Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
Helldivers 2 soldier with an explosion reflecting in their visor
Third Person Shooters As death threats derail Helldivers 2's wholesome D10 challenge, devs address “increasing hostility in the community”
Emily, a blind girl with white hair and an old-fashioned white sleeping robe, sits on a bed in Resident Evil Requiem's care center
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem lets you become the evil resident and use an infected enemy's blindness to your advantage
Helldivers 2 soldier watches a nuclear explosion in the distance with his arms stretched wide
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 CEO seems to accept fans' $1,000 challenge to play on the nastiest difficulty, but it's already backfiring
Helldivers 2
Co-op Games Helldivers 2 support agent says "there's no balance team" at Arrowhead because "it's all a team effort"
Silver Pines protagonist shoots crows from a cable car
Survival Horror Games Helldivers 2 veterans stole Arrowhead's "fantasy approach" to action while making stunning new horror Metroidvania
A woman in a space helmet stares at something off the screen in Arc Raiders
Third Person Shooters You can ride around on Arc Raiders' new Fireflies, but you probably shouldn't: "Straight to the backrooms"
Grace Ashford at her FBI desk in Resident Evil Requiem, covered with monitors and documents
Resident Evil Two hours with Grace in Resident Evil Requiem turned me into the most anxious person alive
Cropped Helldivers 2 art from the official 'Save Cyberstan' poster.
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 devs "underinvested" in the game's engine, Arrowhead CEO admits, who pledges "things can/will get better"
Assassin's Creed Mirage mysterious shards Basim looking down at order member dressed in black
Stealth Games The best stealth games you can sneak through in 2026
Cropped Helldivers 2 art from the official 'Save Cyberstan' poster.
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 players cheated so hard that Arrowhead had to "disable the Galactic War" and change a Major Order
A close-up of Styx looking up from under his hood in darkness, one eye glowing amber, and the other light blue
Stealth Games Styx: Blades of Greed review: "What if Metal Gear Solid 5 went goblin mode? This fantasy open-world stealther delights"
Helldivers 2 Commando mission sneaking past automaton outpost
Third Person Shooters Tips for beating the new Helldivers 2 Commando Missions and the best gear
Arc Raiders Shrouded Sky teaser
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders fans suspect the new Arc from the roadmap is hiding in plain sight in the Shrouded Sky teaser
Helldivers 2 intro man
Third Person Shooters All Helldivers 2 voice actors in the main cast and their roles
Helldivers 2
Third Person Shooters "A lot of Helldivers will die," Arrowhead CEO says of the next Helldivers 2 major update, teasing roadmap update
  1. Games
  2. Third Person Shooters
  3. Helldivers 2

Turns out Helldivers 2's bugs are constantly tracking you down and sneaking up on you because they can literally sniff you out

News
By Catherine Lewis published 11 March 2024

Helldivers 2's director has confirmed that some enemies have a sense of smell to find you even when you're hidden

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

A line of enemy Terminids in Helldivers 2.
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

If you've ever been in the middle of playing Helldivers 2 and wondered how one of the pesky terminids managed to track you down when it should never have seen you, there's a reason for that – they can smell you. 

Well, isn't that a horrifying thought? The concept was discussed during a chat between content creator OperatorDrewski, game director Johan Pilestedt, and head of product testing Patrik Lasota, who spoke about whether or not stealth is a mechanic that the developers plan on expanding upon in the future. 

In response, Pilestedt said: "It's not really that we have stealth gameplay, it's just that everything just has to make sense, like all the enemies, they have hearing, sight, [...] some have an approximation of smell within a close radius."

You may like
  • Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a soldier sneaking up on a robot Helldivers 2 is going full stealth with the new Redacted Regiment Warbond coming next week
  • Helldivers 2 You're really "gonna s*** your pants" this time, Helldivers 2 boss threatens, and I'm more convinced now than before
  • Cropped Helldivers 2 art from the official 'Save Cyberstan' poster. Helldivers 2's Cyborgs are real, and they'd kindly like you to "defect" from Super Earth

Expanding on this, it was revealed that some enemies "that are very sensory aware," such as the Stalkers, can literally sniff you out if you're close enough, allowing them to "detect you no matter if they can see you."

