History VideoGame / EarthDefenseForce5

* AMillionIsAStatistic: The EDF Supreme Commander's reaction to hearing that 20% of the human population has been lost in a few months is simply to say, "That doesn't sound ''too'' bad." To be fair, [[spoiler: another 70% follow soon after.]]

* WeaksauceWeakness: At one point early in the game there is dialogue about a massive alien invasion of Beijing, involving over five thousand aliens and various other troops under their command. A few levels later, you learn that humanity wins and wipes out over seventy percent of the invasion force using a special weapon. Said special weapon turns out to be China's air pollution, which severely weakened the alien forces. Humanity never thinks to weaponize this again somehow, though it gives a little justification later for the Cosmonaut aliens who show up in armored space suits meant to let them avoid breathing Earth's dirty air. You never get to see this in-game unfortunately, as every city you fight in doesn't affect the aliens at all.

* ActionSurvivor: The playable cast starts out in this kind of situation, being a civilian brought in to help with an EDF rally meant to help connect with and entertain the public after a long period of the EDF not doing much to justify its ongoing expenses. Once the bugs start attacking the base where the rally is supposed to take place, the civilians are given EDF weapons to protect themselves until they can get somewhere safe.

** The level limit for what can be picked up has been tightened. Before you could be doing a mission that gave out level 60 equipment and pick up a level 15 item that you most likely had already received much earlier in the campaign. Now the drop tables have tightened to around 10 levels lower than level appropriate.
** Completion medals, which are given for beating a level on a specific difficulty for that character, will now award you with the medals of the previous difficulties as well as the one you beat it on, where as before you could complete a mission on inferno as a class and still have to beat hard and normal and so on. This was the biggest obstacle to removing weapon level restrictions in online because you had to beat each of the 87 levels '''20''' times.

** All classes will have a white circle appear around them while performing certain actions (sprinting, dodging, piloting a vehicle), which allows players to collect any item that touches the circle. Prior games required you to directly touch the item in order to collect it, which often resulted in players dying from missing a health crate by a hair, or Rangers/Air Raiders needing to exit their vehicles to collect items.

** Weapon and armor pickups can now give items to other classes as well as the class being played, but at a lower rate than the current class. Before this change, focusing on one character exclusively meant you would more or less have to start from the very beginning when starting another class to build up health and get weapons better than the starting equipment. Now, your other classes will be drip fed armor and weapons as you play your preferred character. Now if you focus on one class, the other three classes will have more health and a better selection of weapons to choose from than when you just started playing.
** Caves in this game are actually lit up for the player's benefit. Despite the good atmosphere that comes from only being able to see what your flashlight is trained on, you could easily get lost in a cave because of how bloody dark it was, or end up missing an enemy because the flashlight shined wherever the character's gun was physically pointing. This caused some actions, such as reloading, to prevent you from seeing in front of you during basic actions.

* ArtificialBrilliance: While most of the enemies are mindless mosnters, the [[FrogMen Colonists]] and [[TheGreys Cosmonauts]] are very crafty: they use buildings as cover, remain mobile (as long as their legs aren't shot off), and will try to outmaneuver and flank you.
* ArtificialStupidity: Mostly averted, as Sandlot fixed most of the issues with the A.I. soldiers that were present in VideoGame/EarthDefenseForce2025. Fencers now use their shields and dash boosts to avoid being damaged, Wing Divers no longer jump and hover in the same place (pointlessly wasting their energy) and use their flight to try evading incoming fire, and EDF troops no longer try to shoot enemies behind walls... they'll still get in the way of your shots, though.

* BalanceBuff: Rangers got a run that also improves pickup radius, Wing Divers got a dodge that's fairly fuel efficient compared to other methods of flying, the above two as well as Fencer got a new passive slot [[note]] The Ranger's passive can be either a vehicle or a general buff such as run speed or pickup range, Fencers get 2 slots and they can improve their movement or help their mech suits have better control, Wing Divers can get energy cores that give various stats based around their energy and flight and unlike the previous two characters, the Wing Diver must have one equipped.[[/note]], the Air Raider got new air strikes that will reload automatically rather than needing credits, ranging from frequently usable to very slow but as powerful as a regular airstrike that needs credits. Finally, the Ranger's unique ability from the previous game, any health box they pick up heals their followers, now applies to all 4 classes but the Ranger is the only one with the option to improve how much is healed.

