Oh man, where do I start with this? So, Helldivers 2 hits the scene, February 2024, and bam—everyone’s losing their minds about it. Totally raking in awards, like a kid with a cheat code for Best Ongoing and Best Multiplayer at The Game Awards. But here’s the kicker—everyone’s flocking to it like seagulls to fries. Server chaos ensues. I mean, no surprise there, right?
Fast forward to May—plot twist alert. PC gamers on Steam get hit with a bombshell: “Hey, gotta make a PlayStation Network account now.” The uproar? Massive. Felt like everyone kinda freaked out, dropping the game’s user score on Steam faster than I lose motivation at the gym. Sony, feeling the heat, does this epic U-turn two days later. By May 11, Johan Pilstedt, Helldivers 2’s creative guru, is teasing what I can only describe as a cheeky joke—a “review bomb cape”—on Twitter, or X, or whatever they’re calling it these days. Anyway, it seems like forever—417 days after all that drama, and, ta-da, the cape finally lands.
Arrowhead Game Studios chimed in on social with this hilarious nod to fans: “In honor of their unshakeable devotion to Managed Democracy or something, the Helldivers snagged a commemorative cape.” And get this—all Super Destroyer Armories are gearing up to distribute it. It’s like, what even is Managed Democracy? Who knows, but it’s got flair.
This piece of digital fashion art—officially dubbed “Pillars of Freedom”—is open to all players. (Yup, PlayStation and PC folks alike.) The design is this clever hat-tip to the Steam review meltdown, red lines and all, marking the sea of negative vibes. Like visual poetry, or a graph from a marketing nightmare.
Arrowhead casually mentions, hey—it might take a hot minute for the cape to pop into your game. Patience, my friends.
So, yeah, a rough ride at first, but players kinda got their fairy-tale windup: drama resolved, no more forced PSN accounts, and a free cape to show for it.
