Cashing in on what’s been brewing for a while now, Helldivers 2 announced a ‘Galactic Emergency’ in the ongoing Galactic War as the Illuminate’s true power increases the stakes against Super Earth’s safety more than ever, and right before a new Premium Warbond was released today. More than 100,000 players rallied on day one of this new update to combat the threat of Helldivers 2’s Illuminate enemy faction on Widow’s Harbor, complete with new enemy types accompanying its invasion fleet: Crescent Overseers, Fleshmobs, and Interlopers.
Helldivers 2’s new Illuminate Interlopers in particular can be a nuisance as they hail Eagle Strafing Run-esque plasma below.
However, arguably the most exciting and fun of the Illuminate’s latest forces in Helldivers 2 are Fleshmobs. And, if the Fleshmobs’ disfigured visages seem at all familiar, it’s probably either because it resembles the grotesque science-fiction imagery of The Thing, or, more recently, the hideous and rare strain of infected Abby discovers in The Last of Us Part 2 that is now colloquially known as the ‘Rat King.’
Helldivers 2’s New Weapon Customization is Hopefully a First Step Toward Armor Transmog
As Helldivers 2 debuts weapon attachment and pattern customization, armor is seemingly no closer to receiving transmog or its own customization.
The Last of Us Part 2’s Rat King is a Brilliant Stage of Infected Evolution
The Last of Us’ stages of infection are well-documented by FEDRA, at least given what was known at the time of documentation. But, as Part 2 depicts, there are horrors nobody has heard about in deep recesses that nobody has lived to tell the tale about. Abby is warned multiple times about how the lower levels of the Washington Liberation Front’s hospital have been abandoned and were ‘ground zero’ for infected patients when the outbreak began, and players learn firsthand what that means for infected left to fester for almost three decades.
The Last of Us Part 2’s Rat King is honored with a ton of suspense before players actually encounter it, and its boss fight has players ducking into various sections of the quarantined laboratory as the Rat King barrels toward them. One of the neatest design elements of the Rat King is that it will cleave a stalker from its mass when enough damage has been dealt to it, introducing another boss for players to defeat in its second phase.
Helldivers 2’s Fleshmob is a Great New Illuminate Enemy Type
The Illuminate aren’t nightmarishly oppressive like Automatons are, and in many ways they’ve even fallen lower than Terminids in terms of how difficult their missions are. Plus, this has only become more valid after the bugs’ horrific Gloom spell in Helldivers 2.
However, arguably the most exciting and fun of the Illuminate’s latest forces in Helldivers 2 are Fleshmobs.
Regardless, the Illuminate was a long-awaited and much-needed addition to Helldivers 2 as it finally added a third enemy faction for players to tackle, and its motif as an invasive alien race is fertile soil for some exceptionally terrifying enemy designs. Indeed, while Helldivers 2’s Voteless hordes may not have ever been a huge threat to players who remain spatially aware and don’t let themselves get backed into an inescapable corner, Arrowhead has now taken the Voteless concept to a glorious extreme by amalgamating handfuls of them together into individual hulking creatures cheekily dubbed Fleshmobs.
Fleshmobs aren’t terribly intimidating, even if they are remarkably tanky and flail four enlarged arms; Fleshmobs basically amount to Chargers, but are far slower and have less aggro, and therefore maintaining distance is key.
Fleshmobs shamble around at first, but eventually lunge speedily at players, not unlike the Rat King. An important distinction, though, is that players come across dozens of Fleshmobs as they’re an ordinary enemy rather than a lone boss. They lose a bit of their luster that way, and yet they make for a wildly fun foe to encounter while attempting to accomplish miscellaneous mission objectives in Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2
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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
- Engine
- bitsquid
- 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
