Last year's multiplayer gaming scene saw a remarkable success with Arrowhead's *Helldivers 2*, a game that combined shooting aliens and robots with a mission to spread democracy across the galaxy. Now, following their impressive adaptation of *Elden Ring* into a board game, Steamforged Games is bringing the fast-paced, frenetic experience of *Helldivers 2* to the tabletop. The *Helldivers 2* board game is currently available for backing on Gamefound. IGN had the opportunity to test a prototype and discuss the game with designers Jamie Perkins, Derek Funkhouser, and Nicholas Yu.
Helldivers 2: The Board Game
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Developed shortly after the launch of the video game, Helldivers 2: The Board Game captures the essence of what made the original game so popular and exciting. It recreates the tense firefights, chaotic surprises, and team-centric gameplay, while introducing unique tweaks to the formula.
Helldivers 2 remains a cooperative, objective-based skirmish game where one to four players (solo players are advised to control two characters) collaborate to complete missions while fending off waves of enemies and unexpected events. Each player assumes the role of a distinct Helldiver class, equipped with a unique perk, a set of action cards, and a one-per-game "Act of Valor" ability. The demo featured classes like the Heavy, Sniper, Pyro, and the Captain. Players customize their kits with primary, secondary, and support weapons, grenades, and three strategems, with recommended loadouts provided on class cards, though experienced players can choose their own.
Gameplay unfolds on grid-based boards that expand as players explore, unveiling 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, keeping games tense and frenetic.
The prototype focused on destroying Terminid hatcheries, but the final release will offer multiple objectives. The base game will feature two main factions: Terminids and robotic Automatons, each with 10 unit types. While not confirmed, there's a possibility that the Illuminate faction could be added through an expansion, given Steamforged Games' history with stretch goals.
One of the key aspects of the adaptation is how it handles the feeling of being overwhelmed and outnumbered. Instead of using sheer numbers like in Zombicide, Helldivers 2 opts for fewer, stronger enemies, emphasizing tactical close-up combat as missions progress.
Turns involve players and enemies adding action cards to a pool, which are shuffled and placed onto an initiative tracker, similar to Steamforged’s Elden Ring game. Combat is resolved with dice rolls, and for every four action cards played, a random event occurs, often disrupting plans and adding to the game's chaotic nature.
Combat for Helldivers is streamlined with dice rolls, where each weapon specifies the type and number of dice to roll. Damage is calculated based on the total value of the roll, with every five points inflicting a wound on an enemy. This approach simplifies combat, ensuring players always hit, though friendly fire remains a risk.
A unique feature of the board game is the 'Massed Fire' mechanic, designed to replicate the video game's team-based shooting dynamics. Nicholas Yu explained, "In the video game, obviously, you're encouraged to work together as a team. You have a heavily armored enemy, you need to flank around and shoot at the weak points if you don't have a support weapon to deal with it. But there wasn't a really good way to do that in a board game without going into a lot of facing and armor mechanics. So what we implemented was 'massed fire,' so when anyone shoots at a target, if that's within range of another Helldiver's primary or secondary weapon, they can also fire at that time, explicitly rewarding or incentivizing teamwork."
Players can choose to go solo, but the 'Massed Fire' mechanic reduces downtime and encourages group play. Enemies, on the other hand, have straightforward effects, causing players to draw wound cards, each imposing a negative effect. A player with three wounds dies but can respawn depending on the chosen difficulty, returning with a full loadout.
One aspect of the Helldivers 2 video game that didn't make it into the board game is the galactic war. The designers aimed to create a unique experience, and Jamie Perkins shared a fun piece of lore: "We're positioning it effectively as a training simulation. So you would get this board game as a Helldiver as a training simulation to learn how to be a better Helldiver."
The design team, consisting of Nic, Jamie, and Derek, has focused on ensuring the board game retains the feel of Helldivers, despite the new medium. Nic emphasized, "We wanted to make sure that even though it had different mechanics, it felt like Helldivers – like we want to have unexpected things that you have to deal with from turn to turn. We want to have stratagems that could go awry and actually blow up your friends in addition to the enemies. The pool of reinforcements that dwindles as you go through the game and calling in stratagems, those are things that feel uniquely Helldivers." Derek added, "We knew we needed to keep the core loop of what Helldivers is with the mission objectives, and just being able to chase the shiny, right? We've got points of interest and sub-objectives and the objectives to uncover and find, while also having to deal with enemies that are, you know, trying to eat you."
Currently, the core mechanics are about 75-80% finalized, allowing room for community feedback and potential adjustments. Despite recent concerns about tariffs affecting the board gaming industry, Jamie reassured that their plans remain unchanged, with the studio prepared to make necessary adjustments if needed.
After playing the prototype, the systems in place, such as random events and the 'Massed Fire' mechanic, create memorable moments. However, while the tactical focus with larger, tougher enemies is appreciated, more smaller enemies to quickly dispatch could enhance the experience. Enemy attacks currently feel static, and introducing varied outcomes via dice rolls could add more chaos to match the rest of the game.
Looking forward, there's excitement about what else Steamforged Games has in store for Helldivers 2. New classes, game types, and combinations with different enemies and biomes are eagerly anticipated. The question on everyone's mind is: Where are we dropping next?
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