Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain Reviews
As flawed and as fun as ever, Iron Rain doesn't dull the core pleasure of EDF, but doesn't manage much more either.
A more grounded approach and a fresh coat of paint fail to address the series' inherent flaws, as the cheesy charm of fighting giant insects is lost in the process.
Iron Rain provides plenty of content, but Yuke's EDF debut doesn't change much
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain makes a few much-needed tweaks to the old formula, but it's still just another bug hunt.
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain plays around with the concepts players have gotten used to with previous EDFs. Classes are open, and the new Prowl Rider offers a new flavor of play that hasn't been seen in the franchise before. Weapons are open, giving more player freedom in terms of character loadouts. But Iron Rain loses some things from the main series, notably the huge swarms of enemies in favor of larger, more meaningful enemies. It's a fine entry in the EDF franchise, but it doesn't step far beyond its predecessors sadly.
Everything about it makes sense, and it’s a better game at the end of the day due to the added polish. However, it’s not nearly good enough to get recommended with the games it’s now competing with and has lost much of its original appeal along the way.
And that's pretty much it. Despite the marketing of a more "serious" tone this is still very much EDF - a bug-shooting Dynasty Warriors-esque hack and slash at heart. Given that it's a standalone game you can also just jump right in (not that you'd need to keep up with EDF lore regardless).
EDF: Iron Rain is big, it's dumb and it's also a ton of fun thanks to fantastic split-screen and online multiplayer. Pack your biggest auto-cannon, switch your brain off and you'll be chanting 'EDF! EDF! EDF!' in no time.
Iron Rain is a solid shooter and reminiscent of what made the mainline games so much fun. However, I think some of the backend changes don’t really work and the visual and aural impact of the weapons feel diminished.
In the case of Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain, in particular, the good definitely outweighs the bad. I love this game and I will probably be playing it until the next one comes out, which could be a bit since we just got EDF 5 and Iron Rain about four months apart.
Unpretentious entertainment that drags too many technical and artistic aspects too outdated today.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain has a lot of good ideas that mostly come together well but it still doesn't feel as fun to play as the mainline series.
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain lets you blast away at hordes of alien enemies, making you feel powerful. The framerate drops when too many enemies appear, but it doesn't ruin the game. The story isn't very compelling, but manning your PA gear in combat makes up for that.
Iron Rain is a good game on its own merits, but it's simply not as good as EDF5. It is a pretty different experience that's easy to recommend to series fans that are hungry for more, though.
Outside of maybe the difficulty of playing on normal (there are different difficulties) this is hands down the most accessible EDF has been to a wide audience
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is light on narrative and heavy on fast paced action.
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is some of the most pure, unadulterated fun we've had in 2019 so far. It's not pretty and it's not stable, but if you're able to look past its technical drawbacks, then you're in for a supremely wacky, boisterous, and delightful takedown of humanity's greatest threat. Earth Defense Force is proud of its simplistic nature, and that's probably the best thing about it.
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is certainly the prettiest insect-splatting simulation to grace the PlayStation 4 and there are a number of innovations to appeal to a Western audience, but Iron Rain still falls into that campy B-movie aesthetic.
It had been several years since I had played Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon so I was a tad worried about doing the series justice in this review, but I can definitely say that outside of a couple of issues with giant insects blocking my camera view, repeatedly getting knocked down when surrounded by the critters, and the sensitivity of clicking L3 to turn around when moving backwards, Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is a solid entry into the EDF series and one that anyone wanting to blast the heck out of giant insects should enjoy.