Breakdown
- The US Army recently set up a Helldivers 2-themed booth at a convention.
- The booth was set up to recruit gamers for the US Army Esports team.
- Due to the satirical portrayal of the military in Helldivers 2, this action was met with much ridicule from the community.
The US Army has changed its tactics in how it attracts potential new recruits to the cause. They made themselves known at a recent Helldivers 2 convention, where they set up a booth to recruit potential candidates.
Granted, the situation is not completely as bleak as it sounds. The US Army booth was not there for military recruitment, but looking for players to recruit into the army's Esports team(Yes, the US Army has an Esports team).
Nevertheless, people were quick to notice and didn't hesitate to find the humour in the situation. Helldivers 2 gained a bit of notoriety for how it deals with political satire. Telling people that Helldivers 2 is a political satire on the concept of hypermilitarism in society is like beating a dead horse, but the US Army proves that perhaps it's still necessary.
It's a pretty common talking point in the community on how Super Earth are the bad guys who are using the Helldivers as disposable resources in their war for profit and dominion over the galaxy. The irony was not lost on observers.
“Imma keep it real U.S Army. I’m not dying for oil element 710.” joked a commenter. For those who don't know, the 710 in element 710 is just oil spelled upside down, which is a bit of a meme when speaking about the US military.
"At long last, you may join the Torment Nexus from the classic sci-fi novel Don't Join The Torment Nexus", said another user.
Others didn't take it in such a lighthearted manner and mentioned how they were sick and tired of the military's new recruitment tactics where they make use of video games such as Call of Duty and now Helldivers 2. The discussion veered towards discussing how propaganda is utilised by the military and how this approach is completely disconnected from reality.
Hopefully, our brave soldiers will stick to their roles as Helldivers for Super Earth to secure element 710 rather than opt to be deployed on the front lines for oil. I for one, find the former to be much more important.