Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 33 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 33
  3. Negative: 4 out of 33

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  1. dandalis
    Dec 29, 2020
    7
    Not just a guilty pleasure, EDF 4.1 is actually a good game in it's own right.

    Lots and lots of big alien insects, bugs, monsters, robots and ships that need to be destroyed by any means necessery to save our mother Earth. EDF 4.1 is silly, over the top gaming fun at it's purest form, it knows what it is and revels in it, and i like it. The game has a modest selection of decently    Not just a guilty pleasure, EDF 4.1 is actually a good game in it's own right.

    Lots and lots of big alien insects, bugs, monsters, robots and ships that need to be destroyed by any means necessery to save our mother Earth. EDF 4.1 is silly, over the top gaming fun at it's purest form, it knows what it is and revels in it, and i like it.

    The game has a modest selection of decently sized maps, and while they're repeated during the missions, the repetition doesnt really become an issue since the gameplay is captivating till the last fight. You're offered a nice selection of weapons and most of them feel pretty damn satisfying. All 4 soldier classes have their own unique play styles, but for solo play the Air Raider class is pretty useless, as it's clearly meant for support role in online play, and i also didnt like that some of Fencer's weapons cant be used on their own and require an Air Raider in your party to utilize them.
    One of the more annoying issues i found was the friendly AI, as they often tend to enter in your line of fire, forcing your hand to injur or kill them.

    While graphically the EDF 4.1 shows it's lower budget nature, it's more than compensated by the sheer amount of enemies and allies on screen, not many games are ready to make that sacrifice and it should be praised here. In actuality, i kinda dig the art style, as the environments feel natural, like they're modeled after real locations in Japan.

    It's the sort of a game that you can come back to at any moment and have enjoyable time with it, the replay value is strong with this one.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 14, 2016
    90
    Every level of EDF is like a mix of Omaha Beach, Pearl Harbor, Thermopylae and Helm’s Deep. Yes, the visuals might be laughable, but it’s the price for the enormous scale of battles. [10/2016, p.67]
  2. CGMagazine
    Aug 8, 2016
    90
    Earth Defense Force 4.1 is a smoother, more polished version of the same cheesy, excellent product that Sandlot’s gotten so good at making.
    Read full review
  3. Brash Games
    Aug 1, 2016
    70
    Earth Defense Force 4.1 isn’t a game with an amazing story and the graphics are often less than impressive but the gameplay is addictive and easily accessible.
    Read full review
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