If you’ve ever tried to stealth your way past a Terminid patrol in Helldivers 2 and found yourself somehow spotted despite your best efforts to creep silently about and remain out of sight, there might have been a very good reason for that: it turns out the horrible bugs can smell you.
During a play session with YouTuber OperatorDrewski, game director and Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt revealed there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to Helldivers 2’s terrifying Terminids.
OperatorDrewski asked about playing Helldivers 2 as a stealth game, which some players, particularly those who opt to play solo in the co-op-focused shooter, have done ever since the game’s explosive launch on PC and PlayStation 5 in February.
While Helldivers 2 very much revolves around making things go boom in increasingly over-the-top ways, stealth is viable, particularly if you want to avoid upsetting a nearby patrol. “It’s not really that we have stealth gameplay, it’s just that everything just has to make sense, like all the enemies, they have hearing, sight,” Pilestedt replied.
“They also have an approximation of smell within a close radius. If you’re in proximity of some of the units that are very sensory aware, like the Stalker, they will detect you no matter if they can see you.”
It’s a terrifying thought: some enemies in Helldivers 2 will smell you and find you if you stray too close, no matter how well you’re hiding. Stalkers are particularly annoying — they can camouflage themselves almost to the point of invisibility. Add a keen sense of smell and you’ve got one deadly melee Terminid to deal with.
🌐 THE ENEMIES OF SUPER EARTH: The Terminids 🐜
Keep your eyes open, Helldivers. Don’t let a Stalker get the drop on you. pic.twitter.com/NJ0XM0InwJ
— HELLDIVERS™ 2 (@helldivers2) March 1, 2024
Pilestedt failed to namecheck another enemy, so we’re not sure if the Automatons can smell. Does it make sense for alien robots to be able to smell Helldivers on the battlefield? Do they have noses? Do they have a smell subroutine? Probably best to assume they do and keep your distance, just in case.
While enemies such as the Stalker remain tough opponents, Arrowhead has today released a new Helldivers 2 patch that deals with the spawn rate of heavily armored Terminid enemies the Bile Titan and the Charger, as well as the possible play against them.
Helldivers 2’s upcoming premium Warbond, dubbed Cutting Edge, launches this week, hot on the heels of the release of mechs. The Warbond includes new weapons, new armor sets, new capes, and new emotes. Meanwhile, Arrowhead has asked for the Helldivers 2 community’s help in coming up with ideas for the “hard to solve” problem of players kicking teammates who don’t have meta loadouts.
Helldivers 2 has become one of the surprise hits of 2024 since launching in February, topping the charts on Steam and reportedly selling around three million copies. According to at least one analyst, it’s still growing. Check out IGN’s Helldivers 2 review to find out why it’s going down so well.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.