GamesThird Person ShooterHelldivers 2Helldivers 2 Omens of Tyranny gives players everything they’ve been asking for - melee weapons, cars, and a third faction that’s back with a vengeanceWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesThird Person ShooterHelldivers 2Helldivers 2 Omens of Tyranny gives players everything they’ve been asking for - melee weapons, cars, and a third faction that’s back with a vengeanceWhen 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)
That’s bad news for the people living there. In the four missions I play against the Illuminates, the new arrivals themselves stride across cities in Harvesters – towering walkers, their huge lasers scything across the ground like something out of the War of the Worlds. When they dismount, they’re threatening brutes marching players down with a dangerous staff-and-shield combo, or frustrating aerial troopers flitting about as they pepper you with grenades. But the Illuminates don’t want to put their own in danger if they can avoid it, so instead, they’re putting your former allies in the firing line.
(Image credit: Arrowhead)
Just as the Automatons and Terminids complement their ranks of devastating special units with more fragile cannon fodder, so do the Illuminates. The difference this time, however, is that this new fodder used to be friend, not foe. Citizens of Super Earth, their homes invaded, their minds addled, chase you down, zombie-like, through the streets of their former homes. We’re a long way from the shooting galleries of Terminid space, of the Automatons player-dubbed ‘Robot Vietnam’. Instead, these new enemies – dubbed the ‘voteless’ due to their removal from Super Earth’s democratic process – combined with all-new urban environments, lead to what game director Michael Eriksson tells me is “more of a horde zombie-kind of gameplay”.
We built this city
(Image credit: Arrowhead)
Thankfully, if you do find yourself closed in, there’s a pair of new tools at your disposal. Two melee weapons – a baton and a lance that slot in instead of your secondary weapons – are very effective in close quarters. Against the right kind of enemies, it’s possible to fight tooth and claw through the streets, holding back large groups without spending a single, precious round of ammo. And if you really do have to drop everything and run, you’ll get to do so with Helldivers 2’s first proper vehicle.
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Put it in H
(Image credit: Arrowhead)
Most importantly, however, the car isfun– fast enough to let you pick up some speed, but fragile enough to throw an entire mission if you crash badly enough. It’s a perfect addition for this point in Helldivers 2’s life-span – just like the Illuminates themselves, it adapts around the winning formula without changing it too much. There’s nothing in Omens of Tyranny that feels too distant from anything Arrowhead has thrown at us before – for months, the studio has been prepared to invent and reinvent around its winning formula, offering just enough to keep the galactic war machine moving forward without changing its course too drastically. At the end of a year that’s seenHelldivers 2 go from unexpected hit to community pariah and pretty much all the way back again, the changes brought in with this update are a reminder that reinventing the wheel isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be.
Here’s everything we know so far about theHelldivers 2 Illuminatefaction.
CATEGORIESPC GamingPS5PlatformsPlayStation
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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”
2
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”
3
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”
4
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”
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”
1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
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”
3
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”
5
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”
2
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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”
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”
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”