Helldivers 2’s homaging of Starship Troopers and/or parodying of real-life fascist interventionalism continues with Into the Unjust, a sizeable game update that will take you out to the Terminid Hive Worlds for a spot of cave combat. According to multiple geographers interviewed by RPS, caves are located underground. That’s going to cause problems if, for example, your entire military strategy depends on being able to call in air support whenever you choose. The same geographers also allege that caves are dark. That’s going to cause problems if you like to see the things you’re shooting at.
Helldivers 2 Into the Unjust launches 2nd September, and why read the rest of this evidently stupid news piece when you can just watch this seven minute “deep dive” (comedy whoopee cushion sound effect)?
Watch on YouTube
Did you skip the video? Bless you for your loyalty to the written word. Your reward is a hasty summary of Into The Unjust from me, plus more bad jokes. Basically, Hive Worlds are big jaggedy deserts made out of congealed snot and custard. The Terminids here appear vastly more annoying than the ones you’ll find on, lol, Super Earth, because they have the ability to burrow.
That extends to the Chargers, who can actually charge while burrowing. I would need to consult with the geographers again, but I’m not sure that should be allowed. At the very least, they should have to use a new word for it. I would recommend “churrowing” but that makes it sound like you’re being assaulted by delicious fried dough. “Barging” is already a word, unfortunately, and “burraging” sounds like you tripped and bit your tongue while ordering an artillery strike. Can we please just move onto the next paragraph already.
There are two new types of mission to undertake on Hive Worlds. Firstly, journeys underground in search of a horrible giant lung that’s coughing up a bunch of poison fog. These missions readily evoke Aliens, and naturally put a strong emphasis on teamwork than many surface-level shoot-outs: in darker spots, one player may need to shoulder flashlight duties, sacrificing participation in the carnage for the good of the squad. I’m sure this won’t lead to any broken friendships.
The second type of mission sees you escorting a mobile oil drill with a big cannon on it. It’s Dune and also, a pisstake of US oil politics. It seems like the new Dragonroach enemies will be a particular hindrance during these missions: they can fly and have acidic breath. The key to prevailing over Dragonroach appears to be forcing them to land by blasting their wings, and if that isn’t grounds for modding Fus Ro Dah functionality into Helldivers 2, my name isn’t Hey You, You’re Finally Awake.
The video includes details of some forthcoming Helldivers 2 warbonds, aka DLC packs. There’s a crossover with Halo 3: ODST, which has been in the wind for a while, and lets you wreak war with such UNSC armaments as the Battle Rifle and Magnum (but will it capture the interplay between the former’s shield-stripping and the latter’s finishing shots?). There’s also a Dust Devil warbond tailored to the new Hive World maps, which includes an assault rifle with incendiary rounds, a new napalm rocket, a gas harpoon, and a missile silo helpfully housed in a hellpod.
Some recent Helldiverse happenings: they’ve put a stop to an exploit that let you warp out of the extraction shuttle. They’re handing out free capes like they’re going out of style – a foolish observation of mine, for what is style if not cape. They’re also not making Helldivers 3 anytime soon, unless Helldivers 2 updates itself so much that it becomes Helldivers 3 by default.