Last year, Arrowhead's *Helldivers 2* became a standout hit in the multiplayer gaming world, captivating players with its mission to spread democracy by battling aliens and robots with an arsenal of bullets. Now, following their successful adaptation of *Elden Ring* into a board game, Steamforged Games is bringing the fast-paced, frenetic action of *Helldivers 2* to the tabletop. The board game is currently available for backing on Gamefound. IGN had the opportunity to play a prototype and discuss the game with designers Jamie Perkins, Derek Funkhouser, and Nicholas Yu, exploring how this new adaptation brings the video game experience to life.
Helldivers 2: The Board Game
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Development of Helldivers 2: The Board Game began shortly after the video game's release last year. This adaptation successfully captures the essence of the video game, including tense firefights, chaotic surprises, and the emphasis on teamwork, while introducing unique tweaks to enhance the tabletop experience.
Helldivers 2 remains a cooperative, objective-based skirmish game for one to four players. The designers recommend solo players control two characters to enhance the experience. Each player selects a different class of Helldiver, each with a unique perk, a set of action cards, and a powerful one-per-game "Act of Valor" ability. The demo featured the Heavy, Sniper, Pyro, and Captain classes. Players equip themselves with a kit including primary, secondary, and support weapons, a grenade, and three strategems, with a recommended loadout on their class card, though experienced players can customize before the game starts.
Gameplay unfolds on grid-based boards that expand as players explore, revealing sub-objectives and primary mission locations, such as Terminid hatcheries in the prototype. As players progress, increasingly difficult enemies spawn, and a mission timer adds urgency, maintaining the frenetic and tense atmosphere of Helldivers.
The prototype focused on destroying Terminid hatcheries, but the final release will include various objectives. The base game features two main factions, the Terminids and the robotic Automatons, each with 10 unit types. While not confirmed, future expansions might introduce the Illuminate faction, a common approach for Steamforged Games through their campaign stretch goals.
A key aspect of Helldivers 2 is the feeling of being overwhelmed by enemies. Unlike games like Zombicide, which rely on sheer numbers, Helldivers 2 opts for a more tactical approach with fewer, stronger enemies that become progressively more challenging as the mission progresses.
Turns involve players and enemies adding action cards to a pool, which are shuffled and placed on an initiative tracker similar to Steamforged's Elden Ring game. Combat is dice-based, with weapons determining the type and number of dice rolled, and damage calculated from the total roll value. For every five points, an enemy receives a wound, simplifying the combat system to focus on damage rather than hit chances or modifiers.
A novel feature in the board game is the 'Massed Fire' mechanic, which encourages teamwork by allowing players to combine their firepower on a single target if within range of each other's primary or secondary weapons. This mechanic not only fosters cooperation but also reduces player downtime by engaging players during others' turns.
Enemy attacks are straightforward, with set damage or effects causing players to draw wound cards. Each wound imposes a detrimental effect, and three wounds result in a character's death. However, players can respawn with a full loadout based on the chosen difficulty level.
One element from the video game not included in the board game is the galactic war. The designers chose to omit this to ensure the board game feels unique and not merely a direct adaptation. Jamie Perkins shared an intriguing piece of lore, positioning the board game as a training simulation for Helldivers, adding depth to the game's narrative.
The designers, Nic, Jamie, and Derek, have focused on maintaining the essence of Helldivers despite the different medium. They aimed to keep the unexpected events, the potential for stratagems to misfire, and the dwindling pool of reinforcements that define the Helldivers experience.
Currently, the game's core mechanics are around 75-80% finalized, allowing flexibility for community feedback and potential balance adjustments. Despite recent concerns about tariffs affecting the board gaming industry, Jamie assures that their plans for Helldivers 2: The Board Game remain on track.
After playing the prototype, the systems in place, such as random events and the Massed Fire mechanic, promise epic moments. However, the desire for more smaller enemies to shoot and a more dynamic enemy attack system remains. The anticipation for new classes, game types, and combinations with different enemies and biomes is high, and the question on everyone's mind is, "Where are we dropping next?"
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