Imagine a world where every city, creature, and combatant looks like they've stumbled out of a 3D Tetris game on hard mode. Welcome back to Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2, where the Earth is still notably voxelated (that's pixelated but with snazzy 3D cubes) and more charmingly blocky than ever!
Following the suspenseful cliffhanger of its predecessor, this new installment opens up with a mystery: what on Earth—pun very much intended—happened after the first game’s grand finale? The suspense is almost as thick as the game's cubic zirconia-esque aliens.
For starters, the developers have thrown in elements from Earth Defense Force 6 into the mix. Yes, you heard that correctly. It’s like they decided that the stew needed more spices, so they dumped in another game for flavor. This means newer, bigger, and badder bugs for our voxel heroes to blast into cube-sized pieces.
And if you missed the high-flying, high-velocity Wing Diver Shooter in the first World Brothers, worry no more! She’s making her pixelated debut in this sequel, jet-pack and all. Watching her swoop in to save the day, zapping bugs while deftly dodging blocky buildings, is a sight of cubic splendor.
The game’s main draw, besides the return of fan-favorite pixel people and the mesmerizing destruction of voxel environments, is the sheer love for the Earth Defense Force series that permeates every block. You’ll feel this affection not just in the care taken to incorporate elements from various installments, but also in how the game encourages you to demolish monster after monstrous tower of blocks to save Earth.
You’ll traverse continents from voxelated versions of New York to Paris, all the while marveling at how landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty look when made out of colorful cubes. It’s kind of like playing with LEGO, except every brick can potentially explode, and every creation wants to annihilate humanity.
Did we mention the new arsenal at your disposal? Because surely, the old weapons weren’t enough to deal with the upgraded block-beasts. This time around, you’ll have access to supercharged blasters, mega mortars, and some top-secret weapons that are so spoiler-ridden, they're only whispered about in the darkest corners of gaming forums.
Co-op mode returns, so grab a buddy (or three!) and form a squad of voxel veterans. There's nothing quite like bonding over the shared joy of decimating a giant, block-constructed spider terrorizing downtown voxel-Vegas. Oh, and the split-screen action ensures nobody misses any of the cubic chaos, making it perfect for your next game night. Not to mention, the laugh you’ll share when one of you mistakenly blasts a building your team was using for cover, sending colorful cubes tumbling down like a bizarre game of Jenga.
Progression in World Brothers 2 feels rewarding as every mission completed, every city saved, and every bug blasted contributes to upgrading your heroes’ power. Each improvement feels meaningful, adding a layer to tactics not just based on what weapon to shoot, but how to synergistically adapt your team's abilities to face ever-growing threats.
And if you find yourself missing the good old days of crisp HD graphics, just squint a little. Squint really hard. Voila, the blocks blend together, and it’s almost like playing a traditional Earth Defense Force game, just with extra charm and substantially more corners.
So whether you’re a veteran of the voxel wars or a newbie looking to get into the block-busting action, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 promises to be an explosively entertaining ride. With more content, more characters, and more lovingly crafted cubic chaos, it's a sequel that builds beautifully (block by block, of course) on the foundations of its predecessor. Fire up those blasters, the voxel Earth isn’t going to defend itself!
