You can hug the Super Earth grunts in Helldivers 2's Devoid of Liberty update, which revamps NPC troops and adds new Illuminate enemies

The secret of the floating bear is revealed: Helldivers 2 is gearing up for an assault on the Void, that icky hellmouth gobbling up a chunk of Illuminate-controlled space. The co-op shooter’s big new update, Devoid of Liberty, sees the intergalactic nasties throwing out two new mutant enemies to fight on the field, while your bosses on Super Earth deploy better equipped, better trained, generally less all-round useless infantry troops to help you out.

Yes, Devoid of Liberty (a.k.a. Patch 7.0) brings back the SEAF, NPC cannon fodder (even more so, somehow, than the Helldivers) who’ve popped up in previous high-profile invasions. This time, they’re possible planet modifiers, and while still probably not long for this world (or that world), developers Arrowhead have granted them upgrades that might make them more like useful allies and less like short-lived pets. Heavier weapons should boost their damage output, and their stim pistols can heal players – surely a major buff for solo ‘divers.

They’ll also now return your offers of hugs. Mark’s on holiday at the moment but I think I just heard him cheering.

In the Illuminate corner, the faction’s new baddies include the Crusher, whose ability to quickly regenerate health requires sustained leadstorms to counter. Then there’s the Wretch, a fast-moving, evasive mutant who can, worryingly, "dismantle" players’ weapons if not cut down.

The 7.0 update also introduces the previously announced level cap increase, from 150 to 300 – those who were still playing while maxed out, as a reminder, will get any excess experience back-applied once the patch is installed – and the Warhammer 40K-themed warbond, which adds some Astra Militarum clobber and various Emprah-approved weapons. No, I’m not annoyed Helldivers Goddamn Two got a meltagun before Darktide did. I’m not. I’m not!

Here be the patch notes, which take the gist of that nearly 15-minute-long video and puts it into conveniently readable words. There’s quite a bit there, in terms of balance tinkering and bug fixes, so do have a read – a knowledgable SEAF parent is a responsible SEAF parent.