It's officially been six months since we started Second Wind! This month we're making a big push to raise additional funds for our sustainability, so if you haven't joined Patreon yet and enjoy our work, consider doing so! www.patreon.com/SecondWindGroup

Fashionably late to the party as always, Yahtzee.

Yahtzee, I'm not stingy, I'm broke.

It's competely non-canon, but i like to think that when you're picking out the name of "your" starship, the Super Earth Government just looks at the options you chose from the pre-determined list, ships your cryogenically frozen arse to the part of their immense discretionary military spending budgeted fleet with a matching title, and when they thaw you out as the next chunk of patriotic pork to be thrown into the meat grinder, they tell you that it's "your" ship.

The one thing that I think Yahtzee might’ve appreciated more is if he realized what the “Free Spaceship” thing actually was. Whenever you start your game you come out of a cryo pod, from a long conveyor belt of cryopods with other helldivers. The implication isn’t that you specifically get a ship and are coming back. But rather you’re unfrozen after training “Welcome aboard!”, drop down, die, the next person gets de-thawed “welcome aboard!” Drop down, die, repeat ad infinitum

*_SHAME THEY FUCKED IT UP._* really see that english lit, published author talent on display. The sheer emotion behind those 5 words really speak to you.

"Dial-a-warcrime" is my new favorite phrase for stratagems! 😂

The thing I love about the opening is how they refer to the Helldivers as cargo the minute you're frozen. They make it pretty clear you're as expendable as your bullets.

Yahtzee you've done the composer dirty here. Not in my life have I ever heard the conflicting themes of "epic hero-boner avengers assemble space-man battle music" and "clearly taking the piss" woven so beautifully into a single piece. Wilbert Roget II put on a masterclass in understanding the assignment, and deserves a Grammy.

I love adendums

Been a long time since I heard Yahtzee say "Mummorpegher". I wondered why he was doing so well mentally.

It’s like a really fun puppy with a terribly abusive owner

"You know what? Considering the irony of Starship Troopers went over so many peoples' heads the first time, probably wouldn't hurt to give it a second crack." Brilliant.

3:08 To be fair, it's not like that spaceship is yours per se. The military stuffed each one full of frozen Helldivers to replace the ones that get minced. It's even implied that each time you load into your ship, it's that specific Helldiver's first day on the job. Also, that addendum is the angriest I've ever heard Yahtzee.

Love that the intro explaining why there was an addendum was about 5 times as long as the actual addendum.

Thanks Yahtzee, been following your reviews since the early days and it's lovely to see you taking a proper stab at our title. As always, laughs were had. Especially "Dial-A-WarCrime-System" and "SHAME THEY FUCKED IT UP" :D

By the way, the reason you are given a spaceship is because you are more or less the spaceship, not the recruit. The recruit is replaced with a new recruit every time you die, and that new recruit takes over the spaceship but reaps the benefits you unlocked. This is why you are unfrozen each time you return to your ship (that's a new recruit), or why the bug juice stays on you if you survived the mission (that's the same recruit). The spaceship is the only constant throughout your playtime. This also why the default for the voice of the player is set to random by default. None of the recruits you control are the original recruit you did during the tutorial after you die once.

Sony really tried to kill the Golden Goose. These past few days were a rollercoaster with the forced PSN linking, game removed from Steam in more than 100 countries, and Sony walking back.

God Yahtzee actually brought up the thing about how "it's fun with friends" always feels like a cop out, thank fucking god

They say it's a free spaceship just for you but when you load into the game they unfreeze you from a section of the ship where they keep a hundred backup "captains" for when they send you to go die

Yatz, Imma level with you. It's hard out here. I'm barely making it by and i think i may have sleep for dinner at least once a month, but I'll tell you this; I have been watching your reviews for many years now. i have enjoyed every one and sometimes find myself playing games after i watched your review like Damn, He really nailed it! Things are looking up now and i think i can afford a dollar! I love this revival to second wind and i cant wait to see what happens next for all of you.

I must say im so impressed by the helldivers community how they made their anger heard through reviews and when it was settled everyone like an organism went back and upvoted the game again at steam. Never underestimate a fan base when they set their mind on something and coordinate it well. A win for gamers.

Yahtzee, putting the finishing touches on this video: Ah, another review ready to ship. Sony: I’m about to pull what called a “pro gamer move”

I don’t know why but calling the stratagems “dial-a-war crimes” really got me and I get the feeling that’s what I’ll be calling them from now on 😂

A review so late it not only missed the hype but the inevitable publisher controversy, backtrack and passive aggressive non-apology as well. Nice to see you once again Yahtzee.

