The PlayStation Showcase got here out swinging with a gloriously gory preview of Helldiver II, the sequel to 2015’s Helldiver. Very similar to its predecessor, Helldriver II is an ultra-violent multiplayer cooperative shooter that burrows quite a lot of parts from the cult-classic 1997 movie adaption of Robert A. Heilein’s dystopian army science-fiction novel Starship Troopers. Right here’s why Helldiver II is the Starship Troopers sport we’ve been ready for.
Helldiver II’s Trailer is a Shameless Starship Troopers Tribute
The unique Helldivers didn’t disguise that it was influenced by Paul Verhoeven’s cinematic adaption of Starship Troopers. Set within the far future, the universe of Helldivers is one the place humanity has been united underneath the banner of the totalitarian Federation of Tremendous Earth. This “managed democracy” retains the inhabitants of Earth and varied colonized worlds in line by way of propaganda and political suppression. As members of the titular army unit, Hellriders gamers had been tasked with “defending humanity’s freedom” by waging battle on varied alien races and plundering their worlds’ assets.
Practically each facet of Helldivers’ dystopian imaginative and prescient of humanity’s future is burrowed from the movie model of Starship Troopers. Whereas the novel presents the fascistic world authorities that changed the “inefficient” democracies that preceded it as a power of justice and stability, the film paints the United Citizen Federation as a brutal dictatorship that solely grants basic human rights to those that serve in its army. Borrowing visible parts from propaganda movies like Triumph of the Will, Starship Troopers ruthlessly satirizes fascism with the identical cinematic techniques usually used to glorify it.
Whereas Helldivers II trades the unique’s top-down perspective for an over-the-shoulder third-person view, the collection’ satirical tone hasn’t modified. Juxtaposing a cliche-ridden narration that espouses the inherent glory of defending the Federation of Tremendous Earth’s “democratic” lifestyle in opposition to gameplay footage of Helldiver troopers ruthlessly reducing down scores of extraterrestrial arthropods with superior weaponry, Helldrivers II’s trailer does a superb job setting the tone for this grim parody of army area shooters.
Helldivers II is ready to launch on the PlayStation 5 and PC someday later this yr. As of the time of writing, a precise date particular date has not been supplied.
– This text was up to date on Could twenty fourth, 2023