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Helldivers 2 Board Game: Exclusive Hands-On Preview

by Thomas Apr 18,2025

Last year, Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 became a standout hit in the multiplayer gaming world, captivating players with its mission to spread democracy across the galaxy through intense battles with aliens and robots. Building on this success, Steamforged Games, fresh from their successful adaptation of Elden Ring into a board game, has now turned their attention to bringing the fast-paced, chaotic experience of Helldivers 2 to the tabletop. The new board game is currently available for backing on Gamefound. IGN had the opportunity to play a prototype and engage in insightful discussions with the game's designers, Jamie Perkins, Derek Funkhouser, and Nicholas Yu, about this exciting new project.

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 beloved. It replicates the tension of firefights, the unpredictability of chaotic surprises, and the importance of teamwork, while introducing unique twists to enhance the experience.

Helldivers 2 remains a cooperative, objective-based skirmish game where one to four players (with a recommendation for solo players to use two characters) collaborate to achieve mission goals while battling enemy hordes and navigating unexpected events. Each player assumes the role of a different Helldiver class—Heavy, Sniper, Pyro, or Captain—each with unique perks, action cards, and a powerful "Act of Valor" ability usable once per game. Players equip themselves with a kit comprising primary, secondary, and support weapons, grenades, and three strategems, with suggested loadouts provided on class cards, though experienced players can customize before gameplay.

Gameplay unfolds on grid-based boards that expand as players explore, revealing sub-objectives and primary mission locations, such as Terminid hatcheries to destroy in the prototype. As the game progresses, more challenging enemies spawn, and a mission timer adds urgency, ensuring each session is as frenetic and tense as the video game.

The prototype focused on destroying Terminid hatcheries, but the final release will feature multiple objectives. The base game includes two of the three main factions—Terminids and Automatons—with ten unit types each. While not confirmed, there's a strong possibility of the Illuminate faction being added through an expansion, given Steamforged's history with stretch goals.

A key question was how the board game would replicate the video game's feeling of being overwhelmed. Unlike Zombicide, which overwhelms players with sheer numbers of weaker enemies, Helldivers 2 opts for fewer, stronger enemies for a more tactical experience, intensifying as the mission progresses.

Turns involve players and enemies adding action cards to a pool, which are then shuffled and placed on an initiative tracker similar to Steamforged’s Elden Ring game. Every fourth action card triggers a random event, adding unpredictability and often leading to humorous or challenging moments.

Combat for Helldivers involves dice rolls based on weapon stats, with damage calculated from the total roll value. Every five points inflicts a wound on an enemy, streamlining the combat process and focusing on the impact of hits rather than hit-or-miss mechanics. Friendly fire is a risk, adding a strategic layer as players must weigh the cost of collateral damage against defeating formidable foes.

A standout feature is the 'Massed Fire' mechanic, which encourages teamwork by allowing players to join in attacks on the same target within range, echoing the cooperative nature of the video game.

"In the video game, teamwork is key," Nic explained. "When facing a heavily armored enemy, you need to flank and target weak points. We wanted to replicate this in the board game without complex mechanics, so we introduced 'massed fire,' allowing players to focus fire together, incentivizing group play."

Players can choose to go solo, but the 'Massed Fire' mechanic reduces downtime, keeping everyone engaged and adding more dice-rolling excitement.

Enemy actions are straightforward, with fixed damage or effects, and players draw wound cards when hit, which impose negative effects. Death isn't permanent; players can respawn after a set time based on chosen difficulty, fully re-equipped.

One element missing from the board game is the galactic war feature from the video game. The designers decided to focus on creating a unique experience, positioning the board game as a training simulation for Helldivers.

Jamie shared an amusing piece of lore: "We're positioning it as a training simulation. So, Helldivers in the video game might be playing this board game to hone their skills."

The designers, Nic, Jamie, and Derek, have ensured that despite the new medium, the game retains the feel of Helldivers. "We wanted to keep the unexpected elements, stratagems that could misfire, and the dwindling reinforcements that are hallmarks of Helldivers," Nic stated.

Derek added, "We focused on maintaining the core loop of mission objectives and the thrill of exploring and discovering while dealing with enemies trying to take you down."

With the core mechanics about 75-80% finalized, Steamforged is poised to refine the game based on community feedback and potential new ideas. Despite recent industry concerns about tariffs affecting the board gaming space, Jamie assures that their plans remain on track, with flexibility to adjust as needed.

My experience with the prototype was highly enjoyable, with the random events and 'Massed Fire' mechanic creating memorable moments. However, I found myself wishing for more smaller enemies to shoot, akin to the video game's style, and more dynamic enemy combat. Adding varied outcomes to enemy attacks could align their combat more closely with the game's overall chaotic feel.

I'm eager to see what other surprises Steamforged has in store for Helldivers 2. The anticipation to explore new classes, mission types, and combinations with different enemies and environments has my friends and me already planning our next drop.