Full transparency, being coerced into liking the video by being called a stingy bastard is what convinced me to give the video a like. XD

Considering how big of an advocate Yhatzee is for games being a medium for creating new ways of storytelling, I'm surprised he didn't mention the "live war" system the game has, because it's a way of storytelling only a live-service game that constantly changes can provide. which is one of the first times a live-service game model has been used for something other than sucking as much money as possible from their customers.

I love the ending talk. Feels more personal. Like a parent after yelling about whats being said on the news about the current political crisis or inflation, and then calms down to talk about your day at school. Only to then berate you for doing terribly at that too.

I love that the in game reason for why you just get a personal destroyer is because it’s not really yours. Since they know you’re going to die horribly in about 20 minutes it’s just whatever dickhead is currently active. That’s why it has all those cryo pods. You die and the next idiot in like takes your place

I've found that playing a mission single player is like playing a totally different game. Where as normally you and your squad is coating the battlefield with blood in the color of who is losing the hardest, playing solo is more like a lone soldier dropped behind enemy lines trying desperately to make it to an EVAC point while avoiding patrols, gathering intel (samples), and completing objectives that only a special forces commando could be expected to do and survive. I've done it a few times and while it has been extremely stressful, the times I was able to succeed it felt incredibly fulfilling.

"SHAME THEY FUCKED IT UP!" I absolutely love how Yahtzee said that.

3:21 Shout out to the 5 other people who get that subtle Ender’s Game joke, even the ones who saw the film first like me. (In the movie they were renamed the Formics so kids wouldn’t run around swearing, like the opposite of naming the baddy Faarquad)

I love the heads up at the beginning and then the addendum just being Yahtzee shouting "shame they fucked it up!" and then having to do a second addendum after that, lmao. I mean, Sony keeps fucking up, but Microsoft really fucking stepped in it yesterday. Not that they haven't been fucking up majorly before yesterday, but closing Tango is a fucking kick in the teeth.

you know something happened when Yahtzee opens with a PSA

"I was playing with friends and "Fun with Friends" is bullshit praise. That just means you like your friends." 'nother quote for the hall of fame I would say.

"Has the seven headed beast risen from the ocean already?" Shows a picture of the very defunct band S Club 7. It's a niche audience you're going for here isn't it Yahtzee?

That addendum was perfect. Well done

2:36 Yep, exactly. Unfortunately, it apparently went over the heads of a lot of Helldivers 2 players, as well. And if we're being realistic - like tying it back to real life, which was certainly the intent - I don't think it's really just saying "humans suck" or something. It's a commentary on capitalism-imperialism (the stage of capitalism we're currently living in), specifically the militaristic aspects of it. Probably best exemplified by the US state (though not limited to it). The motivation is capturing markets and spheres of influence. It's all in the service of capital (and the capitalist class). Also, as you probably know, I think that PSN account requirement thing they tried to do was the fault of Sony, not the dev. But yeah, great as always, Yahtz. No one will probably see this comment anyway, huh? 😆

That first addendum was a well thought out essay that puts the most prestigious Nobel winner for literature to shame.

I really like John Egbert's new youtube channel.

OK, NOW I have to give you a like and send some dosh your way on Patreon. Because that Addendum was just PERFECT!

The guy who made the Starship Troopers movie literally did not read the book.

Love all the shots at Nick. Truly worth it for all the shots he fires at the rest of his team. All in good fun of course.

Wait a minute... Yahtzee kept me listening through the Patreon credits long enough to learn that FR still has the endcard gags from ZP! Well now I guess I HAVE to rewatch every FR video to see the last little jokes at the end. You got me!

Nice review, appreciate the focus on the presentation, I will add a couple of things to feed the KZfaq gods though. -Weapons feel fun to use with great effects & feedback, even when the balance is off it still has STYLE. Even shots that ping off enemy armour for zero damage have a flashy and readable blue "ricochet" effect. -Enemies are fun to shoot, which is a big deal in a shooter. Lots of crunchy robot sounds, sprays of bug juice, and an array of different animations for enemies that lose limbs or get decapitated, cut in half, etc. Most enemies feel a lot more dynamic than just a bag of hit points, though again there's a couple of (animation) bugs that can break the illusion. -HD2 isn't *entirely* hostile to solo players, but I don't recommend buying the game unless you've got a playgroup or you're okay with pubs. Solo play basically means "stealth challenge," some of the strongest weapons in the game are intended to be used by two players in tandem, etc.

Won't be surprised to see a Cold Take or something on the whole Sony debacle. Going forward I think we should make executives run through the Helldivers training course before they're allowed to make any decisions against the devs wishes. And yes, this should be for every game.

