Helldivers 2 has recently seen a surge of negative Steam reviews after players voiced frustration over what they call a “scripted” Super Earth event. Over 3,000 users slammed the game, accusing Arrowhead Studios of capping the defense progress in the Illuminate invasion event, which has been a significant focus since the May 20 update.
The Illuminate invasion has rallied more than 163,000 players worldwide to fight off the Squid-like foes threatening Super Earth. The event’s highlight was the defense of Equality-on-Sea (EoS), an in-game version of Shanghai, where Chinese players teamed up with others globally, including those from New York, to protect the city.
Chinese defenders pushed EoS’s defense rating to an impressive 99.99%, far surpassing the Super Earth capital’s 56.90%. The community’s spirit was infectious, with squads even sharing strategies for taking down giant Leviathan ships to help others join the fight. Memes celebrating the teamwork between Chinese and US players spread across social media, painting a picture of global unity.
However, the mood shifted when players noticed the defense rating seemed stuck at 99.99%, refusing to budge despite ongoing efforts. This sparked accusations that the developers rigged the event to cap progress artificially, leading to a wave of review bombing on Steam. Within days, 3,456 negative reviews appeared, many poking fun at the stalled progress with comments like “Progress to positive review is stuck on 99.97833%.”
One player’s comment summed it up: “I witnessed Arrowhead MURDER a 99.9783% miracle. For 120 hours, global players pushed for liberation… Then devs deployed ghost nerfs at midnight: shadow-debuffing stats, manipulating server data, and finally executing their scripted ‘player-driven story’ farce… To CN/US helldivers, we died at 99.9783% with democracy in our hearts.”
Will Arrowhead lift the cap on Equality-on-Sea? That’s the million-dollar question. For now, many feel their efforts have been in vain, and the community’s disappointment is loud and clear.
