Earth Defense Force 6 by developer Sandlot Games
and publisher D3 Publisher—Sony PlayStation 5 review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the
publisher.
Estimated
Reading Time: 5 minutes.
EDF! EDF! E… D… F… what number now?
Picking up where EDF 5 left off, EDF 6 starts off rather grim. Taking place after the conclusion of the alien invasion, Earth's Forces didn't exactly get a shiny victory as the cities are in shambles and the aliens and monsters continue to roam its surface. Don't you worry though as that is all about to change. Over. And over. And over again. Welcome to Earth Defense Force: Groundhog Day Edition!
I had mused with whether or not to talk about the clever time travel paradoxes. But then, as EDF 6 is essentially EDF 5 the what if scenario(s), I felt it would be a disservice not to. In terms of gameplay, EDF5 is almost identical to EDF6 but sprinkled with a few additional details for some character archetypes. Returning are the Ranger, Wing Diver, Air Raider and Fencer who all offer variations on how to approach gameplay.
Of these archetypes, Rangers will essentially give you an all rounded approach to any situation. Having loaded up EDF 5, here is where one may see the biggest difference. Two main weapons are available, but in addition there's also an option for Grenade or Turrets as a supplementary addition. In EDF 5 it was a second weapon OR one of these. The Wing Divers offer great mobility and the option to take to the skies, but they can't really take a hit. In the same vein, Air Raiders can't take a hit but their summon like abilities are not to be dismissed. Plus they can summon Mechs to the field. Finally the Fencer is hulk of sorts being able to carry four separate weapons but they are slow. Very slow. So it's a good thing that they can take a hit while wielding absurdly large weapons.
So it's with one of these four archetypes, solo or in co-op, that you'll be running, gunning, jumping, crashing, yelling, maybe even swearing as some encounters can seem unfair the first times to say the least. So it's best to bring some cheese as your whine will need it. That said, it's nothing that a bit of adjustment on your part won't fix as maybe your comfy weapon combo just isn't cutting it anymore. And you'll need it with the over 9000! Eerrrrr over 100 stages available. 147 to be exact.
This is perhaps one of EDF 6’s strongest points, the gameplay loop. Starting off in the future, you’ll soon find yourself retracing your steps from EDF 5. The pacing will be slightly different, but if you’ve recently played, as I did to check the differences, you’ll feel right at home. Where things are different however is that this is not “your” first rodeo. You’ve been at this for a number of times and will be at this for a number of times more as you make it from the present, to the future, and back to the present where things are not quite how you remember them.
You’re not the only one going back and forth through time. So are the enemies!
And this is what lets the 147 stage approach work. Does it get tiring at times? Yes, BUT, it also makes up for it by giving you some rather intense climactic events. Repeatedly. New enemies are constantly added into the mix for both future and present time runs making you constantly need to adapt if you want to survive. Obviously as time goes on some of these become nothing more than a nuisance as your gear is improved but EDF 6 finds a way to double down and make your life hell all over again the next mission. But it works well to keep you on your toes.
Where I had issues with EDF 6 is that some of the stages didn’t know when to end. Some were perfect in which if it was going to be a long haul, it would split the encounter in two giving you a needed break to stretch your hands and not worry about losing all of that progress. Seriously, some of these missions go on for so long that you wonder if they’ll end and clearly overstay their welcome. It’s unfortunate that as you continue towards the final and epic conclusion, this happens more often than not. So prepare yourselves as there’s nothing bite sized short of the monsters mandibles here!
The
other perhaps observation more than complaint is that I found myself restricted
with the four character archetypes. On top of having reloaded EDF 5, I also
reloaded EDF: Iron Rain for comparison. Iron Rain, while targeting more Western
audiences with the tone, had a slick gameplay and only one character. This
character could be equipped with a variety of gear letting you approach the
situation as you needed to instead of being limited to gear types based on
archetypes. I think that approach could go much further in the next installment
especially when new weapons and armor points (health) are only obtained by
pickups IF you can get to them all before the mission ends.
While not perfect, EDF 6 offers up a lot of gameplay to fans of the series and newcomers alike. With the different approach to gameplay taking players on various loops through time, there’s plenty to test your mettle against as you defend your home and prove that the Earth Defense Force is up to the task!
Score: 7.5 / 10