Yup, it's official; I've listened too often to his books. I can not hear his voice without also hearing divs, doints and the ever lovely calculus.

I stick through the Patreon credits not just to see my own name roll by, but also because the signature tune rocks. Honestly, I've often wondered what the conversation was like between Nick and James Elsey: "Hey, Nick, what's up?" "Jim, we've all resigned from Gamurz to go independent, and I need a new signature tune for whatever Zero Punctuation is going to become." "Ah... well, I suppose I could have a couple of treatments for you in a week or two..." "No, Jim, I need a final by Tuesday, so we can have it go live on Wednesday." "....Nick, today's Monday." "Is it? I'll take your word for it; this has been a hell of a week. Okay, early Wednesday morning then, kthxbai!"

"Dial-a-War-Crime" is fantastic and I'm stealing it.

The amateur arachnid biology fan in me was very happy with that pedipalp pun, or pedipun

So wait... Yahtzee didn't went to robonam?! Well then we need another charity event where he goes to kill the automatons!

My wife and I were the only people in the cinema to laugh at the screening of Starship Troopers when it was soooo obviously satire and anyone who had watched Paul Verhoeven's other work should have expected as much.

“Since the irony went over peoples heads the first time probably wouldn’t be bad to give it a second crack” How do we tell him the entire fanbase missed it and is arguing with anyone pointing out it’s meant to be satirical

Enemy Mum Seduced? High level play indeed.

Sony really decided to attack a game where the community has been collectively fighting together for months like we wouldnt nuke the reviews into orbit💀

For some reason I expected a calm, ‘oh and it may be gone in a few months’, but as usual Yahtzee’s wild nature got the better of me. Love that Addendum.

I'm doing well, thanks for asking! Missus is out of town taking care of her mom, and I was left in our apartment caring for our two cats.

1:42 I'm so happy Yahtzee is still pronouncing MMORPG the same way as the original Witcher review.

You should have a segment on current events in games and call it "Breaking Wind"

I think we can safely say that all of these folks’ stuff is just better on Second Wind. They’re more able to speak about whatever and use whatever tone they want to do so. I’m so happy for success stories like these.

The algorythm has been sending your videos my way a LOT less often since you went indie (again).

can we get you doing more random talk over the credits? music is good, but also fun to just have more random things said

Excellent addendum, Yahtz.

"Your free spaceship" Yahtzee, the tutorial ended with *hundreds of rockets stuffed full of freshly trained helldivers* being rocketed up to the super destroyers. There are oodles of helldivers stuffed in "your" ship, waiting for you to die so they can get thawed out and be your respawn. Check your career in the armory, check your deaths, and yep, that is how many freshly trained recruits (the ship manager lady says congrats on completing basic training every so often, as you come out of your cryo pod) have been thrown into the meat grinder whenever you accidentally grenade yourself or get eaten or whatever. It's "your ship" you the player. They tell the helldiver it's their ship, but the moment they die on a mission, they send a second diver. And if they come back, it's "their ship". But if they die too, they send a third diver. And if they come back... You get the idea. Or at least, you *should* get the idea, it's extremely obvious how I'm spelling out what you missed despite the game spelling it out. Humanity isn't fighting bugs because they're bored, the bugs decompose into the fuel they use for FTL travel. Also, we're kicking them off of certain planets so we can have more room to do science and have population on. We literally saw a major order *just* for killing bugs *because we needed more FTL fuel to fuel our war against the bots more* for crying out loud. Also, the bots are an actual menace, they've taken so many planets now... And they put humans in death camps, btw. Rounded up into pens, slaughtered, dissected, heads mutilated... You really just took a passing glance and didn't even read any of the major orders you were told to go follow, or listen to any of the crew talk about the TCS failure, the bots being the scary terminators from space, or listen to *any* of the videos that play in your ship if you so much as have a sip of a drink.

These companies don't realize that their business model depends on their clients trusting them. Like taking away the bottom cards in a house of cards and expecting the whole thing to float in place.

Thanks for chatting at the end Yahtz. I don't pay enough to be named, but I promise I'm subscribed 🏆

Yahtzee called me a stingy bastard. That deserves a like and this comment. Made my day!

I believe "Dial-a-warcrime" is what they call Captain Price's phone number.

Yahtzee sassing me during the credits is the perfect ending.

1:27 something about Yahtzee's sprites looking directly into camera is fucking cursed

Wow! This ruled! Thanks Yahtz for stepping out of your comfort zone for a fun review!

I wish I had the money to donate to Second Wind! If ever I'm lucky enough to actually land the job I'm trying so damned hard to get that's exactly what I plan to do! And hey I at least try to stick around for the final few words, I know Yahtzee is in the habit of throwing in one last cheeky shot or joke. Also, "shame they fucked it up!" was absolutely brilliant, no notes!

