Recently, players fighting for democracy in online co-op sci-fi shooter Helldivers 2 have spotted strange blue lasers flying across the sky. Others have recorded video clips showing the mysterious blue lasers taking out players with one shot. Some online are convinced that these blue laser bolts are a sign that a new enemy faction (seen in the original Helldivers) will soon be arriving in the popular PS5 and PC sequel.
A little background: In the original top-down Helldivers game, there were three factions. Two of those are in Helldivers 2, the bugs and the bots. However, the third faction, the mysterious alien race known as The Illuminate, is seemingly not around. But that might be changing soon. This once-aquatic race of super-advanced aliens—known for using shields, robots, AI, and blue-energy weapons—might be arriving in Helldivers 2 based on the video clips and posts from players who have encountered those odd blue lasers during missions.
One of the first mentions of blue beams in Helldivers 2 came not from fans or Reddit, but from a tweet posted on March 15 by Johan Pilestedt, the CEO of the Arrowhead Studios, the team behind the popular shooter: “Blue beams aren’t real, it can’t hurt you.” Considering he also playfully “denied” the reports of flying bug enemies in Helldivers 2, I took this tweet as a sign that something was definitely up in the game.
If you look around Reddit and YouTube, you can easily find video clips showcasing these supposedly harmless and not real “blue beams.”
Sometimes the blue lasers are seen flying across the sky. Other times, players have spotted the beams firing at bugs and bots during missions.
Perhaps most frightening of all, is that some players have reported and recorded evidence of these blue lasers targeting squadmates and taking them out with a single shot. This is eerily similar to how Illuminate snipers operated in the first game, too.
Now, there is the counter-theory that these blue beams are just bullets or lasers ricocheting off armored enemies or targets. When this happens in-game, the projectiles turn blue and create a blurred trail that looks like a laser beam, which could explain some of the blue beams seen in the various video clips online.
Yet, I’m not convinced that theory works for the shots that seem to be fired from out of nowhere, in areas with no enemies or players. It also doesn’t explain the shots that seem to fly out of the sky from high above to take out a random squadmate with an accuracy that seems otherworldly, either.
For now, when playing Helldivers 2, be careful. While you are out and about spreading democracy, there might be another hidden force of aliens watching your every move, ready to snipe you with blue beams. Or maybe we’re all just hallucinating like Super Earth’s Ministry of Truth wants you to believe. I’ll let you decide.
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