THE GOOD:
The gunplay is unique and engaging, the enemies are diverse and memorable, and the lore is immersive and fun. The sense of progression in this game feels fair, and it's a treat to unlock new weapons to play with. I absolutely adore the voice acting this game provides, all of the default Helldiver voices in the middle of a mission go from playfully optimistic, desperate and thrilling, then straight up comedic. It also can't be understated that this game has built a strong community, and it should be proud of that.

THE MEH: There have been a string of odd balance decisions when it comes to weapons and enemies. One week you'll get used to a set of weapons, stratagems, and tactics to fight enemies, only to have X be nerfed, Y be buffed, and Z be side-graded, which has resulted in certain aspects of the game feeling more frustrating as time passes. Through online discourse, it's apparent that there is often a mismatch between the developer's vision of the game, and how players would like the game to be played, especially when balancing patches come along.

THE BAD: Bugs and technical issues have plagued this game for months after launch. It seems to vary from player to player how bad this can get, but I've found that while I would be able to play through a match just fine, the person in the next room from me that I'm playing cooperatively with would end up crashing to desktop in the middle of a mission. Players have constantly brought up issues of matchmaking, connectivity, game stability, and gameplay bugs. It's not very hard to find yourself being shoved underneath the world geometry during a hectic firefight with the Terminids, for instance. I'm not the guru on all of the issues that this game has, but it's been extensively covered in reviews, on Discord, Reddit, etc. Granted, the developers are absolutely being active in trying to address these issues, but I don't expect these to go away anytime soon.

THE UGLY: As of writing this review, Sony has introduced an ultimatum to the current and future player base, particularly pertaining to Steam/PC players: sign up for their third party PlayStation Network, or lose access to the game. This game, which did have a splash-screen upon first-time launch encouraging you to sign up for a PSN account, has now forced this to be a requirement, when for months prior, it previously was not. This announcement came without any kind of plan to address those who live in countries where PSN is not available, and without regard for users who simply do not want to have their personal information associated with Sony as a whole. And to be very frank, they dropped the ball very hard with this decision.

The bones of this game are excellent, the community is passionate, and Arrowhead Game Studios has shown that they do care. However, as long as this decision remains in place, I cannot recommend this game at present.

EDIT: Looks like the decision was reversed from Sony! I can fully recommend this game once more.