GamesThird Person ShooterHelldivers 2Helldivers 2 grunts capture sightings of a returning faction while the game’s director desperately restarts the propaganda machine: “The Illuminate are already here"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesThird Person ShooterHelldivers 2Helldivers 2 grunts capture sightings of a returning faction while the game’s director desperately restarts the propaganda machine: “The Illuminate are already here"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Keep your head down, Helldiver, blue sniper beams (that may or may not exist) are rampant.Helldivers 2players have been sharing footage of what seems like a new unfriendly faction in the game, though the shooter’s director is determined to suppress such anti-democratic lies.
Helldivers 2’s Galactic Map has a good amount of free space with the bug critter Terminids and the robot army Automatons only taking up half the table. Developer Arrowhead Studios then has space aplenty toadd new baddiesand some players are now convinced that a returning faction, The Illuminate, is already in the game.
Several clips andtestimoniesfound on the game’s main subreddit claim that mysterious blue beams have been shot from the sky and even killed a few cadets. Though a some Helldivers also claim that the blue beams might sometimes aim at enemy bugs, so the mysterious force might just be spreading their own kind of democracy. See the evidence (or forged documents) with your own liberty-loving eyes below.
The Illuminatewas a major enemy faction in the first game. Their psychic teleportation abilities and tentacled faces made them both tough to fight and even tougher to look at. Some of the leaders also donned celestial robes to further spread their religious zealotry, rivaling the false prophets of Halo’s Covenant. But that’s all in the past - The Illuminate was thoroughly squashed, never to return - according to the sequel’s director and the Ministry of Truth’s propaganda machine.
Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt and other truth ministers reviewed the footage to quell anti-democratic claims about The Illuminate’s return. “Blue beams aren’t real, it can’t hurt you,” hewrites- unless you were unlucky enough to lose a limb during those (fake) blue beam strikes.Illuminate sightings have been reported for weeksnow, so a new threat will probably join the game sooner rather than later.
Whatever comes next will likely be just as involved and fun to watch unfold as the inclusion ofHelldivers 2’s mechs. With all the teasing and community-wide challenges,Helldivers 2 has been in a masterclass on how to make a fun live service game.
Prepare for another alien horde with ourbest Helldivers 2 Stratagems tier list.
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
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Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
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3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”