Richard Seagrave
GameSpewEarth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair Review
Published 2/12/2016
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Scoring alignment
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Score
70
+3 vs critic avg
Review
Read originalCritic Atlas
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PS4 / PC - 12/8/2015
Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair
This updated version of Earth Defense Force 2025 marks the series first current-gen appearance. It sports improved performance, new content amounting to more than 50 percent of the original, two-player local co-op, and four player online co-op. The game is also being ported to PC "It's a fight for the future of the planet between the Ravagers, a merciless swarm of alien invaders, and the Earth Defense Force (EDF) in this third-person shooter. As an EDF soldier you will go head to head in fierce combat against the hordes of giant alien insects and their slaughtering machines. Play as four different classes in over 80 missions with a range of 800 weapons at your disposal. The most overwhelmingly numerous forces of Ravagers the series has ever seen will take the EDF fighters to the depths of despair and back! Online co-op play supported."
- Developer
- Sandlot
- Publisher
- XSEED Games, PQube, D3 Publisher
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Critic average
67
Average of 28 scored external reviews.
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Highly replayableDefining · Curated baseline
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Review coverage
Critic signal strength
Numeric critic scoring uses full scored reviews once available. Review-in-progress scores act as temporary early signal only until full review scores exist. Unscored reviews still count as coverage, but they are not included in the critic average.
High confidencePolarized
Critic avg
67
28 scored reviews
Total coverage
28
All coverage currently scored
Score range
30–100
Lowest to highest scored review
Signal shape
Polarized
Score range is 31+ points
Critic landscape
The critic average is 67 across 28 scored reviews, with a 70-point spread. Critics are far apart on this one.
How to read this
Treat the average carefully. A polarized landscape is where reviewer match, review text, and score deltas matter more than the headline number.
Most scored reviews currently sit in the Below 70 band.
Score distribution
Shows how included scored reviews are clustered across the normalized 100-point scale.
28 included scored reviews
90–1003 reviews · 11%
80–896 reviews · 21%
70–797 reviews · 25%
Below 7012 reviews · 43%
Showing 11-20 of 28 matching critic reviews. 28 total critic reviews. Page 2 of 3.
Ken McKown
ZTGDEarth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair (PS4) Review
Published 1/15/2016
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Scoring alignment
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Score
70
+3 vs critic avg
Review
Read originalJed Pressgrove
Slant MagazineEarth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair | Game Review | Slant Magazine
Published 1/6/2016
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Scoring alignment
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Score
60
-7 vs critic avg
Review
Read originalBrian Dumlao
Worth PlayingPS4 Review - 'Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair'
Published 1/5/2016
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Scoring alignment
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Score
80
+13 vs critic avg
Review
Read originalJames Stephanie Sterling
The JimquisitionEarth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair Review – Giant Insects
Published 12/19/2015
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Scoring alignment
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Score
30
-37 vs critic avg
Review
Read originalAaron Main
GamingBoltEarth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair Review – An Unnecessary Port
Published 12/18/2015
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Scoring alignment
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Score
40
-27 vs critic avg
Review
Read originalChalgyr Vokel
Digitally DownloadedReview: Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair (Sony PlayStation 4)
Published 12/15/2015
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Scoring alignment
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Score
60
-7 vs critic avg
Review
Read originalPhil Brown
CGMagazineEarth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow Of New Despair (PS4) Review
Published 12/14/2015
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Scoring alignment
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Score
60
-7 vs critic avg
Review
Read originalDiego Escala
MonsterVineEarth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair Review
Published 12/9/2015
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Scoring alignment
—
Score
70
+3 vs critic avg
Review
Read originalRyan Tessier
COGconnectedEarth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair Review – Killing Bugs Since 2025
Published 12/9/2015
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Scoring alignment
—
Score
60
-7 vs critic avg
Review
Read originalPlayer reviews
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