"Tokyo Game Show 2026," one of Japan's largest game expos, was held from September 17 to September 21 (the in-person event on the 21st was canceled due to a typhoon). The latest installment in the series, *Earth Defense Force 6.2: Invaders from Another World*, was available to play at the D3 Publisher booth.Here’s a play report from the demo, which, though brief at just 10 minutes, allowed me to experience the fun of weapon customization.
The range of weapon customization options is so vast and diverse that it’s hard to choose! It’s fun because you can explore synergistic effects.
Since the playtime was limited this time, I focused on getting a feel for the weapon customization.First, I checked the available customization options and attached parts like laser sights to rifles and grenade launchers. For rifles, the customization options are incredibly extensive, covering bullets, magazines, sights, barrels, underbarrels, muzzles, mechanisms, grips, and stocks.
As for the available ammunition, in addition to standard AP rounds and hollow-point rounds, there are over 10 types—including incendiary rounds, panic rounds, and plague rounds—so many that it’s hard to decide. The scope of customization exceeds expectations, and when you factor in the synergies with secondary weapons, the number of options available to players is virtually endless.
When I actually attached two or three parts and test-fired the weapon, the weapon’s characteristics indeed changed exactly as described in the custom part descriptions. Even just adjusting the sights or changing the ammunition type resulted in a clear difference in how the weapon felt to fire. During actual missions, I was able to adapt my combat strategy based on the characteristics of the custom parts.
However, simply equipping two or three parts only changed the sights and ammunition type; I didn’t get the impression that the weapon’s overall handling had changed significantly. So, I wondered what would happen if I equipped even more parts. With that in mind, I took the plunge and equipped my secondary weapon—the grenade launcher—with whatever parts came to mind.
As a result, the weapon’s performance and handling changed drastically, transforming it into something completely different from when I first picked it up. It became a weapon so easy to use that I could wipe out entire groups of enemies in one go. The impact was so profound that it made me want to delve deeper into the characteristics of each part and fine-tune its performance and handling even further.
Not only does this expand the ways you can use the weapons you’ve acquired, but I also felt it sheds new light on the “weapons with high firepower but tricky to use” that are a common sight in the *Earth Defense Force* series. Honestly, even during this short 10-minute trial, I felt that—despite being a “Power-Up Revised Edition”—this might mark a major evolutionary step for the series.
On the other hand, as I actually proceeded with customization, there were some points that gave me pause. In the customization screen, changes to weapon performance are indicated only by text. While I appreciate the detailed explanations, it’s difficult to tell at a glance exactly how much performance has increased or decreased—which is a bit of a drawback. If the increases and decreases in numerical values could be displayed using bars or as differences, it would be much easier to compare them.As it stands, there’s a lot of information, and I found it difficult to grasp the changes in a short amount of time.
That said, even setting aside these UI concerns, the weapon customization itself is incredibly fun, and any EDF member will want to keep an eye out for future updates.
"Earth Defense Force 6.2: INVADERS FROM ANOTHER WORLD" is scheduled for release on March 18, 2027, for thePS5. The price is 7,700 yen (tax included) for the physical and standard digital versions, and 9,900 yen (tax included) for the Deluxe Edition digital version.
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