Summary
- Helldivers 2 pays homage to Mass Effect by including a reference to Commander Shepard's famous line about their favorite store on the Citadel.
- An in-game review in Helldivers 2's Super Store mimics Shepard's endorsement message, showing that the developers are aware of the similarities between the two games.
- Fans are now speculating about other Easter eggs in Helldivers 2 and joking about how the Reapers would fare against the game's militaristic Super Earth government.
An eagle-eyed player has spotted a deep Mass Effect Easter egg in Helldivers 2, one that might put a smile on the face of anyone with fond memories of shopping in the Citadel. Earlier this month, Arrowhead Game Studios released the sequel to its 2015 top-down shooter Helldivers on PlayStation 5 and PC. Helldivers 2 shifts the camera to an over-the-shoulder third-person perspective, but it retains the same premise: as one of the titular Helldivers, the player must travel to alien worlds to defend the Super Earth government from various extraterrestrial threats.
The Helldivers series borrows some of its sci-fi aesthetics from classic works like Star Wars, Alien, and Starship Troopers, but it could also draw comparisons to BioWare’s acclaimed RPG series Mass Effect. Like in Helldivers 2, the Mass Effect games put players in the role of a futuristic space solider tasked with taking down an ancient alien menace, and the gameplay is even presented from the same third-person view as Helldivers 2.
Some Helldivers 2 Issues Persist Following Latest Update
Arrowhead confirms that a few Helldivers 2 issues persist after the latest update and offers some band-aid advice until it deploys a permanent fix.
The developers behind Helldivers 2 might just be aware of the similarities between their game and Mass Effect, as a Reddit user named QueenSparks recently shared a screenshot from the former on r/Helldivers that calls back to Mass Effect 2. In the game’s Super Store, players can read item reviews while purchasing weapons and cosmetic items using Helldivers 2’s in-game currency, and one message that can come up reads “I’m [redacted] and this is my favorite product in the acquisition center.” This is nearly an exact match for a phrase Shepard uses in Mass Effect 2: “I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the Citadel."
Helldivers 2 References One Of Mass Effect 2’s Most Popular Memes
In Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard and their new crew return to the Citadel, the capital of the Milky Way Galaxy, to prepare for the impending battle against the Collectors. In the Citadel’s Zakera Ward lies various shops where Shepard can purchase weapons and other various items, and players who choose to follow Mass Effect's more altruistic Paragon character path can gain discounts by recording an endorsement message. This message is identical in every store, and the player will periodically hear the message play on the loudspeakers as they return to the Citadel shops. Because of this, the phrase itself has become a popular meme among Mass Effect fans.
It seems that Commander Shepard’s viral Citadel endorsement message has spread beyond the Mass Effect universe, as it is now being used by random shoppers in Helldivers 2’s Super Store. Even better, the user who left this in-game review is named Specctrei, itself a clear shout-out to the Spectre program that Shepard joined at the beginning of Mass Effect. This discovery has prompted fans to start joking about how the Reapers would have fared against the overwhelming armies of Helldivers 2’s more militaristic Super Earth government and wonder if there are any more interesting Easter eggs to find.
Helldivers 2
- Released
- February 8, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
The Galaxy’s Last Line of Offence. Enlist in the Helldivers and join the fight for freedom across a hostile galaxy in a fast, frantic, and ferocious third-person shooter.
URGENT BROADCAST – SUPER EARTH ARMED FORCES
Freedom. Peace. Democracy. Your Super Earth-born rights. The key pillars of our civilization. Of our very existence. But the war rages on. And everything is once again under threat.
Join the greatest military force the galaxy has ever seen and make this a safe and free place to live.
BECOME A LEGEND
You will be assembled into squads of up to four Helldivers and assigned strategic missions. Watch each other’s back – friendly fire is an unfortunate certainty of war, but victory without teamwork is impossible.
LOADOUTS
Rain down freedom from above, sneak through enemy territory, or grit your teeth and charge head-first into the jaws of combat. How you deliver liberty is your choice; you’ll have access to a wide array of explosive firepower, life-saving armor and battle-changing stratagems… the jewel in every Helldiver’s arsenal.
REQUISITION
Super Earth recognises your hard work with valuable Requisition. Use it to access different rewards that benefit you, your squad, your destroyer ship and our overall war effort.
THREATS
Everything on every planet wants you dead. That’s what we’re dealing with. Each enemy has distinct and unpredictable characteristics, tactics, and behavior – but they all fight ferociously and without fear or morality.
THE GALACTIC WAR
Capturing enemy planets, defending against invasions, and completing missions will contribute to our overall effort. This war will be won or lost depending on the actions of everyone involved.
We stand together, or we fall apart.
- 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
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