So, what I got from that, is that it's about as good as binging the Starship Troopers series or any Gary's Mod game. If Sony didn't show their hand, I might've actually bought it. Also I just gotta say that the revamp backgrounds are so much easier on the eyes, and I appreciate that Yahtzee looks like Yahtzee now, as well as the clean sign posting of each segment of the video. I normally wouldn't consider changing the background as a 'brilliant' move, but I've yet to see anyone else do that so unobtrusively. The brilliance of it in my opinion is that it transforms a simple review into a powerful resource, as you can scrub to the segment you need in case the viewer is one of those people who need subway surfers playing nearby for their brains to not shrivel into a raisin due to lack of dopamine. That's not a comment on the video being boring, it's a comment on the inevitable conclusion to irresponsible parents allowing the iPad generation to exist in such a state.

The perfect addendum *Chefs kiss* 🤌

Yahtzee?? Covering a multi-player game?? Am I in the right timeline?

I'm really glad yahtz covered this. Beautiful lore, great gameplay. I hope they ad some sort of single player thingy so it doesn't die the second the servers dry up. For what it's worth, I exclusively play public games with strangers and I've been having loads of fun. I'll definitely consider the patreon. Okay!

I love how honest the devs are. They straight up said, "Please keep sending hate to Sony. We need the leverage here."

You can absolutely solo, I do it all the time. You don't get much XP but after level 25 XP has almost zero value anyway - more importantly you can get requisition slips (extremely valuable until you have bought all the stratagems), medals (always valuable for the regularly released warbonds), super credits (always valuable to access the aforementioned warbonds and for armour), and samples (technically limited value, but you'll need hundreds and hundreds for all the upgrades).

Sony: "Hey, you know the folks who play that game where the players get rewarded for all pushing in vaguely the same direction at the same time? Let's piss them off. What are they gonna do about it?" Players: *all push in vaguely the same direction at the same time* Sony: shockedpikachu.jpg

All i could think of while smiling during the credits commentary was listening to one of Yahtzee’s audiobooks. That alone is worth another trip to patreon.

I love at the beginning how he mentions the upcoming addendum through *_audibly gritted teeth._* I felt that.

5:38 and there’s the other boot

I am level 65 I have rarely seen toxic players in this game. Maybe like one or two missions where team killing happened on purpose. Also, it helps massively if you initiate voice comms and talk first to get the other randos to talk as well. My best interactions in this game were with randos chatting it up while shooting bugs in the face.

I'm already subscribed, but if I wasn't I think Yahtzee's CTA at the end of this might've been the first CTA that's ever convinced me to do anything 😂

The opening is exactly my reaction to this video. Yahtzee usually won't even consider reviewing these kinds of games. Even if he does, he rarely actually praises them. But im glad he can appreciate Helldivers 2 for what it is. Just a well put together shooter with non predatory business practices

Something tells me the addendum is going to become a meme.

The class and professionalism to add a note at the beginning of the video that an addendum is included. Wow, Yahtzee is one of the most morally sound journalists alive today.

I really enjoyed the chat at the end! 😊

While I don't laugh or even smirk to these anymore. I am viewing to show appreciation for the decade + of videos

The tightness and focus of the design really blows me away, and makes the game so fun. The interplay between objectives, types of enemies (and armor levels), effectiveness of weapons vs those threats, and the fact that you can’t ever bring/be wielding everything you need to properly deal with it all by yourself… it all comes together to make the game team-based co-op fun, right down to it’s very bones.

Its about time for this review!

Ok, please keep Yahtzee's rambling for every end credits from now on

As someone who has used ZP videos as sleeping aids long before Escapist released their own official yearly compilation, Im glad Yatzee immediately addressed him playing an online only muliplayer fps in the first 10 seconds of the review or I was going to literally shit everywhere in indignation. As soon as I saw this on my timeline I scoffed in disbelief. also Yatzee's speech pattern reminds me of Rick Mayall, R.I.P

Sony forgot that they tried killing a game where it's community killed 2 BILLION bugs within 14 hours.

Appreciate the chat at the end haha

Yazz, I appreciate you having a crack at reviewing Hell Divers 2. I can assure you, with only a little practice and some key-bind tweaking, solo missions at higher levels are actually doable.

My first time watching Fully Ramblomatic, don't know why it took me so long to get to it. It's just like something else that comes to mind... But is better! No annoying ha noise at the start for instance. Will enjoy watching these.

Thank you for being you, for making these fun, funny, even informative videos!

01:22...... eye... captian. 👁

This should be good.