* RealityEnsues: Shockingly, for a series that prides itself on B-Movie cheese, over-the-top action, and eagerly embracing every scifi cliche under the sun, ''EDF 5'' takes a very stark approach to one long-running trait of the series, in contrast with its predecessors: [[OneManArmy No matter how much of a certified grade-A badass you are]], [[spoiler: one ([[CoOpMultiplayer or as many as four]]) hypercompetent soldier can't win a war on their own, especially if said war is a surprise attack that results in an unbroken series of vicious [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp Battles]] in the aliens' favor. You do manage to win, time and time again, against overwhelming odds and pull out some truly miraculous victories, but all it accomplishes in the grand scheme of things is ''slightly'' delaying the aliens' total victory. [[ZigzaggedTrope Ultimately, though, it does come back around,]] as you manage to win a near-literal suicide mission to kill the aliens' HumanoidAbomination leader, which [[DecapitatedArmy breaks the invasion]] - which was otherwise an absolute, overwhelming success.]]

* {{Stripperific}}: The Wing Divers traded in miniskirts and leotards for [[WhoWearsShortShorts an incredibly tiny pair of short-shorts.]] Notably, you can actually hear them complaining about it being the genuine EDF uniform for their unit, and how no one gives them any respect as a result.

* CallARabbitASmeerp: The various creatures in the game never get referred to as what they are in real life Earth, such as the giant ants simply being called "Aggressive Alien Species Alpha" and spiders being labeled as "Beta".
* ChekhovsGun: During the weapons tutorial in Base 228, you can see a large orange mech stored nearby. Late in the game, this mech turns out to be the most effective way of dealing with Archelus, and requires a multi part extraction mission by Storm Team to get it.

* DarkerAndEdgier: '''And how!''' (From a plot standpoint, at least.) EDF has never been sunshine and rainbows behind the sometimes-silly dialogue, but ''5'' takes it to a degree bordering on {{Grimdark}}. Since this is a ContinuityReboot, humanity is completely caught off guard by the Primer invasion and is ''far'' less prepared to combat them, with even the Wing Diver and Fencer units having been designed for conventional warfare, not this kind of warfare. No matter how many aliens the player's squad wipes out, the Primers just keep coming, unveiling new units and tactics that slowly but surely overwhelm Earth's defenses. [[spoiler:By the climax of the game, literally ''90%'' of all life on Earth has been eradicated, including every single able-bodied man and women, and the only ones left are children, elderly, the wounded and the infirm. They're also starving because there's no food left, so they start military training to attempt a BolivianArmyEnding instead. By the time the invasion is finally stopped, there's nearly no one left, and the epilogue explicitly states that a complete collapse and regression of human civilization is inevitable and is already beginning to happen.]]

** CallARabbitASmeerp: In addition, the game aggressively avoids referring to any of the giant insects by their species name, instead opting for code names like "Aggressive Alien Species Alpha" for the giant ants. Unlike the English adaptation of ''VideoGame/EarthDefenseForce2025'', this game actively avoids even using the word "insect".

* BeeAfraid: Large amounts of bees attacking you at once can invoke this. While you can dodge a lot of them, if you get stuck in some scenery, or as a Wing Diver, run out of energy, they can kill you pretty fast. Queen bees are worse, as their stingers are much larger, and on higher difficulties, they shoot more as well.

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: This game has some, uh, troubles with this trope. A noticeable instance is mission 41, where you meet the second set of aliens that get mistaken for robots due to their armor (the Cosmonauts) for the first time. The mission starts with you clearing out a few generic waves of enemies before dropping the new type of enemy on you. Once they do, you can hear the dialogue call out "They're dropping ''humanoid'' robots!" A little later, when they figure out it's actually another alien species in a suit of armor, you can then hear "Whatever they are, they ''Aren't humanoid''!" A sentiment that gets repeated by HQ. This comes after the mission introducing the above FrogMen, where they even explicitly describe humanoid in a way that matches these new aliens.

* WeDoTheImpossible: Storm Team, who is the only unit that consistently produces increasingly meager victories as the war rages on. [[spoiler: Up to and including launching a literal suicide mission against the aliens' command ship with zero backup...''[[DecapitatedArmy and winning.]]''

* FrickinLaserBeams: Wing Divers use energy based weaponry to reduce the weight they have to carry. Rangers can also use one in the form of the Blazer, which is overall their most powerful weapon. The Fencer has access to one as well, but it can't be recharged/reloaded in the field, so once those weapons run out of ammo, they can no longer use it until the next mission.

