Helldivers 2’s latest Major Order hints at a comeback to Malevelon Creek.

Helldivers 2 players are on the back foot in the game’s great galactic war narrative. Two planets have fallen to the Meridia Singularity, with a third about to crumble. The Automatons have created a fiery new Incineration Corps, and we’ve lost precious ground to their advance. Now, one of Helldivers’ most beloved worlds is back under threat. Malevelon Creek is under attack, and veterans are rallying to return to the site of one of the most infamous conflicts in the second galactic war.

Back in the days of the first battle of Malevelon Creek, players had yet to build scientific facilities or factories on the surface of conquered planets. Instead, people chose which planets they liked or hated based on the climate and environment. Hellmire, for instance, is widely detested due to its tendency to spin up fire tornadoes. Malevelon Creek, on the other hand, has been dubbed (somewhat crassly) Robot Vietnam due to its shadowy jungles.

It’s important to note that a year ago, the Automatons were much meaner than their current iteration. Not only did Helldivers lack tools like the Portable Hellbomb and the all-terrain vehicle, but the Automatons had lock-on targeting, near limitless vision, and the ability to trap their enemies in constant ragdoll animations. When the Automatons emerged in the Severin sector, there were absolutely brutal battles on the planets of Tibit, Durgen, Maia, the Creek, and the neighboring Draupnir. While bugdivers enjoyed the relatively easy Terminid front, their botdiver counterparts were getting rocked up and down the Severin sector.

Despite the brutality of the bots, players decided to run with Arrowhead’s meta-narrative around the galactic war and doubled down on holding the Creek. This gambit rewarded players with two capes to commemorate their victory, and for a year, Malevelon Creek has remained safe and sound. In fact, in the canon of Helldivers 2, it has the highest concentration of Helldiver corpses outside of Super Earth itself — it’s a literal memorial to all the lives lost in the meat grinder of the previous Major Orders.

The Automaton forces have yet to reach the Creek itself, but the Major Order will last for another five days or so, and there’s plenty of time for their offensive to escalate. So far, Helldivers have held the line, winning defense missions on worlds like Pöpli IX and Ingmar. Some players are drawing up battle plans and ensuring we stay on track for the rest of the Major Order. Others are taking the opportunity to meme with their fellows.

The Singularity remains a threat, and Liberty knows what new Terminid mutations are festering within the thick spore cloud known as the Gloom. But it’s a blast to engage in the role-play of the setting and rally to defend the Creek. I’m a much stronger Helldiver than I was a year ago; I’ve gone from playing on difficulty level 4 all the way up to 10. I, for one, stand ready to hold the line and keep the dreaded Automaton menace away from the Creek, where they no doubt plan to desecrate our corpses. (This fear might be based in Super Earth propaganda, but the berserkers literally wear human skulls on their armor, so… it definitely seems possible.)

These Major Orders help define Helldivers 2 and make it feel like an ongoing history, as opposed to just a novel new event in a video game. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with the Creek, but players are fired up and ready to defend their beloved planet at all costs. The galactic war will never end, only escalate — but some things must remain sacred.