Info about EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 5:

Official game description:
Stand and fight for humanity.  
This arcade shooter takes place in the year 2022, as the Earth Defense Force fends off an all-out attack by unknown life forms. Become an EDF soldier, battle against endless hordes of immense enemies, and restore peace to the earth.  
Make way for the series' first humanoid aliens.  
Just what is this intelligent, extraterrestrial civilization that has attacked our own, known only as the Primers? Matching their intelligence, they bring the series' first humanoid alien foes. Battling against these intelligent foes will bring you to the depths of yet-unknown despair, and the heights of joy.  
Face the enemy with wisdom and courage!  
The most jam-packed entry yet, with online co-op play!  
This entry has more missions and weapons than any before it. On top of that, all missions support online co-op of up to 4 players, as well as local split-screen. Control the 4 classes and play with EDF soldiers all over the world.  
STORY  
This is no training exercise.  
This is the living nightmare we'd all feared.  
It all started in Japan, 2022. An immense fleet of starships laid siege to an EDF base located in the rough city outskirts in the Kanto region.  
This was an enemy humanity had never encountered, the Primers. Even worse, enormous insects attack the EDF base built even further underground. The EDF fights back.  
Even more realistic battles  
Armor will peel off where you shoot enemies, and their fluids will spill out onto buildings and floors, making you feel like you're truly on the EDF's battlefield.  
4 EDF classes powered up like never before  
As the player, take on missions with one of four classes. Finish missions to unlock new ones and advance the story. You can switch classes before missions as many times as you'd like.

Release date: Jul 11, 2019

Categories: Third-Person Shooter, Cooperative Multiplayer, Horde Shooter, Character Progression, Weapon Customization, Action, Survival, Local Co-op

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 90; verdict: Predatory; summary: The game appears to have a significant pay-to-win element, where purchasing DLC can lower the game's difficulty and provide players with high-level weapons that are otherwise unavailable. This can be seen as a predatory monetization practice, as it pressures players to spend money to progress more easily.
- Steam Deck: score 70; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant issues with the stability, gameplay mechanics, and performance of the game. Frequent crashes and unstable gameplay are major concerns, along with dissatisfaction with changes in weapon effectiveness and gameplay balance. Performance issues such as slow projectile speed and frame drops also impact the user experience.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $7.00 - $30.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests a mixed sentiment regarding the game's value for money. Several reviews indicate that the game is often considered overpriced at its full price, with specific mentions of £46.49 and $50 being too high. However, many reviews also suggest that the game is worth purchasing when on sale, with some users finding it worthwhile even at a price as low as $7. The general consensus is that the game provides good value when discounted, with a few users mentioning that it is worth the full price due to the extensive gameplay hours it offers.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 300.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides multiple direct references to the extensive playtime required to achieve full completion and significant milestones in the game. Players report spending hundreds of hours to reach high completion rates and fully experience all classes and difficulties. This indicates that the game is designed for long-term engagement, with substantial replay value and grinding required for full completion.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game starts with a slow progression but becomes more enjoyable as players advance, particularly in co-op mode with friends, where larger battles and more powerful weapons enhance the fun.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Access to more powerful weapons and larger battles
  - Time to anchor: 1h 0m
  - Friction: Slow initial progression; Repetitive missions; Learning curve; Tedious 100% completion
  - Unlock drivers: Smooth weapon progression; Co-op mode with friends; Strategic loadout planning; Epic battles and powerful weapons
  - Conditions: Playing with friends; Higher difficulty levels; Using powerful weapons; Experiencing larger battles
- Player Archetypes:
  - Solo Relaxation Shooter (sale)
    - Motivation: Relaxation and solo enjoyment.
    - Playstyle: Plays solo to relax and enjoy the game at their own pace.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Solo Player; Relaxation Gamer
    - Reference games: Starship Troopers; Edge of Tomorrow
  - Co-op Enthusiast (buy)
    - Motivation: Social interaction and cooperative gameplay.
    - Playstyle: Prefers playing with friends or online multiplayer for a shared experience.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Co-op Gamer; Social Player
    - Reference games: Starship Troopers; Left 4 Dead
  - Grind-Critical Player (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Completion and mastery, despite the grind.
    - Playstyle: Plays through the game despite the grind, often out of a sense of duty or completionism.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: Hardcore Gamer; Completionist
    - Reference games: Warframe; Destiny
  - Meme and Chaos Lover (buy)
    - Motivation: Entertainment and humor.
    - Playstyle: Plays for the fun and absurdity of the game's content.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Meme Lover; Chaos Enthusiast
    - Reference games: Goat Simulator; Saint's Row


