I'm losing my mind over Helldivers 2 in a million different ways. Today it's the environment design. They have this incredible chemistry that combines to make planets feel unique not just on a planet-to-planet basis, but on an hour-to-hour basis.
Draupnir, one of the planets currently under threat by the Automatons, is rocky and a bit hazy. But what you'll notice immediately is that the atmosphere is full of small floating jellyfish. Depending on the time of day and the weather they might be easier or harder to spot, but they're there.
The weather, from what I've seen so far, comes in a few variations. There's clear weather, a sort of gentle haze that can roll in to obscure visibility, and a lightning storm. The last is wildly exciting to me. As the storm begins to gather, you'll notice signs in the environment. The wind starts to pick up. The sky darkens. And the jellyfish start to spark. Before long, as lightning fills the sky, you'll find all the jellyfish around you shooting down tiny lightning bolts, discharging the static in the air.
And then a tremendously thick fog rolls in to cloak your movements and stymie your navigation.
The look of this weather change also depends on time of day. When I experienced it, it was during the evening. But I expect that storms can roll in at any time of day... another mission had me navigating the play area on a sunny, but very foggy morning. Amazing.
I can't emphasize enough how much of a sucker I am for good weather in games, particularly in large play areas and particularly when it's tied in with the game systems in interesting ways. In this case, it's not just inspired environment design - it's just damn good sci-fi too. What a detail. I'm excited to see more of this game.
also weather and time are persistent across all sessions for all players I think??????
