for example, 500kg bombs obliterate bile titans and send your cape heroically flapping in the wind. But even better is when that same bomb decimates your team and sends you ragdolling across the map.

There’s something special about that balancing act, making you feel equally cool and idiotic. It’s a potent mix that cements Helldivers 2 as some of the best fun you can have with mates on PS5, and one of the greatest co-op experiences to bless gaming.

Push Square's Game of the Year top 10 is decided by votes coming from internal staff and regular contributors. Our community Game of the Year poll also factors into the result. Feel free to agree or disagree with our list in the comments section below.

You can check out all of our Game of the Year coverage by clicking the link.

Do you agree with Helldivers 2 being our #9 Game of the Year? (582 votes)

  1. Absolutely, it's in the right spot%
  2. It should be higher on the list%
  3. It should be lower on the list%
  4. It shouldn't even be on the list%
  5. I don't know / I haven't played it%