Shacknews Best Co-Op Game of 2024 - Helldivers 2

Bullets. Bombs. Baddies. Buddies. Add them all together and you get Helldivers 2, the best cooperative game to release this year.

While there is always room for well-crafted, singleplayer narrative experiences, some of the most memorable moments in gaming come from the times when you’re laughing with friends. Helldivers 2 delivers the ultimate co-op experience, offering players the perfect sandbox in which to experience intense highs and devastating lows. These peaks and valleys are all punctuated by raucous laughter, as you end up on the receiving end of an ally’s wayward grenade, apologizing for an errant 500KG bomb, or cheering on the last man alive in a nigh unwinnable situation.

From the creative minds at Arrowhead Game Studios comes Helldivers 2. This direct sequel to the cult-hit Helldivers ups the ante of an already stellar co-op experience. The sequel trades the top-down isometric view for a third-person perspective, offering a more engrossing and immersive angle on the carnage. Now, instead of being able to see all angles, you’ll rely far more on your teammate’s keeping an eye on your six or being aware of developing situations on the other side of a base.

Right off the rip, Helldivers 2 is clearly designed around four players. Four droppods await your friends around the central map, which has four active points for players to peruse the lucky world in need of liberation. You’ll gear up with your friends, strategizing who will bring what and where you should focus your efforts first.

But the relative quiet of the bridge is quickly blasted away after you land. Once your boots hit the ground, the bombastic co-op experience shines bright in all of its glory. Waves of bug-like Terminids will wash over your group or you’ll flee together from a band of terminator-like Automatons.

There’s a raw energy that courses through the whole game as you hunker down with your squad and obliterate the enemies of Super Earth with overwhelming firepower and ordnance. The pure co-op joy comes when success is teetering in the balance. You’ll be shouting callouts over comms while one player tries to bash in the resupply inputs to request ammo as another tries to hold an objective – all the while a Bile Titan tries to melt you down into puddles.

Anyone that’s spent even a minute in Helldivers 2 this year can attest to the thrill of playing this game with a bunch of friends. It harkens back to the days of sitting on a couch, laughing with your mates as you play video games. But instead of crushing each other, you’re crushing the foes of Super Earth in the greatest cooperative experience released this year. Congratulations to Helldivers 2 for winning the Shacknews Best Co-Op Game of 2024 award.

Be sure to read over the rest of the Shacknews Awards in our Year of the Games: 2024 feature.