Helldivers 2 players are right at the brink of seeing the long-awaited Illuminate enemy faction arrive in the game, and speculation about their introduction into the game’s universe continues to brew among fans.
The galactic military role-playing aspect of the co-op shooter is one of its best qualities, and with the in-game universe’s lore steadily growing, many wonder how the ferocious alien squids will make their debut. A recent fan theory claims the Illuminate might not be as alien as we think.
The Squids Are A Failed Super Earth Experiment
Posted to the r/helldivers community on Reddit, the theory proposes that the Illuminate’s return stems from a secret Super Earth experiment gone wrong. It suggests Super Earth, driven by a desire to control its populace, sought a way to eradicate “traitorous thoughts”.
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Their solution to the problem was to utilize harvested DNA from the squid-like race and splice it with human DNA, essentially creating brainwashed human drones for “re-education purposes”. However, as with many scientific endeavors in the Helldivers universe, things took a turn for the worse.
It’s further posited that the alien DNA proved too dominant, resulting in beings closer to the pure-blooded squids than intended drones, thus bringing them back “to the galactic stage”. Now possessing both human ingenuity and squid-like adaptability, the Illuminate threat has grown far larger than the mindless drones Super Earth envisioned.
The Theory Doesn’t Stray Too Far From Helldivers 2‘s Lore
As far-fetched as it may sound, the theory is quite plausible considering the secretive militaristic nature of Super Earth and the limited intel available about the Illuminate. Rumors point towards them wielding advanced weapons and technology, possibly due to their human roots. Further lending credence to them are the well-documented blue beam attacks during gameplay.
While developer Arrowhead Studios has yet to officially speak about the Illuminate, datamined references and character models of the alien squids within Helldivers 2 have all but confirmed the faction. Occasional NPC lines also hint at the Illuminate, referring to the squids as the programmers of the cyborgs in the first Helldivers game.
The unannounced-yet-confirmed return of the Illuminate has Helldivers 2 players massively excited. The game’s been out for almost three months with only two enemy factions, one of which the galactic freedom fighters have already exterminated from the galactic war, only for them to come back anyway.
Whether engineered by Super Earth’s hubris or an unforeseen consequence of scientific advancement, the Illuminate’s arrival has been teased for quite a while now, and we can’t imagine they’re too far away from being added into the game. The Galactic War is about to heat up.