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Enjoyable and fun gameplay (weight 0.64): The game offers an enjoyable and fun gameplay experience, with many players finding it addictive and engaging. The chaotic and straightforward nature of the gameplay contributes to its appeal.
- Variety of weapons and classes (weight 0.61): The game features a large variety of weapons and classes, providing players with diverse options for combat and strategies. This variety enhances the gameplay experience and replayability.
- Improvements from previous versions (weight 0.23): The game is seen as an upgrade from previous versions, with better quality of life and various improvements. Players who enjoyed previous versions are likely to appreciate the enhancements in this game.
- Humorous and engaging dialogue (weight 0.17): The game includes funny and engaging dialogue, with NPCs providing humorous commentary and interactions, adding to the overall enjoyment.
- Japanese language feedback (weight 0.17): Japanese players appreciate the game's straightforward and enjoyable combat, as well as the strategic elements and class variety that enhance the cooperative multiplayer experience.
- Interesting storyline and characters (weight 0.15): The game features an intriguing and detailed storyline with interesting characters, enhancing the overall gaming experience.
- Highly recommended game (weight 0.15): The game is highly recommended by players, who praise its overall quality and enjoyment, making it a worthwhile purchase.
- High replayability with many missions (weight 0.14): The game offers a high number of missions, which are fun and challenging. This contributes to the game's high replayability and overall enjoyment.
- Unique and creative enemy design (weight 0.12): The game features creative and surprising enemy designs, which add to the overall enjoyment and challenge of the gameplay.

Common complaints:
- Repetitive gameplay (weight 0.14): The gameplay has been criticized for being repetitive and boring, particularly in the later levels, leading to a repetitive gameplay loop.
- Control issues (weight 0.14): Players have experienced problems with the controls, finding them not great and sometimes leading to misoperations, especially with vehicles.
- High difficulty and armor limitations (weight 0.13): Players have reported issues with high difficulty levels and limitations in armor upgrades, even with full upgrades.
- Not worth full price (weight 0.1): Many players feel that the game is not worth its full price, citing high price for low quality and not worth the money.
- Excessive grinding (weight 0.1): The game has been described as very grindy, with an incredible amount of grinding required, particularly for weapons, which can be frustrating and time-consuming.
- Limited weapon slots (weight 0.1): Players have noted limitations in weapon slots and useful weapons, as well as equipment limitations and limited ammunition.
- Poor AI behavior (weight 0.1): The AI behavior in the game has been criticized as poor and sometimes useless, particularly with friendly AI.
- Tedious loot collection (weight 0.1): Players have found the loot collection process to be tedious and disruptive to gameplay.
- Cheesy dialogue (weight 0.09): The dialogue in the game has been described as laughable, excessive, and meaningless.
- Game full of bugs (weight 0.08): The game has been described as having plenty of bugs and glitches, with many bugs and improper operations.
- Poor game execution (weight 0.08): The overall execution of the game has been criticized as poor, with terrible game design.
- Weapon balance issues (weight 0.07): There are reports of weapons swaying excessively and poor weapon accuracy, leading to balance issues.
- Vision obscured by attacks (weight 0.07): Players have reported issues with vision being obscured by attacks and debris, leading to poor visibility.
- Inconsistent difficulty levels (weight 0.07): The game has been criticized for having inconsistent and imbalanced difficulty levels, with some levels being too difficult.
- Some classes are weak (weight 0.07): Some classes in the game have been described as weak or difficult to use, and some are considered a miss.
- Enemies getting stuck (weight 0.07): There are reports of enemies getting stuck, which can be annoying and disruptive to gameplay.
- Explosion effects issues (weight 0.07): Players have reported issues with explosion effects, including not being able to turn them off and finding them blurry and exaggerated.
- Useless vehicles (weight 0.07): Vehicles in the game have been described as useless and fragile, with some weapons also being considered useless.
- Story is not serious (weight 0.06): The story in the game has been criticized for not being taken seriously and being mostly an engine to throw enemies at the player.