EDF 5 is set in 2022 and is a reboot of the story occurring before 2025, taking place during the first alien invasion of Earth. Like in most of the previous titles, the game is a casual ThirdPersonShooter where the players battle hordes of enemies in various stages with a large and sometimes crazy collection of weapons and equipment.

* ActionSurvivor: The playable cast starts out in this kind of situation, being a civilian brought in to help with an EDF rally meant to help connect with and entertain the public after a long period of not doing much. Once the bugs start attacking the base where the rally is supposed to take place, the civilians are given EDF weapons to protect themselves until they can get somewhere safe.

* BeeAfraid: Large amounts of bees attacking you at once can invoke this. While you can dodge a lot of them, if you get stuck in some scenery, or as a Wing Diver, run out of energy, they can kill you pretty fast. Queen bees are worse, as their stingers are much larger, and on higher difficulties, they shoot more as well.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The Aliens are finally beaten back by the remains of Storm Teams 1-4 and retreat from Earth... with only 10% of the world's population still alive, and the other 90% of humanity dead in the streets of empty, ruined cities around the world. Human civilization collapses, and the world falls back into a dark age where violence rules. In spite of the global anarchy, a glimmer of hope still remains, and the survivors of the EDF eventually restore peace to the ruined planet]].

* DarkerAndEdgier: '''And how!''' (From a plot standpoint, at least.) EDF has never been sunshine and rainbows, but ''5'' takes it to a degree bordering on {{Grimdark}}. Since this is a ContinuityReboot, humanity is completely caught off guard by the Primer invasion and is ''far'' less prepared to combat them, with even the Wing Diver and Fencer units having been designed for conventional warfare, not this kind of warfare. No matter how many aliens the player's squad wipes out, the Primers just keep coming, unveiling new units and tactics that slowly but surely overwhelm Earth's defenses. [[spoiler:By the climax of the game, literally ''90%'' of all life on Earth has been eradicated, including every single able-bodied man and women, and the only ones left are children, elderly, the wounded and the infirm. They're also starving because there's no food left, so they start military training to attempt a BolivianArmyEnding instead. By the time the invasion is finally stopped, there's nearly no one left, and the epilogue explicitly states that a complete collapse and regression of human civilization is inevitable and is already beginning to happen.]]

* DespairEventHorizon: Late in the game as EDF command talks about losing bases, cities, and people, their dialogue becomes increasingly grim. The loss of the EDF submarines mentioned in various levels, along with the EDF command base being knocked out is particularly brutal. By the time of the finale, [[OneManArmy you're]] the only one left with any staying power, and the rest of EDF (which mostly consists of starving and wounded children, the elderly, and the infirm) are basically resorting to a suicidal ZergRush against the aliens to buy you time to [[DecapitatedArmy take down the alien mastermind.]]

** The [[FragileSpeedster Wing]] [[GlassCannon Diver]] has nearly-unmatched mobility at the push of a button with her jetpack, and her energy-based weapons have some of the highest DPS out of any class's. However, her weapons all have some combination of short range, slow projectile speed, high energy costs, and awkward hit boxes, making them difficult to use compared to other class's weapons; in addition to this, her weapons and jetpack all pull from a shared energy pool with limited capacity and a slow reload (slower if it empties). Combine this with her low Armor, lowest of any class, and a careless player can end up out of energy and ammo, surrounded by enemies, with no chance of survival.

** The [[MightyGlacier Fencer]] controls differently from the other classes, but has a combination of massive health and great firepower; however, he can be extremely awkward to use, and while powerful and versatile, can still be overwhelmed and outgunned. High inertia, recoil, still movement and heavy starting and ending lag on certain actions can make it very difficult for a Fencer to effectively move and avoid damage, and while tough, is far from invulnerable. Played well, however, a Fencer can be a tough, powerful, and surprisingly-mobile engine of death that can fill just about any niche.

* TheDreaded: The motherships during in-game dialogue. None of them are ever destroyed, but they cause a lot of destruction wherever they are. In-game, large groups of Cosmonauts can invoke this, as they are difficult to defeat in a head on battle. They will seek cover if there's any available, and can dodge around to avoid your attacks. If fighting multiple ones, they will also attempt to flank you and attack you from the sides, or even behind if given the chance.

