Helldivers 2 player photographs two myths—flying bugs and blue lasers—at the same time, like getting a shot of Bigfoot next to a UFO

An alien expert from Ancient Aliens holds a small Illuminate sniper in his hands from Helldivers 1. In the background are Shriekers, a flying variant of Terminid.

(Image credit: Ancient Aliens (Prometheus Entertainment) / Arrowhead Games)

If you listened to your Super Earth superiors—which you should—you would know that flying bugs in Helldivers 2 are a myth created by insect-loving fascists, and blue lasers are a figment of your imagination. Unless you've been looking at video evidence, which is high treason, so you shouldn't be doing that.

If for some reason you were (hypothetically) engaging in such thought crimes, you'd know that there's been video and photo evidence of both cryptids with varying degrees of legitimacy—hinting at both a new Terminid enemy type, and the return of Helldivers 1's hyper-advanced Illuminate faction.

Personally speaking, I've found the flying bug stuff more convincing than the blue laser beams. Laser weapons go blue when they ricochet off armour, and it's pretty easy to edit a screenshot to shift the hue. The flying bugs, though? There's been full videos of those things, so they're much more likely.

If bugs and blasts are in fact an inside job, then they're certainly rare. I've not stumbled into a single gnat or piece of azure artillery in my missions—which makes the following picture, if it hasn't been doctored by those dastardly bots, a staggering find.

IT’S ALL REAL, THE LASERS, THE FLYING TERMINIDS, EVERYTHING! from r/Helldivers

I cannot highlight enough how wild this screenshot (thanks, GamesRadar) is, on paper. Two ultra-rare events happening not only at the same time, but in the same frame as each other. That's like trying to get a snapshot of Bigfoot, only for a grainy UFO to materialise once you've finished developing the film.

Even funnier is the sheer desperation with which user wildcard17o (who calls themselves 'the delusional helldiver you all love') tries to share their find. Total panic, zealous fervour, all delivered in block-capital letters. Despite an onslaught of treason accusations, Wildcard17o says they'll keep diving to prove their innocence, which is a very brave mission statement—even if it is like trying to catch lightning in a bottle, twice.

There's even a fan-made advisory from Super Earth, saying that blue beams are just a hallucination side-effect of Termicide exposure, to which wildcard17o responds: "HALLUCINATIONS DON’T CLAW THROUGH ARMOR!"

Comment from r/Helldivers

Honestly? Fake or not, I'm just enjoying watching the increasingly-unhinged conspiracy theories surface. Arrowhead's denial of just about anything to come out of the game's fanbase is exceptionally good. Flying bugs are almost definitely some foul play from Joel on-high, but the blue beams could be completely fake—and treating them both with the same refusal is hilarious. Shake your head, Pilestedt, I know the truth is out there.

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.