The undercurrent of propaganda that shapes Helldivers 2's obnoxiously yet endearingly democratic universe has truly boiled over in the wake of conflicting, definitely real reports from the game's community and developers alike.
The straw that truly broke the camel's back was the recent discovery of new flying Terminids, the reports of which were quickly dismissed as "propaganda from bug sympathizers" by Arrowhead CEO and Helldivers 2 game director Johan Pilestedt. Community and social manager Katherine "Baskinator" Baskin echoed Pilestedt, saying: "These traitors are working overtime to fill your heads with lies, soldiers!"
Presented with a close-up image clearly showing a flying enemy in official Helldivers 2 promotional material, Pilestedt had this to say: "Image manipulation by traitors."
Players were quick to get in on the joke. "Those could be anything," one democratic bystander said of the flying bug footage. "Probably just swamp gas reflecting off an eagle." Pilestedt signal boosted the claim, calling the skeptical recruit "a true patriot."
But that's far from the only elephant in the room. Just today, a Super Earth news broadcast declared that Helldivers will soon "permanently contain bugs" in a local sector thanks to the Termicide deployment grid at the heart of the game's latest major order. "The Termicide is proving extremely effective, with experts saying the benefits to the local ecology far outweigh the loss of some native species," the video declares, seemingly setting up the first major permanent win in the forever war.
But is that the whole story? And can we trust the words of flying bug deniers? The Helldivers 2 community is less certain. Exhibit A: this remarkably well-done document leaked (read: created) by Reddit user ChimkennBiskets, a trustworthy name if ever there was one:
PSA ALL CITIZENS: Termicide is NOT SAFE! 'Leaked' MSDS (Safety Data Sheet)! Stop immediately! from r/Helldivers
As you can plainly see, this extremely real confidential report shows that, contrary to today's announcement, Termicide is in fact extremely harmful, capable of inflicting humans with such severe symptoms that the only advisable first aid is "incineration." I don't want to get political, folks, but that seems a touch excessive.
Some folks in the replies are, to put it mildly, unconvinced. "Consider yourself under investigation by the Ministry of Truth, traitor. How much are the bugs paying you?!?!" asks one democratic soldier.
To put it less mildly, user hellothisismadlad chimed in with this: "I'll shoot every one of those goddamn illegal antennas all day so I can always provide my kids the best democratically TV experience all day." Take it easy, mad lad. We're talking about bugs here.
Termicide does have its supporters, of course. The Helldivers 2 community is a big tug-of-war on the morality of the war, and the whole thing is amazing to watch.
We are become death, the destroyer of bugs. Let fall the termicide. from r/Helldivers
Helldivers 2 is a gameplay-first, narrative-second-at-most type of game, but Arrowhead has really pulled off something special with the writing. With relatively little prodding, the propaganda machine has become self-sustaining, with players eagerly writing new chapters in the story. Take this modern classic, for example: "I have survived 10 Helldive Operations In A Row. Super Earth Doesn't Care About Us," said SkyHighDragon, only for the post to be found "removed and under investigation for treason." Other Helldivers quickly accused the user of being an Automaton and pushed to terminate their illegal broadcast. It's genuine role-playing on a mass scale. Everyone's in character, and that character could be from any of several factions. That's the power of an engaged community and user-generated content, and it is glorious.
As Helldivers 2 gets Deep Rock Galactic comparisons, devs crush any division with dwarven democracy and ask about a co-op collab: "Arrowhead, please hit us back."
