EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 5 (Incl. ALL DLC)

A full-scale alien invasion turns modern-day Japan into a spectacularly disposable battlefield, where skyscrapers crumble, giant insects flood city streets, and every mission escalates toward absurd sci-fi warfare. Earth Defense Force 5 is a deliberately loud, unapologetically arcade-style third-person shooter built around the simple pleasure of facing impossible odds with overwhelming firepower. Set in 2022, the campaign follows humanity’s last military line as the newly arrived Primers unleash colossal bugs, flying saucers, towering machines, and the series’ first humanoid alien forces. Its tone balances B-movie disaster spectacle with genuine battlefield chaos, never pretending subtlety is the point.

Players select one of four very different EDF classes before each operation: the flexible Ranger, airborne Wing Diver, heavily armored Fencer, or gadget-focused Air Raider. Missions drop you into large urban and rural combat zones, asking you to wipe out waves of enemies, protect allies, destroy nests, survive ambushes, or push through massive invasion forces. Weapons and armor upgrades arrive through loot crates collected during combat, creating a satisfying incentive to replay stages on higher difficulties and experiment with increasingly bizarre guns, vehicles, artillery strikes, and equipment. Every mission supports four-player online co-op, while local split-screen keeps the chaos accessible for couch sessions; the included DLC further expands the already enormous arsenal and mission selection.

Destructible environments and ridiculous enemy scale give each encounter a physical impact that many more polished shooters lack. Shooting apart alien armor, watching enemy bodies collapse onto streets, and seeing buildings battered into rubble sells the fantasy of a city-wide war better than its budget presentation suggests. It is rough around the edges, with repetitive objectives and intentionally old-school presentation, but that rawness is part of its appeal. Fans of co-op horde shooters, Helldivers-style panic, or the gleeful excess of monster movies find a huge amount to enjoy, while EDF veterans get one of the series’ most content-packed entries.