Helldivers 2 Board Game: Exclusive Preview

Last year's breakout hit in the multiplayer gaming world, Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2, captivated players with its mission to spread democracy across the galaxy through intense firefights with aliens and robots. 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, and IGN had the opportunity to experience a prototype firsthand and discuss the project with designers Jamie Perkins, Derek Funkhouser, and Nicholas Yu.

Helldivers 2: The Board Game

17 ImagesDevelopment of Helldivers 2: The Board Game began shortly after the video game's launch, aiming to encapsulate the excitement and popularity of the original. It offers players a cooperative, objective-based skirmish experience that retains the video game's tense battles, chaotic surprises, and emphasis on teamwork, while introducing unique tweaks to enhance the tabletop experience.

Helldivers 2 remains a cooperative game for one to four players (solo players are recommended to control two characters) focused on completing objectives and surviving enemy onslaughts. Each player assumes the role of a Helldiver class with distinct perks, action cards, and a one-use-per-game "Act of Valor" ability. The prototype featured classes such as Heavy, Sniper, Pyro, and Captain, each equipped with a customizable kit including primary, secondary, and support weapons, grenades, and three strategems.

Gameplay unfolds on grid-based boards that expand as players explore, revealing sub-objectives and primary mission locations. In the prototype, the objective was to destroy Terminid hatcheries, but the final release will include multiple mission types. The game features two main enemy factions, the Terminids and the robotic Automatons, each with 10 unit types. While not confirmed, expansions may introduce the Illuminate faction.

A key aspect of the adaptation is managing the feeling of being overwhelmed and outnumbered. Helldivers 2 opts for a tactical approach with progressively tougher enemies, rather than sheer numbers. 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 resolved with dice rolls, and every four action cards played trigger a random event, adding unpredictability and excitement.

Combat for Helldivers is straightforward, with each weapon determining the type and number of dice to roll, and damage calculated from the total roll value. Every five points inflicts one wound on an enemy. This system avoids complex modifiers and ensures that Helldivers always hit their targets, with the only variable being the damage dealt. Friendly fire can occur, especially with area attacks, adding strategic depth and tension.

The 'Massed Fire' mechanic is a new feature the designers are proud of, encouraging teamwork by allowing players to combine their firepower against a single target, simulating the video game's cooperative shooting dynamics. This mechanic not only promotes group play but also reduces player downtime by allowing participation during others' turns.

“In the video game, obviously, you're encouraged to work together as a team," Nic explained. "You have a heavily armored armor enemy, you need to kind of 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 to lot of facing and armor mechanics. So what we implemented was we called 'massed fire,' so when anyone shoots at a target, if that's within range of another helldivers primary, secondary target, they can also focus far with you at that time, and so you're kind of explicitly rewarded or incentivized to work as a group.”

While enemies have simpler mechanics, causing set damage or effects, players can draw wound cards with detrimental effects. Three wounds result in character death, but players can respawn with full resources based on the chosen difficulty level.

One element not included in the board game is the galactic war feature from the video game, as Arrowhead wanted the tabletop version to feel distinct. Jamie shared an interesting piece of lore: the board game is positioned as a training simulation for Helldivers, enhancing the immersive experience.

The designers emphasized maintaining the essence of Helldivers despite the new medium. Nic noted, “We wanted to make sure that even though 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,” while 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.”

The game's core mechanics are about 75-80% finalized, allowing for community feedback and potential adjustments. Despite recent concerns about tariffs affecting the board gaming industry, Jamie assured that Steamforged Games will continue as planned, with the studio prepared to make any necessary adjustments.

After playing the prototype, the systems in place are enjoyable, particularly the random events and the Massed Fire mechanic, which lead to epic moments. However, while appreciating the tactical focus on larger, more formidable enemies, I wish there were more smaller enemies to engage with, mirroring my preference for the video game's action. Additionally, enemy attacks could benefit from more variability to match the game's chaotic nature.

I'm excited to see what further surprises Steamforged Games has planned for Helldivers 2. The prototype has left me eager to explore new classes, mission types, and enemy combinations. My friends and I are already asking: Where are we dropping next?

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