Helldivers 2 “copies” Metal Gear Solid 5 in the most satisfying ways 

Helldivers 2 has been drawing comparisons to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, particularly for its animations. A video comparing the two titles demonstrates a striking resemblance, and the community is very approving of the way Helldivers 2 incorporates MGS 5’s satisfying motion mechanics in just the right doses. 

The side-by-side comparison video of Helldivers 2 and MGS 5 by @AnthonyCSN (seen below) drew significant attention to the similarities between the two games – specific animations such as the crouch and sneak, leap to dodge, lying down and shooting movements have a distinct “MGS-like flavor” to them. MGS 5’s stealth and motion mechanics are known for their fluidity and versatility, and players seem happy to come across something that feels very similar in Helldivers 2. 

At present, Helldivers 2’s gameplay is mainly focused on multiplayer and fighting off hordes of enemies, but the stealth action motions reminiscent of MGS5 may be useful for high-difficulty solo play. When fans brought the viral clip to the attention of Johan Pilestedt, CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, he mentioned the introduction of subsonic ammunition and suppressors in play tests. Many interpret this to mean that there may be some full-fledged stealth-related updates coming to Helldivers 2 in the future. 

As far as we have been able to ascertain, the Helldivers 2 development team has not publicly named any specific titles that they took influence from, but it’s very likely that MGS5 and other TPS titles were referenced in the process of making the big genre-change from top-down shooter to third-person shooter. One of the big factors contributing to Helldivers 2’s positive reception is the degree of realism in its movements, paired with crisp controls and a high degree of freedom. 

As an aside, Obsidian Entertainment’s director Josh Sawyer also responded to the topic, expressing support for the practice of copying and building upon good mechanics from other games. 

The Metal Gear series itself has a history of evolving by adopting new trends in the TPS genre, such as the introduction of over-the-shoulder aiming. MGS5, which was released almost 10 years ago, remains a representative title of the genre that continues to be a valuable source of inspiration for modern game development. 

Helldivers 2 is available for the PC (Steam) and PS5. Kojima Productions, led by Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima, is currently developing a new action espionage game PHYSINT (tentative title). 

Written by. Amber V based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2024-02-29 19:27 JST)