Earth Defense Forces 6 was released earlier today, and as you can see from our review, we like it a lot. But it's hard to report that the new EDF should be a big hit with the world's special type of sickos, and we're displeased to report that they're not happy about it. What was supposed to be a silly affair of cannons and big ants has instead turned into another Steam review bombing. The reason I ask is that EDF 6 requires you to log into your Epic account to play online, even if you play on Steam.

At the time of this writing, EDF 6's Steam rating is “Mostly Negative” after nearly 1,300 reviews, with only 29% favorable reviews. All of the negative reviews have the same complaint: an Epic account is required to play EDF 6 online, which was not disclosed anywhere in the pre-release Steam listing; early this morning, hours after EDF 6 was released, the Steam page was updated to include an Epic account requirement was clearly stated.

“Due to the game's enhanced cross-play and online capabilities, online play requires sign-in to your Epic Games account. We apologize for the lack of prior notice,” said EDF 6 developer Sandlot in a news post accompanying the Steam page update. “Signing in to your Epic Games account is required the first time you play online. Typically, once you sign in the first time, you will not need to sign in again.”

To be fair to those who are upset about the Epic account requirement, it sucks that it wasn't announced before launch. It absolutely should have been. However, like many negative reviews, calling this move a “bait-and-switch” seems a bit strong to me; in 2024, it may surpass franchises that are trying to surpass Xbox 360 levels of graphical fidelity” and ”single-digit frame rates on consoles It's a franchise that is famous for sometimes running at single-digit frame rates.”

Look at the PS2 ass bug crawling around at a locked 60fps (mini-EDF miracle) and tell me there's a Machiavellian plot here. I disagree.

According to developer Sandlot, Earth Defense Forces 6, released in Japan in 2022, switched to Epic Online Services to facilitate cross-play between PS4 and PS5; Epic's solution apparently fit the bill.

In other words, one might think that “EDF6” released on PC would be crossplayable with consoles, but this is not the case. Other games, such as Risk of Rain 2, have implemented both Steam and Epic's online capabilities; for the Steam version of EDF6, that would have been the best bet. However, we would like to refer again to our review, which noted that “the menus still feel awkward and wordy,” and the general mood that these games were literally cobbled together by reusing 20 years' worth of assets and code.

We may be engaging in hypocrisy here, given that just a few minutes ago we published an article calling EA's third-party launcher a “crime against human decency.” I can't help but think that many of these negative reviews are likely coming from people who have claimed Epic's free games at one time or another and are only momentarily inconvenienced by having to enter a password when launching EDF. Perhaps Steam is overdue to offer a “it's complicated” review option.