Summary
It doesn’t take a Super Earth tactician to see the writing on the wall: the Illuminate are coming to fight inHelldivers 2. Between their unconvincing defeat in the first game, the ominous black hole that used to be Meridia, and the outrightdata leaks showing Illuminate enemies in the game files, the alien menace isn’t a matter of “if,” but “when.” But the Second Galactic War might just end up being a war on four fronts.
While the Illuminate seems to be a foregone conclusion,Helldivers 2developer Arrowhead may have been teasing a fourth faction right under everyone’s noses. The galactic war map is currently neatly divided into four quarters; two for the existing factions, one for the inevitable Illuminate invasion, and one that is suspiciously blank with no obvious threat to fill it. Through hidden context clues in missions that many players aren’t paying enough attention to even see, there may be a lurking menace few would expect to see; mostly because it’s a threat coming from Super Earth itself.
Helldivers 2 May Be Teasing a Human Rebel Faction
The fourth faction coming toHelldivers 2might just be a contingent of Super Earth dissidents. It’s clear to see that theSuper Earth government is actually terrifyingly fascisticbehind the facade of patriotism and liberty. While the Helldivers are fighting for “freedom” in the furthest reaches of space, the planet they call home resembles something out of George Orwell’s worst nightmare.
This might seem like it’s coming far out of left field, but for anyone paying attention, the signs are all there out in the open. Since the game launched, players have been tasked with silencing “dissident radio broadcasts” while on missions. Most players don’t care to listen to these broadcasts; they’re just enjoying themselves killing bots/bugs and blowing stuff up in the game’s satisfying gameplay loop. But anyone who takes a moment to listen to them is in for a big surprise: the broadcasts are from whistleblowers calling out Super Earth atrocities; mainly how they’re responsible foroverbreeding terminids for E-710 fuelon multiple planets.
Why a Super Earth Rebellion Could Work as Helldivers 2’s Fourth Faction
In the midst of the fun gameplay loop, it’s easy for players to forget thatHelldivers 2is meant to be a satire on fascist and tyrannical governments. Super Earth is the evil empire; it only makes sense that a group of rebels would arise from within to stand up to them. And it’s happened before in the originalHelldivers. The cyborg faction,precursors to the currently active automatons, were enslaved by Super Earth until they rose up and rebelled. If it happened then, it could happen now.
If Arrowhead wants to make good on its teases of a rebel faction, the studio has its work cut out for it. One of the most fun parts ofHelldivers 2is how different each enemy faction is; the terminids exist as the classic overwhelming horde the genre is most well-known for. The Automatons have firearms, artillery, heavy armor, and vehicles, the closest thing to a traditional military the game currently offers.When the Illuminate eventually join the fight, they’ll likely have psychic alien weapons and bizarre walker technology like they did in the original game. But the devs have the opportunity to make human defectors different in a big way: make them fellow Helldivers.
How Could a Human Rebel Faction Work In-Game?
While featuring fellowHelldivers in a PVP sensewould go against the spirit of the game, if Arrowhead makes good on these dissident teases, it should create a fourth faction of AI controlled human enemies that mechanically function the same as the player characters do. This faction would spawn in much fewer numbers than terminids or automatons, due to the sheer firepower they can bring to bear, but they’d have the potential to be the most dangerous with the same weapons, armor, and maybe even stratagems as the player.
From a narrative standpoint, this faction could be a contingent of Helldivers that have been swayed by the arguments of the rebel factions, finally giving the dissenters a military force of their own. By forcing players to fight Bizzaro versions of themselves,Helldivers 2can force them to change their tactics and test their knowledge of the game’s mechanics in ways that the bugs and bots just couldn’t do. This hypothetical Helldiver civil war could even be the conflict thatbrings Super Earth itself into the crosshairs.
Helldivers 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Do you believe in freedom? Can you stand in the face of oppression – and defend the defenceless? Wage war for peace. Die for democracy.Join forces with up to three friends and wreak havoc on an alien scourge threatening the safety of your home planet, Super Earth, in this multiplayer co-op shooter for PS5 and PC from Arrowhead Game Studios.Step into the boots of the Helldivers, an elite class of soldiers whose mission is to spread peace, liberty and Managed Democracy using the biggest, baddest and most explosive tools in the galaxy.Helldivers don’t go planet side without proper backup, but it’s up to you to decide how and when to call it in. Not only do you have a host of superpowered primary weapons and customizable loadouts, you also have the ability to call on stratagems during play.Helldivers 2 features Arrowhead’s best cooperative gameplay yet. Collaboration will be vital: Teams will synergize on loadouts, strategize their approach for each mission and complete objectives together.1Enlist in Super Earth’s premier military peacekeeping force today. We are heroes… we are legends… WE ARE HELLDIVERS.
