Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain hits PC next week

A faster-than-expected turnaround

I would never crush a spider in real life, but in Earth Defense Force? That’s a whole ‘nother story. The only good bug is a dead bug, and that sentiment also goes for any robots, spaceships, and kaiju that might stand in our way. This series could continue doing its thing into eternity and I wouldn’t complain.

Following a PlayStation 4 release back in April, the latest EDF game – a slightly more linear take on bug blastin’ called Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain – is launching soon on Steam from developer Yuke’s. The PC version comes out on Tuesday, October 15. I didn’t think we’d see a port that quickly.

Like its predecessor, Iron Rain commands a full $60 price tag, but during the first week after launch, D3 Publisher will have a 20 percent discount in place. That’s still not budget-game territory, though.

“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,” Chris noted in his PS4 review. I wasn’t expecting much from a Yuke’s-developed Earth Defense Force spin-off when the project was first announced, so to hear that it’s not just pretty to look at (it runs in Unreal Engine 4!), but it’s fun enough, too? That was heartening.

That said, I’m behind on EDF. I still need to play Earth Defense Force 5. Maybe one day I’ll get stranded on a desert island that somehow has electricity, a PC, and Wi-Fi. Then I’ll get around to Iron Rain.