Helldivers 2 has a melee button – a basic shove, activated by pushing in the right stick on your controller. Once you crawl close enough to a magnified spacebug, though, it's hard to imagine where you'd want to poke your elbow. Between the cruel mandibles, jagged carapace and legs that taper into points, you'd be better off fist-fighting a kitchen knife.
But that's the magic of Helldivers 2, as a design proposition – the reason that bug-splatting has recently become an international pastime for millions. Where AAA developers tend to sand off the edges, looking to reduce the friction that might put off a new player, Arrowhead has created a game that's all edge – distinguished by a series of surprising and divisive quirks.
