Home News Helldivers 2 Board Game: First Impressions

Helldivers 2 Board Game: First Impressions

Author : Hazel Update : Apr 25,2025

Last year, Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 became a standout hit in the multiplayer gaming world, captivating players with its mission to spread democracy through intense combat against aliens and robots. Now, following their successful adaptation of Elden Ring into a board game, Steamforged Games is bringing the fast-paced, frenetic experience of Helldivers 2 to the tabletop. The board game is now available for backing on Gamefound. IGN had the opportunity to play a prototype and discuss it with designers Jamie Perkins, Derek Funkhouser, and Nicholas Yu.

Helldivers 2: The Board Game

17 ImagesDeveloped shortly after the video game's launch, Helldivers 2: The Board Game successfully captures the essence of what made the original so thrilling. It recreates the tense firefights, chaotic surprises, and cooperative gameplay while introducing unique twists to the formula.

Helldivers 2 remains a cooperative, objective-based skirmish game for one to four players (with a recommendation for solo players to use two characters). Players assume different Helldiver classes, each with a unique perk, a set of action cards, and a powerful "Act of Valor" ability usable once per game. The demo featured the Heavy, Sniper, Pyro, and Captain classes. Players equip themselves with a kit including primary, secondary, and support weapons, a grenade, and three strategems, with suggested loadouts provided on their class cards, although players can customize once familiar with the game.

Gameplay occurs on grid-based boards that expand as players explore, revealing sub-objectives and primary mission locations, such as Terminid hatcheries in the prototype. As the game progresses, more challenging enemies spawn, and a mission timer adds pressure, keeping the gameplay intense and engaging.

The prototype focused on destroying Terminid hatcheries, but the final release will include multiple objectives. Jamie Perkins confirmed the base game will feature two of the three main factions—the Terminids and the robotic Automatons—each with 10 unit types. While not confirmed, there's potential for the Illuminate faction to appear in future expansions.

One of the intriguing aspects of adapting the video game to a board game was managing the feeling of being overwhelmed. Helldivers 2 opts for fewer, stronger enemies, promoting tactical, close-up combat as missions progress.

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 relies on dice rolls, with a unique twist: every four action cards played trigger a random event, often disrupting plans and adding excitement.

Combat for Helldivers is straightforward, with each weapon providing specific dice to roll, and damage dealt based on the total value, with one wound inflicted for every five points. This system simplifies combat, focusing on the impact rather than complex modifiers. Friendly fire is a risk, adding strategic depth, but reinforcements are available.

A standout feature is the 'Massed Fire' mechanic, designed to mimic the video game's teamwork. Nic Yu explained, "In the video game, you're encouraged to work together as a team... What we implemented was 'massed fire,' so when anyone shoots at a target, if that's within range of another helldivers primary, secondary target, they can also focus fire with you at that time, explicitly rewarding teamwork."

While players can explore independently, the 'Massed Fire' mechanic encourages collaboration and reduces downtime by allowing players to participate during others' turns.

Enemy actions are more straightforward, with set damage or effects causing players to draw wound cards. Each wound has a detrimental effect, and three wounds result in character death. However, players can respawn based on chosen difficulty, restoring their full loadout.

One aspect not translated from the video game is the galactic war, omitted to make the board game unique. Jamie shared a playful piece of lore: "We're positioning it effectively as a training simulation... You would get this board game as a helldiver as a training simulation to learn how to be a better helldiver."

Despite the new medium, the designers aimed to retain the Helldivers feel. Nic said, "We wanted to make sure that even though it had different mechanics, it felt like Helldivers... We want to have unexpected things that you have to deal with from turn to turn." Derek added, "We knew we needed to keep the core loop of what Helldivers is with the mission objectives... having to deal with enemies that are, you know, trying to eat you."

Currently, the game is about 75-80% finalized, allowing for community feedback and potential adjustments. Jamie confirmed that recent tariff concerns won't delay their plans, and they are moving forward as intended.

After playing the prototype, the implemented systems, such as random events and the 'Massed Fire' mechanic, create epic moments. However, while the tactical focus on larger, stronger enemies is appreciated, more smaller enemies could enhance the experience, akin to the video game's style. Enemy attacks could also benefit from added variability to match the game's chaotic nature.

I'm excited to see what other surprises Steamforged Games has in store for Helldivers 2. The prototype left me eager to explore new Helldiver classes, game types, and combinations with different enemies and biomes. My friends and I are already planning our next mission.