27-05-2025
Under siege? Helldivers 2's latest city to be invaded by aliens could be spoof of Singapore, Digital News
If peace in your (virtual) home faces an extra-terrestrial threat, would you answer the call to arms?
For many gamers playing Helldivers 2, it seems this is no longer hypothetical, but a very real choice they must face as an alien invasion bears down upon a megacity that could be a spoof of Singapore.
Helldivers 2, a game by Arrowhead Game Studios, follows the titular Helldivers, which are an elite group of soldiers protecting the Sol System from alien threats.
Earlier in May, the game's version of Earth, known as Super-Earth, came under threat of invasion by an alien race known as the Illuminate, which are a technologically advanced race and the arch enemy of mankind.
They had manipulated a black hole, guiding it towards Super-Earth, leaving behind planetary-level destruction in its wake before emerging from within the black hole once in proximity of Super-Earth.
Of the seven megacities that inhabit Super-Earth, three have already fallen to the invasion, while three of the remaining four are currently under siege.
The Illuminate have launched an attack on Port Mercy. — Helldivers Alerts (@HelldiversAlert) May 26, 2025
Of the three currently battling back the Illuminate invasion, Port Mercy — geographically similar to Singapore's location on Earth — is the latest to be struck by Illuminate forces.
According to the game, Port Mercy, located near Java and Sumatra, has sheltered "millions of loyal refugees in the Last Great War" and is also a "safe haven for any Class-A citizen in need".
A megacity named after a port, possibly a nod to Singapore's roots as a maritime hub, its environment bears some similarity to Singapore.
Port Mercy features a sprawling metropolis with skyscrapers intermingled with low-rise residential areas, as well as portions of open space and greenery.
The missions available to Helldivers are very defensively-oriented, such as protecting an area while a missile launches, or destroying Illuminate ships as they attempt to land on the city.
Aside from the new environment that Helldivers must fight in, the game also features new enemies such as the Illuminate flesh mob — a gross amalgamation of human flesh — and Leviathans, which are giant floating ships that swim through the air, bombarding the ground with energy-based cannons.
While it doesn't entirely capture Singapore's lush environment, culture or even the tropical climate, it's also worth noting that this invasion takes place in 2185 and in an entirely different solar system.
Above all else, it's also fictional — but the glory that comes from protecting Super-Earth's managed democracy certainly isn't.
[embed]
[[nid:713943]]
khooyihang@
