I played, "Helldivers 2," a bit on my PlayStation and found it fun. I especially appreciated the weird way it hilariously sells itself as one big piece of propaganda. We are obviously the villains with our over-the-top recruitment videos and proclamations of spreading democracy through the stars by any violent means required. The outfits, the vibe, it all feels like a monolithic fascist empire forcing its boot on space aliens and robots that are foreign enough to us that we have zero hesitation about committing genocide. It's a darkly humorous subtext, but it is so obviously there you can't miss it...unless you do.
As can be seen on Twitter/X and is discussed in this piece on Forbes by Paul Tassi, some people missed the memo on, "Helldivers 2." The game takes a lot of inspiration from, "Starship Troopers," which is another movie where the subtext might as well be text because the point is obvious. I will own-up to the fact I missed some of messaging in, "Starship Troopers," the first time I watched it at age 12 because I was too busy enjoying the exploding bugs and giggling at the sight of a bunch of exposed body parts during the infamous group shower scene. I was a pre-teen then, however, and now I'm a grown-ass adult who understands subtlety. The thing is, "Helldivers 2," isn't even subtle. We're the villains, but gamers who wanted something they could declare, "Anti-woke," missed the jackhammering of jokes about totalitarianism. It is like if someone argued the original, "Star Wars," movies somehow weren't political and the franchise only got, "Woke," recently and...oh dear. I guess the risk with even the slightest subtlety is that some people will miss what you're trying to say, but if someone is that dense would even outlining your point be of any use? That's a puzzle with no answer, I'd say.
