Freedom. Peace. Managed Democracy. Your Super Earth-born rights. The key pillars of our civilization. These are under attack from deadly alien civilizations, conspiring to destroy the Super Earth and its values.

You’ll step into the boots of an elite class of soldiers whose mission is to spread peace, liberty, and Managed Democracy using the biggest, baddest, and most explosive tools in the galaxy. Team up with up to four friends and wreak havoc on the alien scourge that threatens the safety of your home, Super Earth.

The Helldivers must take on the role of galactic peacekeepers in this Galactic War and protect their home planet, spread the message of Democracy, and liberate the hostiles by force.

We don’t send our Helldivers planet side without proper back up, but it’s up to you to decide how and when to call it in. Not only will you have a host of superpowered primary weapons and customizable loadouts, you also have the ability to call on stratagems during play.

In the heat of the battle and your squad needs to take out a massive onslaught of Terminids in one go? You can have an Eagle drop a 500KG bomb,leaving behind only liberated bug corpses. Need to lay down a defensive perimeter? You can call for the Anti-Personnel Mine Deployer to layer the battlefield with deadly mines.

A few days ago Sony and developer Arrowhead surprised PC users with the announcement that on May 6th Helldivers II would require a PSN account as a mandatory linking requirements for Steam accounts

"Due to technical issues at the launch of HELLDIVERS 2, we allowed the linking requirements for Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account to be temporarily optional. That grace period will now expire. See details below in this post.

Account linking plays a critical role in protecting our players and upholding the values of safety and security provided on PlayStation and PlayStation Studios games. This is our main way to protect players from griefing and abuse by enabling the banning of players that engage in that type of behaviour. It also allows those players that have been banned the right to appeal.

As such, as of May 6th, all new HELLDIVERS 2 players on Steam will be required to connect their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account. Current players on Steam will start to see the mandatory login from May 30th and will be required to have linked a Steam and PlayStation Network account by June 4th."

That immediately caused a revolt by PC players which predictably resulted review bombing the game on Steam.

In addition, the mandatory PSN requirement also meant that players in more than 170 countries (where PSN is not operational) would no longer be able to play the game.

As a result Valve started offering refunds beyond the customary 2 day limit.

Due to the backlash Sony has now reversed course: 

"Helldivers fans -- we’ve heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking update. The May 6 update, which would have required Steam and PlayStation Network account linking for new players and for current players beginning May 30, will not be moving forward.

We’re still learning what is best for PC players and your feedback has been invaluable. Thanks again for your continued support of Helldivers 2 and we’ll keep you updated on future plans."

Players can decide how to take down each enemy surge using a multitude of offensive and defensive tools. As you complete missions, you’ll be able to upgrade your ship and build an even more impressive arsenal. Everything from shield generators to turrets to large-scale airstrikes can be used to give your team the upper hand.

They say everything is better with friends. Especially when it comes to raining destruction down on the enemies of Liberty. True to our co-op roots at Arrowhead, we’ve made sure Helldivers 2has our best cooperative gameplay yet. Collaboration will be vital: teams will synergize on loadouts, strategize their approach for each mission, and complete objectives together.

But for maximum challenge and collaboration, friendly fire is always on. Communicate with your squad mates and make sure those stray bullets and mines take down the real adversaries. Remember that you will return home celebrated as heroes, whether you’re dead or alive.

Helldivers II is available for PS5 and PC (Steam).