YouTube YouTube
Watch On

In other news, in the last few days, we've finally been given access to the long-awaited Helldiver 2 mechs after successfully liberating the factory planet Tien Kwan. Fighting to unlock the mechs wasn't a twist many of us saw coming, but galactic game master Joel certainly knows how to keep us on our toes. Even so, we were able to unlock them four times faster than the devs expected, so bravo for that. 

While the Exosuit has quickly proven to be a popular Stratagem, some Helldivers have begun turning against certain other Stratagems that they're convinced are out to get them rather than the terminids or automatons. Honestly, after seeing the havoc that Mortar Sentries can cause, the thought of them secretly being automatons themselves doesn't seem entirely unreasonable.

If you've just started out in Helldivers 2, be sure to check out our top Helldivers 2 tips to help you spread Managed Democracy further. 

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
PS5 PC Gaming Platforms PlayStation
Catherine Lewis
Catherine Lewis
Social Links Navigation
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

Read more
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing a soldier sneaking up on a robot
Helldivers 2 is going full stealth with the new Redacted Regiment Warbond coming next week
 
 
Helldivers 2
You're really "gonna s*** your pants" this time, Helldivers 2 boss threatens, and I'm more convinced now than before
 
 
Cropped Helldivers 2 art from the official 'Save Cyberstan' poster.
Helldivers 2's Cyborgs are real, and they'd kindly like you to "defect" from Super Earth
 
 
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 update adds stealth missions and Arrowhead is finally "ready to make the slim PC build default for all"
 
 
Helldivers 2 screenshot of two soldiers cheering in the desert
After Helldivers 2 boss teased chaos in upcoming update, new Illuminate structures appear in Super Earth media
 
 
A Helldivers 2 Cyborg cries out in despair
Helldivers 2 Cyborgs recreate the game's intro but with evil humans killing innocent robot children
 
 
Latest in Third Person Shooters
Elsa Bloodshot in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals devs felt "panic" at the thought of going into the live-service graveyard that just claimed Highguard
 
 
Helldivers 2 Entrenched Division warbond helldivers in sapper armor running across no-man's-land
All weapons and items in the Helldivers 2 Entrenched Division Warbond
 
 
Arc Raiders player in heavy rain with shield shorting out
Arc Raiders turns down storm lightning, and Embark promises compensation for folks impacted by recent server issues
 
 
Cropped Helldivers 2 art from the official 'Save Cyberstan' poster.
Helldivers 2 devs "underinvested" in the game's engine, Arrowhead CEO admits, who pledges "things can/will get better"
 
 
Marvel Rivals Season 5 Rogue and Gambit
Marvel Rivals implements a "Victim Compensation Protocol" for players affected by "malicious match-losing"
 
 
thor looking into the camera with a steely stare
As Marvel Rivals players get paid to throw games, devs threaten permabans for those who "deliberately sabotage matches"
 
 
Latest in News
Elsa Bloodshot in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals devs felt "panic" at the thought of going into the live-service graveyard that just claimed Highguard
 
 
Palworld Pal with shocked expression
"I wouldn't rule out a Palworld 2.0," says Pocketpair publishing head, but don't expect a "No Man's Sky situation"
 
 
Dafne Keen brandishing her claws as Laura/X-23 in Deadpool and Wolverine
Marvel fans are debating whether Dafne Keen should become Wolverine or stay as X-23, and I've already chosen a side
 
 
Peak mesa biome
Peak came about after a bet between Content Warning and Another Crab's Treasure leads to see whose game would sell more
 
 
Key art for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred showing Mephisto, a spiky and angular demon, against a red, lightning backdrop, arm and claw raised menancingly, cropped to show more of him
Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion will be "really f*cking hard" at its highest difficulty, dev threatens
 
 
Jin, Mugen, and Fuu standing in a row
Samurai Champloo is getting a live-action Netflix series from One Piece studio, and the original creator is on board
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Elsa Bloodshot in Marvel Rivals
    1
    Marvel Rivals devs felt "panic" at the thought of going into the live-service graveyard that just claimed Highguard
  2. 2
    Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion will be "really f*cking hard" at its highest difficulty, dev threatens
  3. 3
    Marvel fans are debating whether Dafne Keen should become Wolverine or stay as X-23, and I've already chosen a side
  4. 4
    "I wouldn't rule out a Palworld 2.0," says Pocketpair publishing head, but don't expect a "No Man's Sky situation"
  5. 5
    Peak came about after a bet between Content Warning and Another Crab's Treasure leads to see whose game would sell more

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...