Gameplay feedback:
- Unique class abilities (weight 0.3): The game includes multiple classes, each with unique abilities and traits. Players can choose from different classes, each offering distinct gameplay styles and weapons.
- Diverse weapon progression system (weight 0.23): The game features a comprehensive weapon progression system that includes unlocking, upgrading, and leveling up weapons. Players can grind for weapons and experience class-based progression with unique weapon unlocks.
- Wide variety of weaponry (weight 0.22): The game offers a vast array of weapons, including shotguns, rifles, snipers, missiles, rockets, bombs, grenades, lasers, lances, hammers, swords, flamethrowers, miniguns, and space lasers. This variety allows for different tactics and gameplay styles.
- Cooperative multiplayer gameplay (weight 0.22): Players can engage in cooperative multiplayer gameplay with friends, featuring different classes and roles. The co-op experience includes puzzle elements and varying difficulties, enhancing the overall multiplayer experience.
- Variety of enemy types (weight 0.17): The game features a variety of enemy types and large-scale battles against numerous enemies. Players can expect realistic enemy behavior and massive enemy counts.
- Multiple difficulty levels (weight 0.16): The game offers multiple difficulty levels, allowing players to choose the challenge that best suits their skills. The difficulty levels vary, providing a range of experiences.
- Single-player and multiplayer modes (weight 0.15): The game supports both single-player and multiplayer modes, including co-op gameplay and a campaign storyline. Players can enjoy the game solo or with friends.
- New systems and gameplay improvements (weight 0.14): The game introduces new systems and gameplay improvements from previous versions. This includes new vehicles, mission varieties, and weather conditions in certain levels.
- Third-person shooter gameplay (weight 0.12): The game features third-person shooter gameplay with action-packed and story-driven elements. Players can enjoy arcade-like and hack-and-slash gameplay styles.
- Mission strategies and planning (weight 0.09): The game includes mission-based structures that require observation and planning. Players can develop strategies for completing missions and multiplayer gameplay.
- Fighting giant monsters with mechs (weight 0.07): The gameplay involves driving giant robots to fight against large alien invasions and giant Kaijus. This unique gameplay mechanic adds excitement and variety.
- Fully destructible environments (weight 0.06): The game features fully destructible environments, allowing for destruction and chaos during gameplay. Players can interact with and destroy the environment.

Performance notes:
- Performance varies by system (weight 0.23): Performance experiences vary widely among players. Some report smooth performance and high FPS, while others experience significant FPS drops and performance issues, especially on lower-end hardware.
- Server and performance issues (weight 0.12): Players have experienced bad servers, lag, and frequent crashing. There are also reports of freezing and white screens on startup.
- Engine and optimization issues (weight 0.1): The game's engine is criticized for being outdated and poorly optimized, leading to various performance issues and a feeling that the game is not graphically advanced.
- Limited graphics options (weight 0.08): Players have noted that there are very few graphic options available, including no borderless window option, which limits customization and performance tuning.
- Specific performance issues (weight 0.08): There are specific performance issues reported, such as crashing with integrated graphics, performance dips in large-scale battles, and long load times.
- Performance improvements and mods (weight 0.07): Some players have found performance improvements through mods and specific settings, such as Lossless scaling's X2 frame generation and mouse jitter fix mod.
- Animation and mechanics issues (weight 0.06): The game's animations and mechanics have been described as clunky and atrocious, detracting from the overall gameplay experience.
- Positive server performance (weight 0.05): Some players have reported good server construction and no lag between different regions, indicating positive server performance.
- Mixed reviews on graphics improvement (weight 0.05): There are mixed reviews regarding graphics improvement. Some players feel the graphics improve with progression, while others find them lacking.
- FPS locked at 60 (weight 0.05): The game is reported to be locked at 60 FPS due to engine limitations, which some players find restrictive.
- Performance issues on gaming laptops (weight 0.03): Players using gaming laptops have reported specific performance issues, indicating that the game may not be well-optimized for such hardware.
- Aiming issues (weight 0.03): Some players have reported issues with aiming, such as the crosshair momentarily jerking and facing an unintended direction.
- FPS drops in full screen (weight 0.03): There are reports of FPS drops for unknown reasons when playing in full-screen mode.

