Helldivers 2 Is Getting Review Bombed Over Its New Anti-Cheat
Democracy has questions.
Helldivers 2 players are not happy with Arrowhead right now. The studio switched the game over to Easy Anti-Cheat to fight cheaters, but the change also broke the harmless mods a lot of PC players use, and the game's recent Steam reviews have dropped to "Mostly Negative" (IGN).
As an Amazon Associate, Church of Nerds earns from qualifying purchases. Buying through the Amazon links in this post supports the site at no extra cost to you.
Here's the latest official Helldivers 2 trailer from PlayStation.
Why are Helldivers 2 players angry?
It comes down to which mods got caught in the crossfire. Easy Anti-Cheat can't tell the difference between a mod that makes you invincible and one that just fixes something annoying. Players say popular mods for hellpod steering, smoother vaulting and climbing, and better AI all stopped working.
Some players also claim the anti-cheat won't let them launch the game at all, even with no mods installed. The game's all-time Steam rating is still "Mostly Positive," but the recent score has taken a big hit.
What has Arrowhead said?
In a post last week, the studio said it knows "mods are part of the DNA of PC gaming" and that it appreciates cosmetic and non-gameplay mods. It also said it needs to do a better job protecting players from mods that give unfair advantages or hurt other people's games. IGN has asked Arrowhead for comment on the review bomb.
What do players want instead?
A lot of reviewers are pointing at other games that found a middle ground. One review said Arrowhead could have added Steam Workshop support like Left 4 Dead 2, or split modded and vanilla lobbies like Baldur's Gate 3 does. Others argue the mods were fixing problems Arrowhead should have fixed itself.
IGN also points out that, from Arrowhead's side, some mods could help players unlock cosmetics that would otherwise cost real money (Super Earth does love a premium Warbond).
My read is that Arrowhead needs a mod whitelist fast. Cheaters ruin co-op games, but a fix that breaks hellpod steering for everyone is going to feel like friendly fire.
More gaming coverage is right here.
All images are official Helldivers 2 screenshots from Arrowhead Game Studios and PlayStation.
