Part of the fun of Helldivers 2, even if players never seek it out or care to dig into it below the surface, is a mountain of bombastic sci-fi lore related to the Federation of Super Earth. Helldivers 2 doesn’t unload this lore onto players for them to laboriously parse, and players could understandably dive into one battle after another without ever lending an ear to what exposition or worldbuilding is made available in-game. Still, it boasts exceptional environmental storytelling, particularly on Super Earth Mega Cities, where there are seas of skyscrapers adorned with entertaining advertisements.
Players may come across points of interest in Helldivers 2 they can interact with that tell tiny tales of what has occurred on a mission’s planet, such as an SOS beacon or a corpse, typically a poor SEAF (Super Earth Armed Forces) soldier, dismembered or decapitated and lying in a pool of their own blood.
If there was ever an avenue for lore regarding a militaristic civic duty and another means of representing hysterical friendly fire, it would be in the upcoming Helldivers movie. No details about the movie have been shared yet, but it’s not difficult to imagine what it’ll look like—if it’s faithful to the lovably elementary ethos of the games, at least. It would be quite odd if a movie adapting Helldivers didn’t star the Helldivers as its main cast of characters, though only the movie could offer a unique perspective on the games’ lore, as well as the Helldivers themselves, as long as it made the somewhat bold decision to star Helldivers 2’s SEAF soldiers instead, and possibly discern a canonical face for Eagle 1 or the SEAF NPC that’s become famous in the community.
How SEAF Could Flip the Helldivers Movie’s Script
The Helldivers movie, if done right, should be nearly indistinguishable from something like Starship Troopers, with the one remarkable difference being that there is also a Cyborg/Automaton faction and an Illuminate faction for Helldivers’ Super Earth to contend with. As for its slapstick humor, stylish action, and irreverent irony, Helldivers’ movie could absolutely center exclusively on the titular elite peacekeeping force and have an abundance of content from the games to reference in its adaptation.
Of course, role-playing the finest blunt instruments in Super Earth’s epic bout for managed democracy in Helldivers 2’s Galactic War and avenging whatever alien- or automaton-infested planet they’ve dived onto is the brand of propaganda players are accustomed to in-game. By having the movie center on a humble, ill-equipped SEAF squad, perhaps as first responders who must withstand bot drops suddenly raining hordes of Automatons onto Super Earth soil until the Helldivers arrive, the Helldivers could be pedestaled as truly superior heroes that the SEAF soldiers are enamored by and willing to sacrifice their lives for.
Indeed, while players can often feel composed with a four-person squad and coordinate a godly onslaught on the enemy faction unfortunate enough to be on the other end of their blade in Helldivers 2, a SEAF squad, invigorated by the Helldivers no less, may be petrified by a hulking Fleshmob or Incineration Corps Hulk. Moreover, it would be fantastic to have SEAF soldiers idolize the Helldivers, only to witness as the movie’s Helldivers make every foolish mistake that a player might, including:
- Priming an offensive stratagem with the code inputted, followed by being struck, fumbling it, and having an Orbital 380MM HE Barrage begin pelting the user and their nearby teammates.
- Accidentally and naively moving into the way of a teammate’s line of fire or supply stratagem’s blue beacon, much less having an automated Sentry cut players down while trying to fire at an enemy.
- Aimlessly diving in a Hellpod without bothering to steer it and squashing a teammate on impact.
SEAF Soldiers are Liberty’s Beating Heart
Not having Helldivers lead the Helldivers movie would come with downsides. For example, a SEAF-focused Helldivers movie might not treat viewers to seeing Helldivers interact aboard Helldivers 2’s Destroyer, assessing what sectors to explore or missions to initiate while circling the holographic Galactic War table. SEAF soldiers aren’t allowed to board the extraction shuttle, and that, too, could make for an equally depressing or funny moment in the movie as they either feel abandoned by them or ecstatic that they were able to see them in action at all.
Nonetheless, the experience of mingling with SEAF and watching as Helldivers 2’s Requisition slips are gradually depleted with every soldier’s death adds a level of immersion that could be effectively portrayed in the Helldivers movie. SEAF units have been incredibly endearing ever since they were introduced as NPCs that players can see moseying around and combating enemies, and their powerlessness and humility make them relatable, and it can be hard not to reminisce about when players began Helldivers 2 as lowly cadets in a training course tutorial to earn their cape.
A hypothetical SEAF-oriented Warbond has been highly anticipated and featured on players’ wish lists as it could grant them cosmetic designs that let them feel a greater kinship with SEAF soldiers, and such a Helldivers 2 Warbond shouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility with how diverse players’ armor catalogs have become.
It’s doubly fun, then, that players can exchange salute emote animations with SEAF units, or have them follow players on these missions, however dogged they may be, by inputting the ‘follow’ comms command. Even if half of them are eventually mauled by an uncloaked Stalker, SEAF soldiers can’t afford to be dismissed and must play a role in the Helldivers movie if the adaptation hopes to be comprehensively authentic to the experience of playing Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