Recommendations:
- Buy on sale (weight 0.19): It is recommended to purchase the game on sale, especially if you are unsure about buying it at full price.
- Great for multiplayer and co-op (weight 0.18): The game is highly recommended for playing with friends and for cooperative multiplayer sessions.
- Recommended for EDF series fans (weight 0.16): This game is highly recommended for fans of the Earth Defense Force series, including those who enjoyed Earth Defense Force 4.1 and those interested in the prequel to EDF6.
- Enjoy large-scale battles and unique atmosphere (weight 0.14): The game is worth playing for its unique atmosphere and large-scale battles, including fighting off over-sized house pests and alien ships.
- Fun and simple gameplay (weight 0.12): The game is recommended for its fun and simple gameplay, prioritizing engaging and immersive experiences.
- No microtransactions or gacha systems (weight 0.08): The game is praised for not having addictive gacha systems, microtransactions, or daily login requirements.
- Play before EDF 6 (weight 0.06): It is recommended to play this game before moving on to the sixth installment of the series.
- Recommended for nostalgia and B-Movie fans (weight 0.05): The game is recommended for those who enjoy nostalgia and fans of B-Movie schlock.
- Recommended for experienced gamers (weight 0.03): The game is only recommended to someone with lots of video game experience and patience.
- Worth checking out (weight 0.03): Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 is worth checking out for its unique features and gameplay.
- Hope for more DLCs (weight 0.03): Players hope for more downloadable content to enhance the gaming experience.
- Play on normal difficulty (weight 0.03): It is recommended to play the game on normal difficulty for the best experience.
- Consider DLC for reduced difficulty (weight 0.03): Players might consider purchasing DLC to reduce the game's difficulty.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.22): Players are frustrated by a multitude of issues including repetitive levels and mission design, excessive grinding, and difficulty spikes. Technical problems such as frequent crashing, game-saving failures, and performance issues also contribute significantly to this frustration.
- Excitement (weight 0.17): The game's intense and chaotic battles, along with the variety of weapons and classes, create an exhilarating experience. Players enjoy the thrill of large-scale battles and the unique gameplay mechanics, especially when playing with friends.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.15): Players find the game enjoyable due to its fun and chaotic gameplay, variety of missions, and the entertaining combat. The overall experience, despite some flaws, provides a good time, especially when playing with friends.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.08): The game offers a satisfying experience with its addictive gameplay loop, challenging missions, and the heroic feeling of solo play. Players appreciate the improvements over previous versions and the deep storyline.
- Amusement (weight 0.07): The game's humorous and chaotic elements, such as ridiculous dialogue and ragdoll physics, provide a lot of amusement. The cheesy and over-the-top nature of the game, along with humorous NPC behaviors, adds to the fun.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.06): Players are enthusiastic about the variety of weapons, unique gameplay mechanics, and the overall fun experience. The detailed discussions of gameplay features and positive multiplayer experiences contribute to this enthusiasm.
- Disappointment (weight 0.05): Some players feel disappointed due to the game's lack of improvement over previous versions and repetitive gameplay. Issues with weapon systems and outdated graphics also contribute to this sentiment.
- Joy (weight 0.04): The game brings joy through its fun and engaging gameplay, especially when playing with friends. The enjoyable multiplayer experience and unique gameplay mechanics are highlighted as sources of joy.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.04): Players feel nostalgic as the game reminds them of older versions and childhood memories. The classic IP and comparisons to previous games evoke a sense of nostalgia.
- Excited (weight 0.01): The variety of weapons and equipment, along with hype moments in the gameplay, create excitement. The chaotic and fun nature of the game adds to this excitement.
- Amused (weight 0.01): Players are amused by the campy and cheesy dialogue, as well as humorous features like singing with NPCs. The overall fun and engaging gameplay contributes to this amusement.
- Interest (weight 0.01): The game's unique theme and storyline piques players' interest. The setting and unique enemies add to the intriguing aspects of the game.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Some players feel confused due to the lack of clear information on weapons and classes. The strange graphics and enemy design also contribute to this confusion.
- Camaraderie (weight 0.01): The cooperative gameplay fosters a sense of camaraderie among players. The shared experience and teamwork with friends enhance this feeling.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by the new enemies and twists in the campaign. Realizing the game's quality also contributes to this surprise.
- Awe (weight 0.01): The epic scale of the game and its shocking and interesting experiences evoke a sense of awe. The grand battles and unique gameplay elements contribute to this feeling.
- Nostalgic (weight 0.01): Comparisons to older versions of the game and the mention of its enduring fun despite its age evoke nostalgia. Players reminisce about the classic gameplay and memories associated with it.
- Happiness (weight 0.01): The positive gaming experience, mission-based structure, and lack of live-service mechanics contribute to players' happiness. The enjoyable multiplayer experience and Japanese audio on Steam add to this sentiment.
- Humor (weight 0.01): The funny dialogue and engaging narrative provide a lot of humor. The recruitment process description and humorous story elements add to the amusement.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Players appreciate the game's design philosophy and focus on gameplay. The community involvement in fixing bugs and the game's mechanics and progression system are also highly valued.}