Helldivers 2 Players have just completed a campaign against the Terminid threat that ended with the destruction of Meridia. The supercolony—and the ominous black hole it left behind—will likely have further consequences to come. But while we wait for all of that to resolve, why not tackle a moral question about orphans as a reward?
The latest Major Order is aptly called Operation Trolley Problem, a play on an old philosophical conundrum: Do you let five people die through inaction in the eponymous trolley, or do you pull a switch and kill one? Except that this is the exaggerated world of Helldivers 2So the question is: do you save a bunch of sick children from total annihilation by killer robots, or do you get some cool anti-tank mines?
There are two planets that must be liberated: Vernen Wells, which is home to Super Citizen Anne’s hospital for very sick children, or the MD-17 anti-tank mines on Marfark. The in-game Major Order text reads: “Only the first planet liberated is likely to be saved. The Helldivers are responsible for deciding which course of action – rescuing the children or the anti-tank mines – will ultimately save the most freedom.”
At first glance, this may seem pretty bad! You might think that there is only one obvious “right” choice, and that is to save the children. But have you considered that the Helldivers have been denied access to these mines twice now? Once the Helldivers had to choose between it and the Airburst missile launcher, and we chose the latter. Another time we had to scrap a minimum number of bots to get to the mines – a goal we failed to achieve.
Also, as a wise philosopher once asked — what if those kids have bad vibes? We haven’t seen or heard anything about their plight, other than that it’s a miracle they’re still alive. Right now, both planets are completely untouched by Helldivers conquest, so this Order could really go either way in terms of player choice. The game makes sure to set the parameters of our decision: we should try to do what comes with the most freedom. Personally, I can’t wait to finally get my hands on those mines. But these kids could be very useful, considering Super Earth has a policy that favors child labor. The latest Major Order really offers a lot of food for thought.