* MadnessMantra: Near the end of the campaign, [[spoiler: as the aliens near total victory and humanity is rapidly approaching extinction, one of your VoiceWithAnInternetConnection begins to repeatedly and obsessively talk about an "egg-shaped ship" that was mentioned in legends much earlier in the story, believing it absolutely to be the lynchpin of the invasion effort and if you can ''just find it'', you can destroy it and win the war. The rest of your MissionControl repeatedly chides her for her childish thinking. Of course, this game being what it is, she's absolutely right; there IS an "egg-shaped ship", it IS the lynchpin to the invasion, and you taking it out and winning the war is the objective of the penultimate mission.]]

* RealityEnsues: Shockingly, for a series that prides itself on B-Movie cheese, over-the-top action, and eagerly embracing every scifi cliche under the sun, EDF 5 takes a very stark approach to one long-running trait of the series, in contrast with its predecessors: [[OneManArmy No matter how much of a certified grade-A badass you are]], [[spoiler: one ([[CoOpMultiplayer or as many as four]]) hypercompetent soldier can't win a war on their own, especially if said war is a surprise attack that results in an unbroken series of vicious [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp Battles]] in the aliens' favor. You do manage to win, time and time again, against overwhelming odds and pull out some truly miraculous victories, but all it accomplishes in the grand scheme of things is ''slightly'' delaying the aliens' total victory. [[ZigzaggedTrope Ultimately, though, it does come back around,]] as you manage to win a near-literal suicide mission to kill the aliens' HumanoidAbomination leader, which [[DecapitatedArmy breaks the invasion]] - which was otherwise an absolute, overwhelming success.]]

Published by D3 and developed by Sandlot, ''Earth Defense Force 5'' is ([[SequelNumberSnarl confusingly]]) the seventh instalment in the ''VideoGame/EarthDefenseForce'' game franchise released for the [=PS4=] game console.

The game has been released for the [=PS4=] in Japan, the US, and Europe. In July 2019, the game was also released on Steam for Windows.

Published by D3 and developed by Sandlot, ''Earth Defense Force 5'' is one of the newer games in the ''VideoGame/EarthDefenseForce'' game franchise released for the [=PS4=] game console.

The game re-uses various assets developed for ''VideoGame/EarthDefenseForce2025'' and its updated title ''Earth Defense 4.1 "Shadow of New Despair"'', but also introduces several new elements to the game. It also borrows old enemies from previous titles and updates them for this latest installment.

* BolivianArmyEnding: Near the game's climax, [[spoiler: the "Resistance" (read: the last surviving humans, consisting of children, elderly, and those too sick or wounded to serve) have run out of food and medicine and are essentially doomed...so the leader mentions they're all going to pick up guns, go face the alien horde, and go out shooting. Thankfully, you defeat the alien leader before this can happen, otherwise humanity would have been ''completely'' screwed, instead of only ''mostly.'']]

* {{Conscription}}: An EDF soldier at one point complains that they don't have enough troops for their operations, and that they should just force the civilians to join the EDF. Sarge grimly mentions that EDF has already been doing that.

* DarkerAndEdgier: From a plot standpoint, at least. Since this is a ContinuityReboot, humanity is completely caught off guard by the Primer invasion and is ''far'' less prepared to combat them, with even the Wing Diver and Fencer units having been designed for conventional warfare, not this kind of warfare. No matter how many aliens the player's squad wipes out, the Primers just keep coming, unveiling new units and tactics that slowly but surely overwhelm Earth's defenses. [[spoiler:By the end of the game, literally ''90%'' of all life on Earth has been eradicated before the invasion is finally stopped, and the epilogue explicitly states that a complete collapse and regression of human civilization is inevitable and is already beginning to happen.]]

* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler: EDF succeeds in eliminating the alien mastermind, finally breaking their onslaught and causing them to abandon the invasion. All it cost was over 90% of the human population, and the descent of modern civilization into a new anarchistic feudal dark age. The epilogue gives a glimmer of hope that EDF will eventually manage to rally what's left of the human race to begin the slow and painful process of rebuilding, however.]]

* TanksForNothing: Tanks in general are pretty worthless, at least regarding the NPC versions.

* WeDoTheImpossible: Storm Team, who is the only unit that consistently produces increasingly meager victories as the war rages on.

** The giant grey aliens have a heavy weapon solider wielding a heavy flamethrower.

* KillSat: According to EDF tradition, the Air Raider class can unlock the ability to call down a variety of Kill Sat strikes.

* DespairEventHorizon: Late in the game as EDF command talks about losing bases, cities, and people, their dialogue becomes increasingly grim. The loss of the EDF submarines mentioned in various levels, along with the EDF command base being knocked out is particularly brutal.