A talented modder has turned Helldivers 1 into a third-person co-op shooter, and it looks exactly like a prototype of its sequel.
Arrowhead Game Studios’ Helldivers 2 is a brilliantly chaotic third-person shooter, but its predecessor was a top-down twin-stick shooter. While a lot of the core ideas are shared between the two— enemy factions, mission structure and stratagem system—are largely the same.
With that in mind, talented modder Yukrsrs has created an awesome Third Person Camera HD2 Style mod for Helldivers 1 that puts the original game into a third-person viewpoint. The mod bring “switchable first-person and over-the-shoulder cameras to the original” that makes it play closer to the sequel.
With the addition of prone-shooting, 3D aiming, and reloading, you can play what essentially feels like a prototype of Helldivers 2 in the first game. With the mod installed, you can play any mission in the game in a third-person view just like the second game, and the camera also reacts to explosions.
The entire mod exists to being the original Helldivers closer to its more known sequel. For example, the original game is a bit more stiff and limited in its movement to its follow-up. However, with expanded prone combat, you get to dive reload simultaneously and even use stratagems while lying down on the floor.
While playing the mod, every biome also sports a brand-new skybox as the top-down game obviously didn’t need them. Additionally, your Super Destroyer will rest in the skies above just like it does in the sequel.
To make the game work in third-person, Yukrsrs has done some considerable work on pose adjustments. This means that the Helldiver character model will adjust to where you’re aiming and shooting, not just horizontally, but vertically as well. It’s very impressive!
Looking at gameplay footage, the best part about the third-person mod is just how cute it looks. Obviously, Helldivers 1 was made for the PlayStation 3 and the PS Vita. It was also made to be viewed at a considerable distance. Bringing the camera down to ground level exposes just how cute everything looks as well as how the scale of buildings, monsters, and your Diver is just completely off.
If you’re a fan of Helldivers 2 and you haven’t played the original, this could be the mod you need to give it a go. I’ll always suggest playing the original version in a top-down view, but sometimes you do want to get a closer look.
