Helldivers 2 is currently THE hottest co-op shooter on Steam and PlayStation 5. This is not only due to the constant action and fun battles, but also to the humor of the title. Now the CEO of the development studio has explained how the concept behind the game’s humor came about.
What does the boss say about the humor? In a post on He played these for years and saw how the players repeatedly managed to “turn everything into a farce”.
The concept comes from my years of playing P&P RPGs where players manage to turn everything into a farce. Whether it’s Cthulhu or D&D, it always ends with us crying with laughter.
Arrowhead CEO Johann Pilestedt via X.com
In the comments under the post, a player of the shooter wrote that he was glad that Helldivers 2 didn’t overdo it with the comedy bits, since it is actually a “serious universe”. He also likes the fact that the comedy moments arise primarily from the actions of the players (via X.com).
Pilestedt then responded to The humor comes from the contrast between claiming to be an elite soldier and what actually happens in the game. If everything was silly, nothing would be silly.”
The trailer for Helldivers 2 already gives a foretaste of the game’s humor:
Helldivers 2 Announce Trailer PS5 PC
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How does the game’s humor work? Whether it’s the absurd sayings about spreading peace, freedom and democracy, or the strange ragdoll moves of the elite soldiers who are thrown through the air by explosions from their own orbital attacks – the players always have something to laugh about in Helldivers 2 .
The humor in Helldivers 2 is not based on jokes that could come from a stand-up comedy performance, as Pilestedt also makes clear in his statement. Instead, the characters’ serious attitude to life is exaggerated and portrayed nonsensically. At the forefront of humor is spreading peace by letting players rain rockets from the sky.
Overall, the humor is based on the actions of the players. Because you are serious elite soldiers with a serious goal, but only nonsense happens on the battlefield.
The humor is reinforced by the serious setting: after all, you have to fight evil robots and huge beetles in order to protect people. The fact that the whole game seems like a parody of political events due to the contrast between the serious setting and the absurd humor is something that many players like.
The humor of the co-op shooter is one of the aspects that many players like about Helldivers 2. MeinMMO editor Dariusz Müller is also impressed by the absurd sayings and the strange situations that the game offers. For him, humor is one of 5 reasons that make Helldivers 2 so good: Helldivers 2 is a surprise hit on PS5 and Steam – 5 reasons that make the shooter so good