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Helldivers update turns up the heat

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Helldivers, the wickedly hard twin-stick shooter from Arrowhead Game Studios, is receiving a free content update, and things are going to get a little bit warm.

The update, dubbed “Turning up the Heat,” brings with it both new mission objectives and new enemy types, addressing criticisms that these particular areas were uninspired. What doesn’t look to be changing is the campy tone and hair-pulling difficulty: There will just be several more ways for the game to kill you.

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In the first of the “Turning up the Heat” development videos, designer Patrik Lasota shows off several new objectives, including an artillery cannon that must be loaded with nearby shells through Helldivers‘ Dance Dance Revolution-style mechanic, and a bomb-disarming mission that tasks the Helldivers with using metal detectors to locate nearby explosives.

HELLDIVERS: Turning up the Heat feature #1 – Objectives

New enemies include the “Illuminate Obelisk,” a round, armored enemy capable of trapping characters in place with a projected energy shield that will instantly kill anyone unfortunate enough to cross its path. The “Bug Impaler,” meanwhile, uses its “three vicious tentacles” to attack Helldivers and stop them from pushing ahead. Much like the original enemies, the update brings a mix of both organic foes and robots, and the new armored hounds appear to be straight out of the latest Wolfenstein game.

HELLDIVERS: Turning up the Heat feature #2 – Enemies

With a name like “Turning up the Heat,” it only makes sense that this all takes place in new lava-filled environments. The areas are filled with floating bits of dust and erupting lava; if it’s anything like the original release, this will look quite a bit better on the PlayStation 4 version of the game than on the PlayStation 3 or Vita, where muddy textures and a compromised control scheme slightly detract from the experience. If you’re still looking to purchase Helldivers, it’s available with cross-buy and cross-save support for $20 on the PlayStation store.

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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