Helldivers 2 lore is funny and unapologetically political: bugs are oil, bots are commies, 'Managed Democracy' is a scam

GamesActionHelldivers 2Helldivers 2 lore is funny and unapologetically political: bugs are oil, bots are commies, ‘Managed Democracy’ is a scamWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Arrowhead Games)

An image of a citizen of Super Earth giving a PSA, holding his hands out in a calming manner while the word: INVASION is stamped in block-type over a screaming man crying for sweet liberty.

It’s pretty clear from the opening cutscene that Helldivers 2 takes place in a satirical, Starship Troopers-esque future where a dystopian government glorifies the idea of dying for “democracy.” So it may not shock you too much to find out Super Earth isn’t exactly all that democratic, and many of the problems we’re out solving with our bullets and lasers are of our own making. Especially if you didn’t play the original Helldivers, a lot of this isn’t made super obvious.

I probably only have a few minutes here before you and your squad drop a 500KG bomb on my apartment for 50 experience and some common samples after I’m charged with treason, so I’ll be brief:

“Managed Democracy” is basically a Facebook personality quiz that decides where your vote should go

So you don’t actually vote for a candidate or a party as a citizen of Super Earth. It’s more like telling the voting machine who your favorite Ninja Turtle is and which of these dresses you’d wear to the Academy Awards, and then you blindly and patriotically trust that your vote will be allocated appropriately.

An “illegal” terminid broadcast that reads: “This threat is all about oil! The government made this!"(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

helldivers 2 lore

The bugs turn into oil when they die, so Super Earth wants to make sure we never fully eradicate them

The fact that fossil fuels are still in use in a future where we can build advanced plasma weaponry and warp drives is a major tell. Super Earth doesn’t really want the bugs gone. They want to leave enough of them alive to repopulate so they can keep sending you and your friends to die, then harvest that sweet black gold.

An “illegal” terminid broadcast that reads: “Wake up people! The bug menace is a Super Earth construct!"(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

helldivers 2 lore

The robots are communists who rebelled against Super Earth

The Automatons we see in Helldivers 2 seem to be an evolution or possibly an offshoot of the Cyborgs faction from the original Helldivers, who were a bit more human in their appearance. They were originally rebels who seceded from Super Earth’s militaristic empire to form what Arrowhead’s Johan Pilestedt describedin a 2014 interview with GamingBoltas “a socio-anarchistic feudal society,” and were quickly labeled as terrorists.

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The ‘borgs even used to try to recruit Helldivers sent to fight them in the first game. They seem to have abandoned that idea now along with what little flesh they had left, but you can still see their propaganda when you’re shutting down a broadcast tower on an Automaton planet announcing things like, “WE HAVE ELIMINATED INEQUALITY!” If you sneak up on a patrol of Automatons, you can even hear them chanting in unison.

On top of this, Hellpods were originally created to suppress a peaceful socialist breakaway state called Northman’s Creek. This event is brought up a couple of times as a historical curiosity if you chat up the bridge officers on your super destroyer.

Real, actual things people have been arrested or executed for on Super Earth, according to the lore:

—

Len Hafer is a dangerous terrorist who was terminated for spreading lies and sedition among the ranks. This archive is provided for training purposes only, to aid you in identifying traitorous broadcasts before they can spread.

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“Managed Democracy” is basically a Facebook personality quiz that decides where your vote should go#

The bugs turn into oil when they die, so Super Earth wants to make sure we never fully eradicate them#

The robots are communists who rebelled against Super Earth#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Real, actual things people have been arrested or executed for on Super Earth, according to the lore:#

“Managed Democracy” is basically a Facebook personality quiz that decides where your vote should go

The bugs turn into oil when they die, so Super Earth wants to make sure we never fully eradicate them

The robots are communists who rebelled against Super Earth

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Real, actual things people have been arrested or executed for on Super Earth, according to the lore: