Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has announced and released the long-awaited Illuminate update, dubbed Omens of Tyranny.
Unveiled during The Game Awards 2024, Helldivers 2 has expanded to herald the Illuminate invasion of Super Earth planets in the galactic south. This initial alien force brings with it a number of new enemies to fight against as well as brand new Super Earth colonies to fight on. These colonies introduce Helldivers 2’s first urban environments, with city streets packed with innocent civilians who are mind-controlled by the Illuminate. The Voteless, as they’re called by Super Earth, are little more than zombies who want nothing more than to team players limb from limb.
In an interview with IGN, game director Mikael Eriksson said this initial invasion involves the Illuminate Vanguard Fleet and does not appear to be the full faction. Initially, the Illuminate won’t capture planets, rather they are using guerrilla tactics. Eriksson wouldn’t say what they’re up to, but did tease that players will get the chance to influence the ongoing Illuminate invasion as part of a new story set to take place over the course of several months.
Eriksson also discussed the main differences between fighting the Illuminate and the bots and bugs. One is that the Illuminate are “more difficult,” and fighting against them in urban environments feels constrained compared to fighting the Automatons and the Terminids in open, more naturalistic environments.
The Illuminate themselves are like demi-gods, with huge walking trip-pod enemies called Harvesters that can one-shot you. On top of that, there’s horde-style gameplay with the mind-controlled civilians to contend with. However, players have a number of new toys to help defend against the Illuminate threat, chief among them Helldivers 2’s first vehicle, the Fast Recon Vehicle (FRV).
The FRV, which initially can only be found at various spots on the map, houses a full squad of players: one driving (manual by default but automatic via accessibility settings), two in passenger seats with lean out and shoot functionality, and one manning the rear turret. The FRV will only be fully unlocked as a stratagem you can call in if and when the Helldivers 2 community completes a new major order, thus making it available to buy in the traditional fashion.
Eriksson recommended players bring anti-tank stratagems to help take down the Illuminate spawn ships, encounter ships, and the Harvester enemies, all of which have shields (the new Anti-Tank Emplacement defensive stratagem will prove useful). You’ll need support weapons good against the horde; Eriksson suggested an assault rifle. And it’s a good idea to use the FRV to zip around the maps, particularly on city roads.
The Illuminate join the bugs and bots as Helldivers 2’s third enemy faction, and are set to breathe new life into the explosive third-person co-op action game. Helldivers 2 is the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game of all time, having shifted an incredible 12 million copies in just 12 weeks following its February launch. Arrowhead has endured a number of controversies in the 10 months since, including a review bomb campaign over publisher Sony’s decision to force Steam gamers to log in to a PSN account.
But it’s continued to update the game, adding new content and issuing balance changes that have seen recent Steam user reviews hit ‘overwhelmingly positive.’
Be sure to check out IGN's round-up of everything announced at The Game Awards 2024 for more on what's coming to the world of gaming in the years ahead.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
