Helldivers 2 references one of Starship Trooper's worst characters via its new levelling system

Helldivers 2 has a brand new level cap, thanks to a recent patch, and it looks like part of the system is a reference to Starship Troopers.

Earlier this week, the new Helldivers 2 level cap went live, letting players ascend all the way to level 150 in their fight for Super Earth. You'll attain the title '10-Star General' at level 130, but then you'll curiously get a 'Private' title at level 140, before finally getting an odd 'Super Private' title for your character at the final player level 150. 

It's understandably a bit head-scratching, but you need only look at the 1997 Starship Troopers movie to figure out what's going on here. In Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi fascist parody movie, there's a Drill Sergeant character who instructs all the new Mobile Infantry cadets that protagonist Johnny Rico gets recruited to in order to proudly serve his nation.

The Drill Sergeant character is such a go-getter that he quite literally demotes himself to the rank of Private, purely to get back on the battlefield and keep fighting like a good soldier against the alien bugs. What a good sport. Helldivers 2's new level cap system, which pretty much goes backward right in the final stretch, would appear to be a reference to the Drill Sergeant from Starship Troopers.

It's not just us who are making the (very obvious) connection between Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers. When Arrowhead's new shooter released back in February, people flocked to the 1997 movie, so much so that Starship Troopers saw its viewership increase dramatically, as well as the number of people visiting its Wikipedia page. 

Helldivers 2 and Starship Troopers go hand in hand as very explicit parodies of fascism and ultra-militarism. If you're still yet to watch the sci-fi movie, we can't recommend it enough.

Still getting in on the fascist parody, Helldivers 2 honors fallen soldiers with a free cape as part of 'Malevelon Creek Memorial Day,' including a presidential directive from Super Earth's leader . 

Weekly