Helldivers 2 manages to feel like a fairly upbeat game despite the fact that you’re constantly at war with a faction of giant alien bugs and war machines that want to rip humans to shreds. Now Calars_Art has shared their 3D render of a much more grimdark version of the game’s galaxy.
Calars_Art is an artist who creates beautiful 3D renders that pull you into their worlds. They’re incredibly well-realized and a testament to the artist’s skills. The creators’ recent Helldivers 2 piece takes the universe players know and love and paints it in a slightly different light. The Helldiver in the center is bulkier than most that we control in the game, and they’re using a custom Quasar Cannon to blast the vast Terminid army below them.
What if everything in Helldivers 2 was bigger and scarier?
The original art is included in a compilation video as well as on the game’s subreddit. It’s short, even shorter than the incredible 60-second Hellpod fan video created around the game’s launch. But it still somehow hits the right notes of how it feels to play Helldivers 2 despite being a much darker and more grim vision of this universe.
The Helldiver is extracting from a mission as Terminids begin to swarm them, but they hold off the largest among them, a Bile titan, thanks to a blast from their custom Quasar Cannon that’s held like a minigun. I love the little touch of the Helldiver being chained to the ship, which should keep them fighting even if they’re hit mid-extraction.
What really sets the video apart from the game, though, is the fact that there are buildings in it. Not many, but just enough structures to make the planet look like it’s been lost to the bugs and Helldivers are there to take it back. Almost like they’re Space Marines reclaiming a world from a Xenos race in Warhammer 40K.
Fans on the Helldivers 2 subreddit where this was posted love the video. User Zestyclose_Way_2276 said, “damn nice,” and August_Bebel explained, “Makes me wish that the heavier the armour gets, the less recoil you have due to sheer bulk of armor on the Helldiver.”
I really have to agree with the desire for added bulk on our Helldivers. I think the game’s universe strikes the right balance between silly and military-obsessed and tugging on our heartstrings. But I still believe there’s space for developer Arrowhead Game Studios to bring some more grimdark to the table, even if that’s just with colossal Helldiver variants that strut around our Superdestroyers.
