{{Short description|2017 video game}} {{No plot|date=March 2023}} {{Infobox video game | title = Earth Defense Force 5 | image = Earth Defense Force 5 cover.jpg | caption = Japanese PlayStation 4 box art | developer = Sandlot | publisher = D3 Publisher | director = Toshio Noguchi<br>Takehiro Homma | producer = Nobuyuki Okajima | artist = Masatsugu Igarashi | designer = Takehiro Homma | writer =Takehiro Homma | programmer = Toshio Noguchi | composer = {{ubl|Masafumi Takada|Jun Fukuda}} | series = ''Earth Defense Force'' | platforms = PlayStation 4, Windows | released = {{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|December 7, 2017}}| '''PlayStation 4'''{{vgrelease|JP|December 7, 2017|WW|December 11, 2018}} '''Windows'''{{vgrelease|WW|July 11, 2019}}}} | genre = Third-person shooter | modes = Single-player, multiplayer }} '''''Earth Defense Force 5'''''{{efn|Known in Japan as {{nihongo|'''''Chikyū Bōeigun 5'''''|地球防衛軍5||lead=yes|{{lit.}} ''Earth Defense Forces 5''}}}} is the fifth main installment, and the eighth game in the ''Earth Defense Force'' video game series. Developed by Sandlot and published by D3 Publisher, the game was released for the PlayStation 4 in Japan on December 7, 2017. The game was released simultaneously in the United States, Europe, China, and South Korea on December 11, 2018, as a digital exclusive for the PlayStation 4.<ref>{{cite web|last=Romano|first=Sal|date=September 20, 2018|title='Earth Defense Force 5 launches December 11 in North America and Europe|url=https://gematsu.com/2018/09/earth-defense-force-5-launches-december-11-in-north-america-and-europe|publisher=Gematsu|accessdate=December 1, 2018|archive-date=December 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202155142/https://gematsu.com/2018/09/earth-defense-force-5-launches-december-11-in-north-america-and-europe|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Earth Defense Force 5'' departs from the continuity established by ''Earth Defense Force 2017'' and ''Earth Defense Force 2025/4.1'', and is set in a new continuity where the Earth Defense Force is a private military corporation and sees action for the first time in the year 2022.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}
==Gameplay== ''Earth Defense Force 5'' follows the same gameplay style as the previous game, ''Earth Defense Force 4.1''. Unlike ''4.1'' however, some missions now contain pre-placed vehicles, normally being civilian vehicles that the player can occupy.
The single player campaign features 110 missions, the highest number of any ''EDF'' game to date (not counting downloadable content). Some missions now contain story elements to follow, such as Mission 1, where the player receives training of the game's controls from an Earth Defense Force Ranger. Other levels require the player to follow a certain squad of soldiers in order to progress through the mission. The player unlocks harder difficulty settings after completing the game once.
==Downloadable content== ''Earth Defense Force 5'' has an available season pass in Japan, which guarantees players access to all downloadable content as it is released. D3 Publisher confirmed that DLC would include both mission packs and aesthetic modifications such as skins for weapons and armor.
The first mission pack, Additional Mission Pack 1: Extra Challenge, was released in Japan on April 11, 2019, and costs 1,200 yen on the PlayStation Store. It consists of more than 10 new missions designed to be especially challenging, featuring extremely powerful and rare enemy types from the campaign as common enemies and introducing new enemy types such as armored variants of the Colonists. It also introduces more than 30 new weapons among the four classes that can be unlocked by picking up weapon items.
