Since it was released in February 2024, I’ve played dozens of hours of Helldivers 2 alongside its phenomenal community. The gameplay feels fantastic and, thanks to regular updates and Major Orders, is improving all the time as its story grows more intriguing. The only problem is that it really only has one great song, and it’s a little overdone.
Recently, while I was annihilating hundreds of Terminids in the name of managed democracy, I thought to myself how many other games have variations on their main themes or just different songs that are played at specific moments or randomized to keep hub areas interesting. More than that, music is actually a tool in some games to help indicate whether you should feel safe or prepare for an attack.
Music prepares you for battle (or safety)
My favorite example is the save room in the Resident Evil franchise. Most, if not all, of those games have different music, usually calm and somewhat warming, in their save rooms to help you calm down and feel safe because enemies can’t get inside of them. Well, most of the time.
Mass Effect‘s galaxy map is another great one because it features the best music in the game. It helps you reflect on what you’ve done and consider where to go next. That’s exactly what Helldivers 2 is missing. You have the epic theme song, A Cup Of Liber-Tea, that plays as you’re extracting from a mission, but we need more variety.
I’m a sucker for retro soundtracks, and I think I’d lose my mind if I called an extraction in Helldivers 2 and this 16-bit version of the theme started playing. It’s quite fitting because so much of the game is a callback to that early era of video games. The suburban dream that Super Earth colonies mimic, the senseless, almost aimless violence against aliens that we never questioned in games like Space Invaders, and, of course, everything Starship Troopers.
Surprisingly, we can go back even further with this 8-bit cover. I think this might fit better as a song we can play in our Superdestroyer on a jukebox. This blazing in the background as you pick your loadout or buy items from the current Warbond would just hit differently. Not that there’s anything wrong with the current music in place for Helldrop prep. But I think variety would make all the difference, especially when you’re playing with a bunch of like-minded fans who all get extremely pumped whenever an 8-bit song drops.
Metal and orchestral covers would get Helldivers in the mood
It can’t all be silly retro songs, though, which is where this metal cover comes into play. Once again, I think it could help you to get pumped up for your next mission if you could play it in your Superdestroyer, but it could also save a failing mission.
Imagine the scene. You and your fellow Helldivers are down to one or two reinforcements on a high-difficulty mission, and you’ve just called in the extraction. Suddenly, swarms of Terminids appear everywhere, overwhelming your minefields and quickly sucking up your ammo as you pump bullet after bullet into the hordes.
But you keep on fighting. In fact, you feel like you’re winning. You hit impossible shots, get a Stratagem off before blasting a bug in the face just as it launches at yours, and dive away from an incoming Charger to have it crushed by that Stratagem you just called down. All this becomes possible because you’re filled with energy from this amazing metal cover of A Cuper Of Liber-Tea, and you feel like you could fight on for hours.
Everything I’ve said about the metal cover applies to this epic orchestral version of the Helldivers 2 main theme, too. It is exquisite, ascending what was already an amazing tune to new heights where it can rain down explosive fire on your enemies and make you feel awesome.
I think you could have a lot of fun with this song on your Superdestroyer as well. It’s almost too epic for that period of downtime between missions, but I can imagine some great moments and memes being created organically, thanks to little more than the song playing while fans discuss their strategies and the next mission.
Relax to folk music on the way to manage democracy
This last song, the folk cover version of A Cup Of Liber-Tea, is the best I’ve found. It hits on two levels. First, it’s got that energy you need at the end of a mission, but I also think it would work well if played right after your initial drop. The intensity fades away after a minute or so, which is about when you’ve fought off the worst threats you’ve landed on and are finally heading toward your objectives.
The other time this song would work well is on your Superdestroyer. I actually traveled to the Meridia Black Hole and played all of these songs just to see if they would work for the introspective, quiet moments on your ship while you play a few solo missions or just wait for your friends.
This song is almost there, but not quite. We need a slow, acoustic song to play while in our Superdestroyer so we can look back at what we’ve done, remember our fallen Helldivers, and fight on. Arrowhead Game Studios is doing a great job of improving gameplay and listening to fans. But I think it also needs to give us more variety in the game’s music so we’re less exhausted by the main theme and have the chance to appreciate every second we spend playing, not just missions on alien planets.
Published: Jun 22, 2024 09:52 am