Why Helldivers Is Terrible at Democracy.
Helldivers is a game that manages to present itself with a facade of a stern face to veil its parody of western democracy despite flaunting in its utter ridiculousness without fault. From the game’s own factions to the brief dialogue of player characters, Helldivers is suffused with hilariously warped caricatures of stereotypical American ideals of democracy and freedom, some of which manage to (embarrassingly) hit home despite the comedic tone.
In terms of gameplay, Helldivers is a science fiction, twin-stick isometric shooter in which players take the role of a space marine serving under the flag of the human coalition of ‘super earth’, for one simple purpose: to deliver liberty and democracy to foreign worlds.
The game is heavily cooperative, encouraging players to team up to a maximum of four players, as they set out across the galaxy- often resulting in nothing short of hilarious bouts of accidental friendly fire and miscommunication. Different planets host different missions, each with a number of objectives ranging from escorting civilians and clearing minefields, to nuking alien hives and assassinating dangerous targets. After completing all the objectives, players must call for transport and stand off against waves of enemy forces until they can be evacuated. Completing missions rewards the faction of Super Earth with ‘Influence Points’, which serve as a representative of Super Earth’s efforts in the war against the three obviously evil enemy factions: The vile Bugs, the mysterious Illuminate, and the evil Cyborgs. So basically, the three main factions from Blizzard’s Starcraft games.
Much like Arrowhead’s other game Magicka, Helldivers is a game whose structure often serves as a platform for ridiculous interactions between the environment and the players, or among players themselves. Though unlike Magicka, where the story was intentionally written as to highlight its particular goofiness, Helldivers takes a slightly subtler approach to more specific satires of real life themes. Though, being subtler in that respect doesn’t necessarily mean it’s masterfully hidden.
Subtlety (Or Lack Thereof)
For one, the gameplay itself already serves to set a tone in which the player is more susceptible to taking this narrative as a not entirely serious experience. During combat, soldiers will shout taglines at their enemies, such as: “For democracy!” or “How about a nice cup of liber-tea?”. Not to mention, soldiers are completely expendable. If a teammate dies, you can simply call reinforcements and a new soldier will drop into the battlefield in a matter of seconds. Just as easy as buying soda from a vending machine, and just as fast, too.
Though, the same goes for the opposite. The gameplay also serves to give the player an impressions that the game takes itself seriously to at least some degree, by having stern faced dialogue, characters that take themselves seriously, and frankly intense action at times.
Democracy (Or Again, Lack Thereof)
The game’s main underlying message, is not so underlying. Hell, it’s in the name of its first expansion, entitled: Helldivers , Democracy Strikes Back. The game is about Democracy, if you couldn’t tell. Let’s unpack that.
Players take the role of soldiers serving ‘Super Earth’. That much has already been established. But what the game refuses to outwardly tell you, is what exactly Super Earth is. Super Earth is the collective coalition of humans, strictly subservient to the rule of liberty and freedom.
This coalition of ‘freedom’ constantly bombards its citizens with oppressive laws and incredibly strict routines, displayed via small federation newsflashes available to players when in their ships. This dichotomy of order and freedom is meant as a tongue-in-cheek approach to display to the players the difference of ideal and the execution, and how complacency plays a key role in the process.
Super Earth is in a constant state of struggle and war against three other factions, and players are not only completely denied the (freedom of) choice of joining any faction, but also serve as the only force pushing forth the presence of Super Earth across the galaxy, under the banner of liberty. Not once, do characters question the integrity of their definition of democracy- because ironically, they don’t have a say in it- as a matter of fact, one of the tidbits of Super Earth propaganda the game gives you, is about how the election process consists of a computer AI that votes for you, based on what preferences the computer system knows you would like. Funny how that works.
Really, the soldiers’ blind zeal is the only thing keeping this war effort afloat- and it works marvelously. That’s because as serious and dedicated these characters carry themselves in dialogue and lore, they act like trigger-happy morons. And that’s exactly the role players take in this game. Every problem or obstacle that poses itself in Super Earth’s way must be taken care of by the players, as they are the very emissaries of liberty. In what manner, you may ask? Through the only way this well-oiled democratic machine knows how: extreme firepower.
Super Earth only really functions by being the pure antithesis of democracy, and players are forced to let that take an unwitting backseat to the gameplay, much like the soldiers are expected to throw their lives away while being complacent to the scheme of the institution.
The secret of the game’s message, however, is that complacency can happen subconsciously. As a player, I didn’t pay mind to the true schemes of Super Earth, because I was involved in the satire. The game managed to feel like a legitimate challenge and enjoyable experience as opposed to a goofy shooter among friends. The harder the missions are, the more tactical they became, and soon enough I found myself becoming genuinely invested not in the comedy but in the action of the game. I had become focused on completing my task like a cool space marine, and the game was no longer tinged in political commentary. The message was still there, but it no longer affected the way I saw the game.
Helldivers is terrible at democracy but it is also a terribly fun game, and that is how it subconsciously drags you into its being part of its undertones.
