Fighting the Ravagers as an EDF soldier
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 4.1 The Shadow of New Despair is a third-person shooter where you take the role of an EDF soldier fighting the Ravagers, an alien invasion force. The enemy roster includes giant alien insects and their machines, and the game leans into the absurd scale of the fight with a comedy streak alongside the action. You pick from four different classes, and each mission draws from a pool of over 800 weapons, so loadouts can be reshaped constantly as you push through the campaign. There are over 80 missions in total, and the Ravagers show up in numbers the series describes as its largest yet.
Playing with your group
Co-op play is supported, including online co-op, so you and your friends can take on the missions together as EDF soldiers. The Steam features list includes Remote Play Together, and the tags cover local co-op and split screen alongside online co-op, so there are several ways to end up in the same fight. Since four classes are available, a group can split roles across the roster rather than everyone running the same setup. Missions are shared objectives against the same swarms, so coordination on who brings what weapon matters more than individual play.
Before you start
The tags list the game as difficult, so expect missions that push back hard against a small squad. The game also carries gore and destruction tags alongside the comedy tone, so the humor sits next to genuinely heavy combat. One thing to watch: the developers have confirmed a save data issue that can occur when playing online multiplayer with players who tamper with their game data. If your save becomes tampered, it cannot be recovered. Their advice is to leave an online room immediately if you suspect a cheater before starting a mission, and to leave mid-mission if you spot one before it finishes.