Helldivers 2 Adds New Faction Illuminate in Omens of Tyranny Update, and It’s Out Now - The Game Awards 2024

ign.com:

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has announced and released the long-awaited Illuminate update, dubbed Omens of Tyranny.

Unveiled during The Game Awards 2024, Helldivers 2 has expanded to herald the Illuminate invasion of Super Earth planets in the galactic south. This initial alien force brings with it a number of new enemies to fight against as well as brand new Super Earth colonies to fight on. These colonies introduce Helldivers 2’s first urban environments, with city streets packed with innocent civilians who are mind-controlled by the Illuminate. The Voteless, as they’re called by Super Earth, are little more than zombies who want nothing more than to team players limb from limb.

In an interview with IGN, game director Mikael Eriksson said this initial invasion involves the Illuminate Vanguard Fleet and does not appear to be the full faction. Initially, the Illuminate won’t capture planets, rather they are using guerrilla tactics. Eriksson wouldn’t say what they’re up to, but did tease that players will get the chance to influence the ongoing Illuminate invasion as part of a new story set to take place over the course of several months.

Eriksson also discussed the main differences between fighting the Illuminate and the bots and bugs. One is that the Illuminate are “more difficult,” and fighting against them in urban environments feels constrained compared to fighting the Automatons and the Terminids in open, more naturalistic environments.

The Illuminate themselves are like demi-gods, with huge walking trip-pod enemies called Harvesters that can one-shot you. On top of that, there’s horde-style gameplay with the mind-controlled civilians to contend with. However, players have a number of new toys to help defend against the Illuminate threat, chief among them Helldivers 2’s first vehicle, the Fast Recon Vehicle (FRV).

The FRV, which initially can only be found at various spots on the map, houses a full squad of players: one driving (manual by default but automatic