Earth Defense Force World Brothers 2 Review – Hip to be Square

We’re still in the wake of the Earth Defense Force 6 release and yet there is another Earth Defense Force game ready to enlist our aid against the alien forces that would dare harm our beautiful planet. That game is Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2, a sequel to the 2021 spin-off of the same name. While the series is known for its B-movie charm and horde mode-style core loop, World Brothers 2 adds to the existing formula by bringing its own visual style and somehow even more ridiculous moment-to-moment gameplay.

Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 sets the scene with special forces keeping a keen eye on the sky following the events of the first game. Defeating the Dark Tyrant and un-fragmenting square Earth was no easy task. So obviously our Commander and other soldiers were prepared to repel any attacks from above. Too bad for them, the next assault on our home planet came from below. Gaiarch emerged from the ground, once again shattering the cube-shaped world into many blocky pieces. What is the EDF to do in the face of such formidable opposition? Gather their brothers and sisters from all across the not-so-round globe to push back yet another apocalyptic threat.

If you skipped the first game, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 layers a distinct appearance on top of the usual bug and alien massacre. It’s as if EDF took design cues from 3D Dot Game Heroes —look, I know that may be an obscure game, but I really didn’t want to make a Minecraft comparison. Possibly long-forgotten IPs aside, the voxel aesthetics give this spin-off added charm on top of its already silly approach to its over-the-top battles. It works to great effect, attaching a more playful tone to an already bizarre game.

Block ‘n’ Roll

At the heart of World Brothers 2 is a familiar gameplay loop comprised of mowing down masses of ants, wasps, bipedal frog beasts, robots of extraterrestrial design and more. Waves upon waves of these sci-fi horrors will descend upon the player in each mission, causing blood of all colors to splash onto nearby skyscrapers and city streets. Where this spin-off stands apart from the mainline entries, aside from its artistic choices, is that players won’t control just one soldier on the battlefield. Instead, teams of four will enter the fray. Players can swap between these four selected characters at their leisure, allowing for tactics to be modified on the fly. It also means that losing all of your health on one character isn’t an immediate game over; there are three other health bars ready to jump into the fight (and they can revive the downed character, too).

The characters making up player teams come in many flavors. In fact, there are more than 100 unique characters to be added to your collection army. Things start off with the standard fare, throwing a ranger and fencer into the lineup. But it quickly devolves into absurdity in the best way. It wasn’t long before my team consisted of a rocket-wielding panda, a spear-throwing Inca warrior, a livestreamer who weaponized “Likes,” and a Viking that could propel spiny steel balls into crowds. Sure, you could round out the squad with the usual four suspects, or one of the recognizable faces from EDF 6, but the wild alternatives are bound to entice.

Each of these characters is packing a maneuver ability, support ability and a SP move. The aforementioned panda, for example, can use leg boosters to traverse the environment quickly and has an arm sonic generator that creates a shockwave with a clap. When that SP meter fills up, it’s time to roll out, literally. Solid holograms appear on either side of this panda soldier and they all charge ahead in a rolling formation. The abilities attached to each unlocked character may not all be equally effective, but they sure are a delight to test out. Additionally, each character has their own stats related to walking speed, jumping and SP charge speed, making them even more diverse.

Your Team, Your Rules

Unlike the main EDF titles, weapons are not class restricted. Once a character’s skill has been leveled up, they can access new weapon categories. Want to swap out the ninja’s katana for a Stardust Cannon? Go for it. Maybe the Royal Guard would rather his sniper rifle be a grenade launcher. That’s an option, too. All of this is further heightened by unlockable accessories, which buff the player in different ways. The configurability of World Brothers 2 truly lets the player imprint their own style on the game and make it incredibly entertaining.

As a simple yet enjoyable experience that promotes fun above all else, there’s not much to complain about when it comes to the spin-off sequel. Where World Brothers 2 suffers is shared across multiple entries in the series, and that’s the dip in framerate when the onscreen madness is overflowing with too many explosions and alien corpses. As longtime fans know, the further into the 100+ missions you progress, the more densely packed the battles become. But if the series’ jank hasn’t put you off of prior installments, a handful of lost frames here and there isn’t going to suddenly be a dealbreaker.

An actual gripe with the game appeared when experiencing the two-player split-screen. When a character actives their SP move, the screen becomes solely focused on that character in a flashy splash screen before the move activates. This means that the second player has control yanked away for that moment, which can be irritating if that player is currently fending off surrounding creatures or if the other player plans to fire off multiple SP moves across all four characters in rapid succession. I didn’t get a chance to play in an online co-op environment so I’m unable to confirm if this is the case in that mode, but I imagine not given the separate screens.

Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 Review Verdict

Editor’s Note: Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 was reviewed on PlayStation 5, and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.