The second mission pack, Additional Mission Pack 2: Super Challenge, was released in Japan on May 17, 2019.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}
==Reception== {{Video game reviews | MC = PS4: 72/100<ref name="MC_PS4">{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/earth-defense-force-5/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-4 |title=Earth Defense Force 5 for PlayStation 4 Reviews |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=January 19, 2021 |archive-date=February 8, 2026 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260208015034/https://www.metacritic.com/game/earth-defense-force-5/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-4 |url-status=live }}</ref><br />PC: 76/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/earth-defense-force-5/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |title=Earth Defense Force 5 for PC Reviews |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=January 19, 2021 |archive-date=February 8, 2026 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260208015053/https://www.metacritic.com/game/earth-defense-force-5/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |url-status=live }}</ref> | IGN = 8/10<ref>{{cite web |last1=Petty |first1=Jared |title=Earth Defense Force 5 Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/12/07/earth-defense-force-5-review |website=IGN |date=16 September 2021 |access-date=16 September 2021}}</ref> | PSQ = {{Rating|5|10}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Earth Defense Force 5 Review (PS4) {{!}} Aces high |url=https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps4/earth_defense_force_5 |website=Push Square |date=16 September 2021 |access-date=16 September 2021 |archive-date=17 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917222928/https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps4/earth_defense_force_5 |url-status=live }}</ref> | Destruct = 6/10<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moyse |first1=Chris |title=Review: Earth Defense Force 5 |url=https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-earth-defense-force-5/ |website=Destructoid |date=16 September 2021 |access-date=16 September 2021}}</ref> | GSpot = 8/10<ref>{{cite web |last1=Swinbanks |first1=James |title=Earth Defense Force 5 Review - Another Bug Hunt |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/earth-defense-force-5-review-another-bug-hunt/1900-6417054/ |website=GameSpot |date=16 September 2021 |access-date=16 September 2021 |archive-date=28 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028154227/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/earth-defense-force-5-review-another-bug-hunt/1900-6417054/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | GI = 7/10<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Juba |first1=Joe |title=Earth Defense Force 5 Review - A Weakening Resistance |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/review/earth-defense-force-5/a-weakening-resistance |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212015225/https://www.gameinformer.com/review/earth-defense-force-5/a-weakening-resistance |url-status=live |archive-date=December 12, 2018 |magazine=Game Informer |date=16 September 2021 |access-date=16 September 2021}}</ref> | SN = 7/10<ref>{{cite web |last1=Morse |first1=Blake |title=Earth Defense Force 5 review: Proper pest control |url=https://www.shacknews.com/article/108968/earth-defense-force-5-review-proper-pest-control |website=Shacknews |date=16 September 2021 |access-date=16 September 2021}}</ref> }}
''Earth Defense Force 5'' has an aggregate score of 72/100 on Metacritic based on 44 reviews.<ref name="MC_PS4" /> ''IGN'' called the game a fun "energetic essay on action game design" despite the dated graphics and gave it a rating of 8.3/10.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/12/07/earth-defense-force-5-review|title=Earth Defense Force 5 Review|last=Petty|first=Jared|date=December 7, 2018|website=IGN|language=en-US|access-date=December 20, 2018|archive-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220231220/https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/12/07/earth-defense-force-5-review|url-status=live}}</ref> ''GameSpot'' also criticized the dated character models and textures but still gave the game a rating of 8 out of 10 citing the storytelling, variety of weapons and characters which leads to replayability and the co-op gameplay.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/earth-defense-force-5-review-another-bug-hunt/1900-6417054/|title=Earth Defense Force 5 Review - Another Bug Hunt|last=Swinbanks|first=James|date=December 7, 2018|website=GameSpot|language=en-US|access-date=December 20, 2018}}</ref> ''Game Informer'' rated the game 7 out of 10.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.gameinformer.com/review/earth-defense-force-5/a-weakening-resistance|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212015225/https://www.gameinformer.com/review/earth-defense-force-5/a-weakening-resistance|url-status=live|archive-date=December 12, 2018|title=Earth Defense Force 5 Review – A Weakening Resistance|last=Juba|first=Joe|date=December 7, 2018|magazine=Game Informer|language=en|access-date=December 20, 2018}}</ref>
Eric Switzer, writing in The Gamer, stated, "Mitch Hedberg had a joke about how great rice is when you’re really hungry, and you want to eat 2000 of something, and I think the appeal of EDF is similar."<ref>{{cite web |date=July 2022 |title=I Can't Believe Earth Defense Force is a Real Game |url=https://www.thegamer.com/earth-defense-force-5-first-experience-impressions/ |website=thegamer.com |access-date=2026-02-08 |archive-date=2025-07-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250723000657/https://www.thegamer.com/earth-defense-force-5-first-experience-impressions/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Sales === By August 2022, total worldwide shipments and digital sales had surpassed one million units.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-17 |title=Earth Defense Force 5 shipments and digital sales top one million |url=https://www.gematsu.com/2022/08/earth-defense-force-5-shipments-and-digital-sales-top-one-million |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=Gematsu |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817034244/https://www.gematsu.com/2022/08/earth-defense-force-5-shipments-and-digital-sales-top-one-million |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|http://www.d3p.co.jp/edf_portal/}} {{in lang|ja}} {{Earth Defense Force}} {{Sandlot}}
Category:2017 video games Category:Video games about alien invasions Category:Cooperative video games Category:D3 Publisher games Category:Earth Defense Force Category:Military science fiction video games Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games Category:PlayStation 4 games Category:Sandlot games Category:Third-person shooters Category:Sequel video games Category:Video games set in 2022 Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Video games scored by Masafumi Takada Category:Video games using Havok Category:Windows games