Helldivers 2 aims to channel the 'immersive' quality of Dungeons & Dragons, says game director

Don't back down, double down. The Helldivers 2 propaganda machine is spinning up once again after the horrible flying Terminid bugs debuted in the game, something its creative director dismissed as "propaganda from bug sympathizers" when players first reported it.

Helldivers 2 is full of powerful weapons to smash up bots and squash bugs, ranging from satisfying firearms to explosive orbital strikes that often do more harm to you and your team than the actual enemies. Out of them all, though, one weapon stands out to game director Johan Pilestedt for having the best design.

The director of Dragon's Dogma 2 has embraced its release date rival Rise of the Ronin by telling fans "it's okay if you buy both" next week. 

The Helldivers 2 community is a fun place, especially when players remain as enthusiastic about the prosperity of Super Earth on social media as a real Helldiver would out on Erata Prime. There's no doubt the developers encourage this, with game director Johan Pilestedt recently branding the footage of flying Terminids as "propaganda from bug sympathizers" and refusing to acknowledge their existence.

Helldivers 2 players who literally want to watch the world burn have put forward a spicy suggestion for a new Stratagem, which sounds like it has the potential to be incredibly powerful, if not massively risky for your fellow teammates. Enter the idea of the Guard Dog Flamethrower – an auto-firing companion bot that can spew flames whenever it wants, at whatever it wants.

While continues to dominate the video game industry, one star is eager for a crossover with the game his film inspired. It doesn't take a lot to recognize that Arrowhead Studios' game and Paul Verhoeven's cult-classic sci-fi have a great deal in the company especially given that both act as satirical comments on the modern military-industrial complex and the influence of propaganda on society. Despite these heavy themes, there's still a great amount of fun to be had in either given that they also spotlight soldiers firing big weapons at giant alien bugs.

Several players have insisted that they've encountered a new type of flying Terminid but in keeping with the game's satirical tone,Arrowhead Studios' CEO Johan Pilestedt believes it's all nonsense. In the weeks after the game's launch, the community has been hard and working trying to figure out exactly what could be causing the Terminids to spread so rapidly among the stars. Some are speculating that Super Earth itself could be creating the «aliens» but the game's director is trying to throw everyone off the scent.

presents players with an abundance of different tools to eliminate the deadly armies of the Terminids and Automatons and Arrowhead Studios is giving fans some insight into how those Stratagems are created. One of the core components of the popular co-op shooter is the ability to call down equipment and support from the skies, most of which take the form of explosive air strikes or precision missile launches. They're undoubtedly one of the most fun aspects of and director Johan Pilestedt wants everyone to know how the team creates them.

makes a point of throwing droves of enemies at players but those who do their best to avoid combat may be shocked to learn that enemies have a few extra tools in their arsenals to detect sneaky players. During some of the game's larger open-world missions, Helldivers have the option to engage with roving bands of foes or, if they're careful, sneak past without raising the alarm. That's easier said than done, especially when the Terminids can use more than one of their sense to track their prey.

Heads up, Helldivers – literally. Seemingly out of nowhere, there've been sightings of flying terminids out in the wild, which the game's director – and the Ministry of Truth – insist are "filthy lies" and "propaganda from bug sympathizers." So, uh, we can probably expect to start seeing a lot more of them soon. 

If you've ever been in the middle of playing Helldivers 2 and wondered how one of the pesky terminids managed to track you down when it should never have seen you, there's a reason for that – they can smell you. 

is a game with plenty of strategic possibilities, but there's one key aspect of tactics that has been misrepresented from the start. Some areas where the game can be confusing have to do with bugs present at its launch, like the armor issue that has rendered heavy armor significantly less useful than intended. On the other end, however, some information can be deliberately withheld with the intention of making the game easier to get into rather than harder.