It's been a minute since we talked about Helldivers; in fact it’s been nearly a year since the last sliver of info came to us so the time apart has only made the release of the new (and free) “Dive Harder “ update that much sweeter. The free content, which is available now on PlayStation 4, Playstation 4, Vita, and PC,  includes the new Proving Grounds mode, described on the official blog as being, “[A] unique replayable mission that takes place in a city, purpose built as a training facility. Captured enemies have been let loose to roam the streets and give the Helldivers an opportunity to hone their skills.”

It's been a hot (Get it? Like in Hell?) minute since we last covered Helldivers, but Arrowhead Game Studios certainly hasn't forgotten about it, as they've put out a new update celebrating Liberty Day 2018.

It's been some time, but when we reviewed the PS4 version of Helldivers we rather enjoyed what it had to offer. It carefully blended a lot of things we loved from classic arcade style twin-stick shooters with some new gameplay features like a global meta-game and tons of character customization. Now months later Arrowhead Games is releasing Helldivers on Steam, and last night we checked out the beta.

Arrowhead's fourth title, Helldivers, will be arriving on your PC of choice next month. The game will include all previous DLC that has been released thus far, including the "Democracy Strikes Back" content from a couple weeks back. All of that content will still be free, though the additional character packs will cost you money, just as they did on the consoles.

I really liked the idea of Helldivers and I'm glad to see there's still some activity around the title in the form of new content being released from time-to-time. Today, they've released some new free content titled "Democracy Strikes Back," which includes a new mission type and increases the max rank from 20 to 50, as well as some paid content in the form of new classes.

Greetings, Citizen of Super Earth. If you've ignored the call of the Helldivers for this long, your blood must run yellow with cowardice. Democracy triumphed over Tyranny (and bug-kind) in the 5th Galactic War, while you relied on real heroes to die on alien planets. You, and your families, should be ashamed that you have not yet donned the mantle of the Helldivers, and done your part to ensure humanity's freedom. 

Not even victory in the 4th Galactic War has earned the Helldivers a rest. The first and only bulwark against the armies who would do Super Earth, and democracy, harm, have refortified their forces and are ready for Round Five. Entitled "Masters of the Galaxy," the second DLC for Helldivers adds a few new twists in the embittered struggle for the defenders of Super Earth. And it's entirely free! You don't have to drop a dime. You may have had trouble with swarms of Bugs, legions of Cyborgs, or an entire cabal of the Illuminate, but they've been working on a few new additions to their team.

The first victory is ours, but the fight isn't over yet! HELLDIVERS got a whole slew of new content to keep the fight fresh on the frontlines. With new volcanic planets to explore, all new objectives to complete, and lots of new weapons and gear up for grabs, you and your fellow co-op players should be good for new content for some time.

You've battled aliens insects, cyborg freaks, and illuminate tricksters across hundreds of worlds in the constant galactic battle defending Super Earth. You've also died like a trillion times on various alien planets, and your body (if it wasn't smashed into paste by one of your own drop pods) was probably defaced by alien scum. Such is the eventual fate of all who join the Helldivers. 

As I keep telling my friends, Helldivers is a damn fine game. I enjoy everything about the tactical twin-stick shooter--from the hilarious friendly fire incidents to the last second extractions. It's a blast. 

Helldivers is a badass of a co-op game. Arrowhead Game Studios’ tactical twin-stick shooter drops up to four players on to hostile planets with two goals in mind: complete objectives and survive the mission....

Helldivers is a new Sony exclusive that offers a tactical take on the twin-stick shooter genre. You'll need all the help you can get as you wage war against three alien races who threaten the immaculate liberty of Super Earth.